# Broken leg



## Kupla (Aug 1, 2014)

Hello. My sister caught a kid last night while my brother in law was catching goats to haul off that has a back leg that is broken in two places, above and below the hock. She can't afford to take it to the vet so I'm going to try to stabilize the leg and wrap it. My main question is how long should I leave it wrapped? I've read anywhere from 2 weeks to almost three months. The goal is for this little guy to become a pet so a permanent limp isn't going to be an issue, allowing the leg to heal is though.


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## TCOLVIN (Sep 22, 2014)

I don't profess to be a vet but I had one I actual ran over and broke the back leg. I call myself setting it back in line and put splints on 3 sides and wrapped with white linen sheet strips and white tape. I did apply alcohol to spot where bone came thru. isolated him for 6 weeks and he began to walk on it some with the splints still on. after this I removed the banded and to my dismay the small leg bone behind the large bone was sticking thru the skin. my vet said he could cut it off and sew it up for $75.00. It was a tough choice but I had to put him down. He was about 8 months old and was due to go to the goat sale the week after I ran over him. It was a freak accident, I was unloading hay and when I went to pull off he was under the wheel well. Made me sick. good luck, just make sure all bones are lined up and in place. give him banamine for fever and watch close. isolate him from the rest of the herd and don't give him much room to move around. keep water out and feed him daily some goat feed. Just my 2 cents worth. If I had known then what I learned later I could have set the bones correctly and he may have been ok.


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## Kupla (Aug 1, 2014)

Turns out it was just one really bad break a couple inches below the hock. I splinted it, wrapped it, and have him on antibiotics. It's hard to doctor him because he's completely wild, first time he ever saw a human was when he was caught on sunday and he ended up with a broken leg. So I'm trying to not stress him any more than I have to.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Make sure he has a tetanus shot.

I recommend a vet, but if you cannot. It is crucial the bones are lined up and stays in place for healing to take place.

 Healing time is about 6 to 8 weeks. 
Banamine is a good drug for pain and swelling or aspirin, crush it up, put in some water and drench with a syringe (without needle). Every 4-5 hours.

Not sure if he needed antibiotics, if the bone is not out in the air(broke through the skin), but you have already started them.

Have him as mentioned, in a smaller area, you may want 1 gentle goat in with him, to keep him calm.

Having to doctor a wild goat makes things way harder, you don't want to hurt the leg further, so be careful.

If he is growing, be sure the splint put on, doesn't cut into his leg, cutting off circulation.


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## Kupla (Aug 1, 2014)

I wish I could take him to the vet but he isn't mine, I'm just trying to help out my sister the best I can. He's small, about 20 pounds, and I have him in a large dog crate, he can stand, lay down and move around a little bit. He can see my other goats, my older nanny keeps talking to him. I was careful to make sure I could fit one finger into the binding but I think I'm going to re-wrap it in a couple days because he is at that stage where they grow quickly.

Thank you toth boar goats for the estimate on healing time.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Your welcome.

How old is he?

He does need a bit more room than that, he needs to be able to move around some, to keep his rumen healthy, if he is at the age his rumen is indeed working.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

Kupla said:


> I wish I could take him to the vet but he isn't mine, I'm just trying to help out my sister the best I can. He's small, about 20 pounds, and I have him in a large dog crate, he can stand, lay down and move around a little bit. He can see my other goats, my older nanny keeps talking to him. I was careful to make sure I could fit one finger into the binding but I think I'm going to re-wrap it in a couple days because he is at that stage where they grow quickly.
> 
> Thank you toth boar goats for the estimate on healing time.


Just curious...

Would your sister/owner of this goat not take him to the vet or let you do so?

That seems like a bad excuse for not going to the vet.

Not having the money to take someone else's pet or not needing to.... But being the caretaker of an animal and then when it's going to cost money saying oh it's not actually mine is something I've heard too often and makes me cringe.

That said I've had a couple goats break legs as kids and they healed up very well when splinted. The only other issue I'd see is if the break involved the growth plate, but it sounds like it was farther down.

Good luck!


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## Kupla (Aug 1, 2014)

nicolemackenzie said:


> Just curious...
> 
> Would your sister/owner of this goat not take him to the vet or let you do so?
> 
> ...


I honestly don't have have the money to take an animal to the vet that isn't mine. I'm not going to sugar coat it and I told my sister quite bluntly that while I was willing to help her I couldn't afford to take him in as my own. I want my sister to take him to the vet but I doubt she will. Honestly he isn't even supposed to still be at my property, she was supposed to take him to her place on Monday.....I'm feeling like she's taking advantage of my willing to help and is trying to dump him on me now.

Thanks for the well wishes, I think I need it.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I would like to add..I would only do banamine the day I messed with the leg...after that a baby aspirin ever 4-6 hours as Toth suggested...you want him to feel some discomfort to keep him from being too active and re injuring himself....also if he needs to stay in the kennel....take him out 3-4 times a day for a bit of activity to keep blood flow in the leg to promote healing and for his rumen function....

He will be pretty tame by the time his ordeal is over...although a vet is always good to be sure the bone is set ect...sounds like you did a good job..and time now is what he needs..recheck the wrap often..check for good blood flow by feeling above and below the wrap...if his hoof feels cold...wrap is too tight...ect...

best wishes


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## Kupla (Aug 1, 2014)

My best guess to his age is maybe 8 to 10 weeks? He's eating hay and I've started him on a half cup of grain a day, split in two meals, he has firm well formed poop. He's pretty spunky, after I gave him a good head rub last night he had fun trying to press his horns into my hand. He's still very alert. I'll move my buck into another pen and section off a smaller part of his to move this guy into if my sister doesn't come get him.

As for asprin I read in another thread that the dose was one adult asprin per 10 pounds of weight. Is that not right?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

> As for asprin I read in another thread that the dose was one adult asprin per 10 pounds of weight. Is that not right?


For kids I give one child's chewable....again..you want to just take the peek of the pain off...you want him to feel some discomfort to prevent him from hurting himself...als do give him tetanus antitoxin shot..2 cc sub Q....


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree. poor guy, he is really young. 

Good luck.


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

If you are positive that the bones are set correctly, you can use a comfrey leaf poltice to speed up the healing process. Just apply crushed comfrey leaves to the area each time you change the dressing....leave the leaves in there when you wrap it. Comfrey's nick name in the herbal world is "bone-knit".


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## Kupla (Aug 1, 2014)

It's a complete break of the bone, the leg just flopped around but nothing has broken the skin, would the comfrey still work?

2cc for the tetanus? I can get that to him tonight. I wasn't sure of the dosage.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Thar's bad. 

It needs set in proper position and secured in a cast or something that will hold it in place.

The goat needs a vet now.


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## GoatieGranny (Jul 26, 2013)

Kupla said:


> It's a complete break of the bone, the leg just flopped around but nothing has broken the skin, would the comfrey still work?
> 
> 2cc for the tetanus? I can get that to him tonight. I wasn't sure of the dosage.


Comfrey will help knit bones together, but you have to be sure, very sure, that the bone is set correctly. It will knit it back together out of place if it's not set right.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

when you have it set proper..you should be able to feel, take your time to feel the break...I know its hard since you don't want to hurt him but doing it right the first time is important...then wrap ..


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## Kupla (Aug 1, 2014)

It's feels like it's set in the right place, it has a splint and is wrapped.


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## Kupla (Aug 1, 2014)

Ok here's an update. The goat is great! The leg is healed and he is a great little yard goat for my sister. Thanks for all the help and advice.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

That is good to hear. good work.


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