Broken Leg Help

[kenfromMaine]

Just wanted to give an update on my goat.
She is doing fine, seems to have adjusted to the splint. No signs of pain.
I have given her Penn. 2x a day for the week. I also gave her one Ibuprofen at night, for the first few days. She is eating and drinking just fine. Not swollen, nice and clean so far. That splint made from PVC pipe and vet wrap does work really slick.
Again thanks to everyone.
Ken From Maine

 

[Roll farms]

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

Glad she is doing ok.

 

[freemotion]

That is awesome, great job! Please do keep updating us. It is very interesting to me to see what people can do themselves.

I lost my first baby goat. I couldn't get a vet to see him....well, one did and was treating him, but he went downhill while that vet was out of town and the others I called refused to see a goat unless I was a current client. When his mother was trying to deliver him and he was not presented properly, I could NOT get a vet to come help on a Saturday morning. My own vet's answering service REFUSED to notify him even though I argued that he treated all my animals....they said he only treats horses, period. He never got any message and apologized to me later when I brought the baby in for treatment. Then he charged me $500. Seriously. The baby died.

So saying "call the vet" isn't useful to everyone on this forum. I didn't know about it when this happened. Or maybe it didn't exist yet, it was a few years ago.

People on this forum have since saved my goats several times with their good advice. I once was conflicted recently when a person gave one piece of advice and the vet (where I went to purchase the advised meds) gave the opposite advice. Forum member was right, vet was WRONG. I took a serious risk and fortunately it turned out ok, but I quickly went back to the forum member's advice......even the vet tech who handled my call was muttering about the vet's advice and sold me the products at my request without hesitation.

So another big, huge thank you for the help available here and I love the success stories.

 

[treeclimber233]

I tried to get a vet to come see what was going on at my place on a Wed. Two vets said they did not do anything for goats (not even check a fecal). One told me she could not see any new people that day even tho I told her two had already died. She lives right up the road, She will never have to worry about me calling her again. The fourth vet came out almost immediately and was very reasonable with his cost. So "call a vet" sometimes is not an option if there are no vets that will come.

 

[20kidsonhill]

I am glad your doe is doing well.

 

[Goatmasta]

Maybe if you would have done your vet homework ahead of time, you would have "a vet to call" . A broken leg, a major laceration, and other serious injuries require a vet. If animal control were called you would be less a animal if it has not seen a vet. I do agree that most vets don't have a clue when it comes to goats, however it is a matter of legality and doing the right thing for the animal.

 

[mossyStone]

around here goats are seen only has farm animals and dont get the same attention as say cat or dog....

animal control could care less!!!!

so if the owner can and has taken care of the situation and the animal is recovering well... it's been a good day...

I am thrilled your goat is doing so well.. This forum has alot of people willing and able to lend a helping hand, when some times there is NO other hand that will help......

 

[freemotion]

If it became a legal matter I would simply start calling vets right in front of the authorities, on speaker phone. Homework? I HAD a vet who was treating my goats!

I've also had several large bills of several hundred dollars for the vet to say...hmmm, call me in a few days if she's not better.

No diagnosis. No treatment. I live in a suburban area and there are small animal vets and horse vets. I no longer have a horse so I am stuck. Be careful not to judge.

My very first experience with re-positioning an impossibly stuck kid was last spring. The vet I finally got to come....never showed up. I called the office staff back after an hour (the doe had given up by then, eyes closed, faint contractions, not even holding her head up anymore) to find out how far out he was cuz the doe was gonna die. Oh, she told me, he's not coming. I thought you didn't want him.



I insisted that he call me and gave my cell number. He didn't call. I got on the forum and was talked through successfully delivering the goat. I called the office back. The receptionist told me she'd given the vet my HOUSE number. Like I was in the house with the goat in labor. I didn't even give her that number. She had to have looked it up in my records for my dog. Oh, the dog they gave corn-based food to after a surgery when I said he was allergic to corn and he could wait a few hours until he came home to eat. Another gal there said, "It's ok, we gave him flagil. He won't get sick."



Call the vet is not always useful advice. Do your vet homework is not always useful advice. That is where this forum is useful.

 

[Livinwright Farm]

If it became a legal matter I would simply start calling vets right in front of the authorities, on speaker phone. Homework? I HAD a vet who was treating my goats!

I've also had several large bills of several hundred dollars for the vet to say...hmmm, call me in a few days if she's not better.

No diagnosis. No treatment. I live in a suburban area and there are small animal vets and horse vets. I no longer have a horse so I am stuck. Be careful not to judge.

My very first experience with re-positioning an impossibly stuck kid was last spring. The vet I finally got to come....never showed up. I called the office staff back after an hour (the doe had given up by then, eyes closed, faint contractions, not even holding her head up anymore) to find out how far out he was cuz the doe was gonna die. Oh, she told me, he's not coming. I thought you didn't want him.



I insisted that he call me and gave my cell number. He didn't call. I got on the forum and was talked through successfully delivering the goat. I called the office back. The receptionist told me she'd given the vet my HOUSE number. Like I was in the house with the goat in labor. I didn't even give her that number. She had to have looked it up in my records for my dog. Oh, the dog they gave corn-based food to after a surgery when I said he was allergic to corn and he could wait a few hours until he came home to eat. Another gal there said, "It's ok, we gave him flagil. He won't get sick."



Call the vet is not always useful advice. Do your vet homework is not always useful advice. That is where this forum is useful.

I have gone through very scarily similar problems in my area. There USED to be knowledgeable vets and helpful goat farmers in the area... but for some reason they have all given up. When our little Cali was in labor with a single buckling, the goat farmers(and so called friends) that live less than 10 minutes away refused to come help us/her. And they had the audacity to tell us to contact the livestock vet, knowing full well there isn't one within an hour's drive. I still have a hard time looking at them, let alone replying when they say hello in the grocery store. It takes every iota of my being to not stare in their eyes and scream at them how horrible they were/are and how I hold them 50% responsible for Cali's & her buckling's demise.
It took 5 1/2 hrs to finally find a vet a hair over an hour away that had never worked with goats before, but was willing to try and save Cali at the very least. I will be eternally grateful to that vet's dedication to their career. I think when we breed one of our newest does, who hasn't been bred before, we should have an ultrasound done... but it will ultimately be my parents' choice, as it is there money that would be paying for it.