Help! Lamb born with foot issues

Baymule

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I had one born like that. I gave him selenium gel and of all things, my Great Pyrenees, Trip, nudges that lamb and made him get up and walk! Over a couple of days, his pasterns strengthened and he was up on his toes. Once he was walking good and his ankles were straight, Trip quit nudging him, pushing him to walk.

Last spring I had a ewe lamb born with front legs so crooked, she couldn’t get up to nurse. She looked like a spider. I bottle fed her, gave her selenium gel and rubbed her legs. I was leaving on vacation so I gave her to a neighbor. I told him how to rub and gently stretch her legs. They put her in the yard with their dog and they played. Today she is a beautiful healthy ewe!

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blessedfarmgirl

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She was up walking and trying to give little hops tonight, and her mom had sequestered them both in the shelter with the hay and mineral so she's not being trampled. All in all, it's looking hopeful that she'll be alright! She's definitely not nursing as vigorously as the other lamb, but I think she's getting some sustenance.
Moses went over and checked on both lamb and mom before he went to lie down by the rest of the flock. He's such a good boy with lambs, and I noticed he's so much calmer this year. Last year he was still gentle with them, but a little overprotective and pushy. This year he's backed off a lot and is still interested but lets the mom do her thing without all the licking and extra attention.
 

Ridgetop

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It’s not unusual for lambs, especially large lambs, to be born like that.

If the lambs are packed tight in utero, the pasterns can be either knuckled under, or flat like yours. No worries at this age. Wait a couple weeks and you should see normal pasterns. With our Nubian dairy does that normally kidded quads it was very normal for kids to be born with pasterns tightly knuckled under. They bet normal and stinger as they use the muscles and tendons walking and running.
 
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