Not Dislocated, Broken

[BrownSheep]

So, Nosey the lamb is getting better. She even managed to walk a little bit today. Unfortunately, she also dislocated her hip.

I managed to manuver it into place once but while I was tying the leg up it popped back out of place and I haven't managed to get it back in. Any suggestions?

I think if I can't get it in tomorrow we will take her to our regular vet (small animal) to have it done.

 

[purplequeenvt]

Geez. That poor baby!

 

[BrownSheep]

I know! If we manage to get her through all this she gets to stay.

 

[BrownSheep]

I ended up bringing her back to school with me. Talked to a vet who said pretty much what I knew. Close to no chance it will stay in the socket with out surgery.

We will have it popped back in and bound. Hopefully, there will be a little miracle. If not if she can make it to butchering weight we will work to get her there. If she just cant function we will put her down.

Logically, I know this is the right call. For the cost of a surgery we could probably buy a couple of nice full grown ewes.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Sorry to hear this

 

[BrownSheep]

Saw the vet. Not actually dislocated but her femur is broken up high!
Vet recommended put her down which I would normally agree with but she is SOOOOO much better than two weeks ago.

We suspect it was broken back early on in her illness as she has just been on her own since. We think the swelling and stiffness of all her legs kept us from realizing.

Since she is doing so much better we decided to give her chance. We've brace and wrapped the entire leg. In the past 5 days she has started eating activly, Sitting up and looking around, attempting to stand, and wadling around when she is up. She seems to be comfortable.

If this had been Thursday we would have put her down but today she is lively and seems willing to put up a fight.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Good for you for giving her a chance!

 

[BrownSheep]

Also, I have to point out I have some awesome family members. My aunt up here takes care of them for us while they are here. She keeps them in her house in diapers or piddle pads.

She is a nurse and really treats them like they are little people.

 

[Bibby]

We had a lamb with a broken front leg last year which we bandaged and then covered with a length of PVC pipe to act as a splint. It was pretty hard to watch her for the first week or so as she tried to get around by pushing herself through the grass, but not too long after that she got the hang of being three legged and would race around the paddock faster than the other lambs. I forget how long it took but maybe a week after that she started using the pipe leg and was walking normally in no time. Looking at her now (5 months on) you would never know - the only reminder is that the name Pipey stuck .

Of course hers was probably not as serious as a high break in a femur - just wanted to say that they can heal remarkably fast if you give them a chance and have the time to look after them. Confining mum to a small area helps too, so the lamb can sit down and relax instead of trying to follow after mum all the time.

 

[Ridgetop]

How is the lamb doing? Bibby is right about them healing fast. Dislocated hips will also form false sockets. For me, even if the lamb is a freezer lamb, it is worth trying to save it. We had a small ram lamb get butted by the ram and broke a rear leg up high. We talked about putting him down or trying to save him for the freezer. We splinted it as well as we could and wrapped it up.
Then we confined the ewe and lamb to our 12 x 15 dog kennel for 2 months. We delayed wethering him until the cast came off. He was gimpy for months and his leg wold twist funny when walking but he was destined for the freezer anyway. Then my husband got sick and was in and out of the hospital and nursing home for 6 months. When I remembered the wether had to go to the butcher he was 14 months old! LOL