# pet sheep with broken leg HELP



## kwagner21

our favorite sheep, the only one we named, broke his leg this morning. We really got attached and do not want to put him down. Please tell me there is something, anything we can do for him. the people around here now cows, not sheep.


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## Roboat

we had a 4 year old ewe with a broken leg that i was ready to euthanize but mom just kept saying oh no we have to give her a chance so we had the vet up(expensive billl) and he put a cast and a crutch on her and she healed completely and produced triplets 4 years in a row after that and raised them all just fine! the vet cost alot but the ewe ended up paying for herself in lambs! point of story is that sheep will heal from a broken leg! weather you want to pay the money for a vet or not depends on you and what you will get out of it in the end! if you are just a small producer with pets i would go for it and im sure it will heal! a large producer probably would not think its worth it from a production point of view but we sure proved them wrong on that! good luck!


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## eieiomom

Sorry to hear about your sheep (wether?), it is most unfortunate when those dearest to our hearts get sick or injured.

Do you know of any equine vets or are you near Ithaca (Cornell) ?
I would give them a call and at least see what they have to say.

What area are you located ?
I know of some people that have sheep in NY and can try and see if they have an exceptional small ruminant vet who might be able to help. 

If you are willing to spend the money, there may be hope.
It will also depend on the location of the break and how much other damage is done as well as the age of the animal. Time is important ...the sooner it gets addressed the better chance of success in the healing process (less soft tissue damage surrounding the break).

Meanwhile, depending on the part of the leg, you can splint it to keep minimal use or more damage from occuring. 
If he is in a small area, he won't have to travel to get feed or water or compete with other sheep to do so.
You can also give him aspirin to keep him more comfortable.
If there are open wounds, it should be cleaned and covered, and he should be given antibiotics.


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## kwagner21

no open wounds, break seems to be pretty far up on the leg. we are trying to figure out if we can splint it, but an not really sure. i know one person around here with sheep, but she is at the goat outing this weekend. i have some aspirin, how much should i give? he is still young, born this spring. and is currently resting comfortably under a tree with hay and water. he gets up every now and then and walks a step or two and lays back down. we just feel so bad for him.


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## Ross

Front leg? If it's above he knee it's gong to be tricky but a vet could do it easily. Essentially the muscle will need to be stretched so the two halves of the break can be lined up. Once lined up the leg is wrapped and splinted and padded with cotton then some form of cast (or wrap) is applied.


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## wendle

You should at least splint the leg to make her comfortable. I use something soft, like gauze, or even paper towels first on the leg. Then Something stiff, like wood, trim or furring strips work good. Then I use duct tape around the wood . I've splinted my own this way with good results. Sheep heal pretty good , you shouldn't need to put it down for just a broken leg.


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## eieiomom

Pipe insulation and vet wrap makes an excellent splint too.

Follow directions based on estimated weight for aspirin, either baby aspirin or adult buffered, dissolved in water.

You will want to make sure he keeps eating and drinking.


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## renee o'neill

If you want pm me I set and casted a cows broken rear leg and it worked! Its kinda complicated but I can give you step by step.


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## kwagner21

we currently have him in a small pen with food and water, and have vet wrap on his leg. i think i will try to splint it with pipe insulation or a read somewhere about using pvc pipe for a splint as well. thanks for the help. i will let you know how he does. and any other suggestions would be great. thanks again. i hated the idea of having to put him down!


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## renee o'neill

the main vet hospitals use a splint called a schroeder splint,look it up and try to make one w/ pvc and soft copper pipe also lots of plaster and gauze.The key to it working is padding lots of it and keeping it dry.We have also used soccer shin guards as supports.


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## Rowanm77

I know this is an old thread but figured I'd comment in case someone wants the info. I have a 3 year old ewe who broke her leg front leg mid shaft below the knee about 3 weeks ago. I had my brother pull traction, my friend comforted her and I cast the leg. First layer was a net material but a sock would work too. Next was a third inch thick layer of roll gauze. Then I put a full roll of wet plaster gauze to build a solid heavy layer about a half inch thick. I went above the knee and below the ankle. We waited an hour for it to cool and set. At first she wouldn't move. Then when she attempted to get up, we put her in the corral. By the next day she was kneeing around. Today I had a problem catching her because she was actually running! I plan to leave it on for six weeks then figure out how to cut it off. I'll try to remember to post an update. I ended up getting the plaster gauze at AC Moore craft store if anyone needs to source it at 8:30 at night!


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## Von Helman

Yea I wouldn't put a sheep down just because it had a broken leg. There's been a lot of very good advice posted in this thread. Heck even a simple splint wrapped properly will do the job. Sure the animal will limp and look uncomfortable but thats to be expected.

One of our neighbors has a sheep right now with a broken leg and has it wrapped very simply and though it walks slow it gets around and is doing well. She didn't spend a dime on a vet or anything other than the materials she used for the splint, so never let money stand in your way. 

Improvise and overcome!


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## odieclark

What a sweet thread! I love lambs!

I had heard of someone who had a rooster that lost part of his leg and foot and they made a prosthetic for him and he lived with a peg leg for awhile just fine!

I also have a friend who splinted her dogs leg, he handled it pretty well.


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