# Buckling just born with "double jointed" back legs??



## CarolynRenee (Jan 30, 2008)

My FF Boer just less than an hour ago delivered (on her own, she wasn't due until next week) two kids, boy & girl. 

The boy was having trouble standing up, while the girl did fine. It seems as if he back legs slide back instead of in front when he tries to stand.

The boy's back "knees" (or whatever they're called) seem to almost be double-jointed.

Is this something that can be fixed or is this an immediate cull situation? He wasn't going to be a breeder so it's not a huge loss. I just want to know if we should put him out of his misery right away (although he doesn't seem to be in any pain).


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## Clovers_Clan (Jul 17, 2012)

Give him some time, they should straighten out with time. Most likely the cause was how he was positioned in the womb. Nothing to worry about genetically. Do be sure to help him nurse several times a day if he's not getting around well enough to nurse. A little gentle physical therapy flexing his hocks should strengthen them.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

What CC said. When that has happened here, it usually self-corrects in a couple of days.


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## CarolynRenee (Jan 30, 2008)

Thanks all! He's eager to nurse so I'm just holding him up there and making his legs stand up the "right" way.


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

1/2cc of BO-SE couldn't hurt.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

If you don't have Bo-Se give the liquid from 2 vit. E capsules to each baby, especially the little buckling but it won't hurt the little doe either.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

My first kids did that, almost to the point they couldn't stand to nurse(we had to keep the legs from buckling back manually). The whole herd got Bo-Se including the kids and they cleared right up. Didn't have a problem with it after using Bo-Se. I was new and my herd was deficient and it showed in my first crop of kids.


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## AuntKitty (Oct 25, 2004)

I had this problem this year for the first time and then I looked at my bottle of Bo-Se and saw that it expired in 2011 so I bought a fresh bottle. I know not all expirations are hard dates but apparently it does lose effectiveness over time.

Kitty


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Just curious...Can leg braces help this? I'm thinking an empty toilet paper roll split and taped on


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

Squeaky McMurdo said:


> Just curious...Can leg braces help this? I'm thinking an empty toilet paper roll split and taped on


Yes! A brace of some sort can help! A few years ago, one little guy born here had the back-bending leg really bad. While he could nurse on his own, the other kids were bullying him. A brace allowed him more mobility to escape the bullies, and his condition cleared up within a week anyway.


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## CarolynRenee (Jan 30, 2008)

Tonight will be three days since he was born. We tried a splint with a bend in it to mimic his bent hocks, made it with heavy cardboard wrapped in soft bandage tape, but when he pee'd the cardboard softened and he just ended up with bandages & his legs out behind him. Took him out of his splint/bandage and keep giving him physical therapy, holding him and trying to get him to walk correctly (man, is that a pain). He's gotten sores on the front part of his hocks where they are bending wrong so I bandaged them up. He's been in the house since this morning and I'm taking him out to his dam to nurse; I do NOT want another bottle baby. Especially since I already have two unplanned bottle babies in the living room right now.

For those of you who splinted their back legs, did they still end up behind them? Even with the splints on, he would try to get up & then just end up on his belly, front feed out in front, back feet back behind him. I was wondering if it would help to somehow bandage his back legs up to his belly, like when they lay down, so that they are forced to go only one way.


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Wrap it in packing tape or duct tape instead of the soft bandage tape. More waterproof.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

Have you tried the Bo-Se yet?


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

I've had a couple of bucklings born with back legs that would bend back and forth at the hock. Look painfully weird but they got around well enough even on their jello legs. Within a week or two, they were like anyone else and never looked back.
Can he walk at all?
I second the boSe.
I was thinking that pipe insulation with duct tape would make a fairly water proof splint for a little one but I've never splinted a kid so?


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## LomahAcres (Jan 21, 2007)

Yes - again, try the bo-se. Over bendy back legs are usually from selenium deficiency, especially in the hock and hip areas. If so, you should see an improvement within 24-48 hours of receiving the shot.

If he improves, but not fixed all the way - wait 2-4 days and try another shot. I would recommend 1/2 CC each does. I have had kids born with sever deficiency - legs so bad they can't even stand up, or very bowed. But they can straiten out and be just fine after a few shots.


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