This has been a terrible, horrible, no-good very-bad week. On Monday, my parrot's kidney failed and I had to have her put down. On Wednesday and Thursday my son was sick with the flu (and let me tell you, no matter what your common sense tells you, when your 6-year old child comes down with "flu-like symptoms" right now, you're bound to think twice!) Then on Friday as I was readying my ewe to drop off at the breeder's (worming, trimming feet), she decided to throw a fit about having her feet trimmed and when she was done, she had injured her front right knee. I have her confined and will start her on baby aspirin tomorrow since her knee looked swollen this evening. She is using the leg, but is limping heavily. The joint has slightly too much mobility and I can feel a slight grinding when I move it. I am suspecting a strained or broken ligament or tendon. I don't think it would be this swollen if it was a simple fracture and since there is no displacment anywhere, that's what it would have to be if it was broken. Does anyone have any suggestions for anything else I should be doing? I will say right now that if I call the vet out here he will charge me $100 to tell me that my sheep has a sore leg, which I already know so I don't consider that a logical option.

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), November 03, 2001

Answers

On the contrary, fractures cause quite a bit of swelling. Severe bruising is also a good indication of a fracture. CJ

-- CJ (cjtinkle@getgoin.net), November 03, 2001.

Try splinting it or wrapping it with a ace wrap. I would not call a vet either and your logic is very correct.It might have a little crepitus in it due to the injury and with time and not strain hopefully it will go away.A piece of custom cut PVC pipe would probably make an ok splint with a ace wrap. Good luck and hang in there.The most important thing is that it sounds like your child is doing better. Terry

-- Terry Lipe (elipe@fidnet.com), November 03, 2001.

If your life is like mine, if you take the sheep to the vet, it will only be a sore leg. If you DON'T, it will be something serious that you should have taken her in for! >:-(

I know nothing about sheep, but I did have a "green stick fracture" of my arm as a kid. It was more than a crack and less than a fracture, and I ended up with a metal brace on it held in place with an Ace bandage. The nice thing about that was that mom could take the bandage off and gently scratch my arm. So, there was no displacement, but it was still a fracture.

Anyway, if you AREN'T going to go to the vet, what about RICE, the treatment for sprains and the like? Stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (the last would be hard to achieve, I guess!). After icing the joint, I'd wrap it with Vetrap (or generic equivalent) or an Ace bandage, maybe with something thin but rigid to splint it. Whichever you think the sheep will be unlikely to "walk off". Perhaps an old cloth diaper, folded in half and then wrapped around the joint, with the bandaging over it, would hold it rigid enough. Even if it isn't a fracture, the joint probably needs support. Good luck!

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), November 03, 2001.

Oops, I forgot, if you have arnica drops, put some in her water and rub some more on the joint. If you only have arnica cream, you'll have to be content with just rubbing it on the joint. Arnica is excellent for bruises and sprains and other trauma. Do not apply it to broken skin, however.

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), November 03, 2001.

CJ, in thinking this through I realized that since the trauma is in the joint you're right, a fracture could still swell (usually fractures that aren't in joints don't have swelling unless they displace). So much for being able to dispell that possibility!

Here's a question: if it's soft tissue damage (tendon, ligament, etc) will wrapping help or hinder? I do think I need to do something more because she is a hyper child and she won't stay off it.

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), November 03, 2001.

I'd wrap it regardless, especially if you can't make her lie down and rest. hahaha. Fat chance of that hmmm? You know, like when you sprain your ankle, the worst thing you can do is take your shoe off, then the swelling REALLY goes nuts. CJ

-- Cj (cjtinkle@getgoin.net), November 03, 2001.

Sorry I can't offer any medical advice. But, when in doubt you have two options. You can call a vet or butcher. At least you wouldn't just be putting her out of her misery.

I do hope she heals quickly, (cheeply), & with as little pain for her as possible (& less headaches for you as well).

animalfarms

-- animalfarms (jawjlewis@netzero.net), November 03, 2001.

Sheryl if it is a fracture, the vet at this point will only wrap it anyway, unless you are going to pay for surgery and xrays. If it is a sprain or a pulled tendon, the same wrap, so just do it yourself. Remember that it could be actually an injury above or below the knee, but the knee swells, mostly because other than the pastern there is no place to swell. I would nix the aspirin, it is a huge amount of aspirin per 100 pounds of body weight (check out saanendoah.com) and one aspirin isn't going to do anything other than upset her rumen. There are all sorts of liniments for horses that you can use to bring down the swelling, (we use brace, which is DMSO and alcohol) which honestly I wouldn't be doing, the swelling protects the body from to much movement. If this is a show animal I would have other advice. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), November 03, 2001.

On injured or broken legs, we have used foam pipe insulation (comes in different diameters and is easily cut to length), covered with a larger piece of PVC pipe, cut lengthwise in 2 sections. Wrap it all together with vet or horse wrap. The insulation helps prevent skin breakdown. Also, I use up to ten buffered adult aspirin , dissolved in molasses and water for palatability per my vet every 6 - 8 hours. My ewes average 150 lbs. With multiple rumens, a lot of the aspirin gets passed through. After the first 24 hours, warm packs are more effective than ice. We use corn bags with great success. About 2 pounds of field corn in a rectangle cloth bag, heated in microwave 3 minutes. Holds heat 30 minutes and they seem to be pacified by the aroma. Great for us sore humans too!Also, I recently dislocated my knee and an ace knee support made all the difference in getting arround. Maybe with just a sprain you could get an over the counter knee support at the drugstore. Just telling you what has worked for me.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), November 04, 2001.

Kate, what an excellent idea on the corn hot wrap! Thank you! Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), November 04, 2001.