A Tough Break

Literally, a break.  I came home today and went to do chores like normal.  I walked into the barn and found my doe kid in the hay feeder, stuck.  I saw her leg was bent in an unnatural position, and I held my breath as I lifted her out of the feeder, and gently set her down.  Her leg just hung there as she stood on her 3 good legs.  I felt it, and it definitely felt broken. 

I put her in the front seat of the truck, and off to the vet we went.  The vet did an x-ray, and sure enough, she broke her leg (right rear) at the epiphysis (growth plate) up high, at her knee/stifle joint.  The vet put a splint on her leg, and taped it up well.  He said the break was up pretty high, and hoped the splint would hold it, but if it did hold she should heal in 2 weeks.  Luckily at this age, they heal very quickly.  I'll bring her back in 2 weeks for splint removal. 

She's resting now, in one of the lambing jugs, with her brothers in the adjacent jug.  I've had to separate her from Ida (her mom), and I'll just milk Ida and bottle feed her.  I worry if I kept her with other goats she'd try to keep up with them, or they'd jostle her around too much. 

Poor girl isn't feeling well tonight, but I hope after a day or so she can learn to hobble around with her splint.