broken leg

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davez

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I removed a splint from a 5 wk. old calf this morning . This afternoon the hoof and area above the hoof was swollen and looked raw as if it had been caught in a fence. Could this foot have frozen while the splint was applied? Any ideas?
 
How long was the splint on the leg? Unless it's removed and replaced fairly frequently the splint itself can cause problems with being too tight, chafing, etc.
 
THe splint was on the leg 5wks. Vet said to check to see if too tight and i could get 2 to 3 fingers inside so he said 3wks minimun 4wks good 5 wks great. This was a small calf and I felt the splint was a bit large to begin with.
 
The only problem I have ever had while splinting a calf's leg is having the splint rub against the calf, creating a sore spot. I used a piece of PVC pipe with old rags stuffed between the pipe and the calf's leg. I have always taken the splint completely off about every week after the first two weeks to see if there are any spots where the splint is rubbing, per the advice of my vet.

As to your calf's foot problem, it is close to where the break is? It sounds like the calf's leg has an infection, and will require antibiotic. It almost sounds like foot rot. I'd call your vet and tell him what it looks like. He may want to look at it, or he may just give you an antibiotic.

I have had to splint two calves' legs the last 4 years, and each one limped for a day or two after the splint was off. Kind of like a human that breaks their leg. I broke mine in high school, and my leg was very sore for a few days after the cast was off. Mainly just from not having all of my weight on it.
 
had a newborn with 2 broken front legs. had a time with him trying to keep the pvc splints on. used rags between leg and pvc as best i could, but still his legs got sores on them and pretty bad towards the end. one leg didnt seem as bad as the other and he pretty much got control of it after 2-3 weeks so i took that splint off. the other one was bad and it took 2-3 weeks more on it and it got pretty bad sore in that time. filled him with penicillin for a few days and kept it sprayed with topical antibiotic spray and he did just fine.

good luck

jt
 
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