Found a bull calf on friday night with hurt back leg... too late (dark) to get a good eval.
Sat morning, headed to farm early to see. Found the calf, he looks healthy, but best guess is he got stepped on. We are feeding hay so I would say this is probably how it happened.
Right above the left rear hoof, about a 3 inch diameter of skin peeled away and gone. No blood or anything, just raw tissue exposed. And a lot of swelling. He can get around, limping, he will only put a very minimal amount of pressure on this leg. His leg swelling is warm to the touch, but not HOT.
Got him caught, gave him pen, banamine, and sprayed blue coat. My biggest mistake was not doing a better eval to see if I could tell if it was broken, as hubby had him in a full nelson and was not in a patient mood after calf had given him a fat bloody lip on the take down
Been checking him everyday, and this morning, he is more active, actually staying with the herd, but still no pressure on leg, and swelling is still there.
Do I follow Dun's words of "benign neglect" and continue to keep an eye on him? Or, do I try to see if leg is broken? Or, what if anything else I should do?
Thanks for any input!
Michele
Sat morning, headed to farm early to see. Found the calf, he looks healthy, but best guess is he got stepped on. We are feeding hay so I would say this is probably how it happened.
Right above the left rear hoof, about a 3 inch diameter of skin peeled away and gone. No blood or anything, just raw tissue exposed. And a lot of swelling. He can get around, limping, he will only put a very minimal amount of pressure on this leg. His leg swelling is warm to the touch, but not HOT.
Got him caught, gave him pen, banamine, and sprayed blue coat. My biggest mistake was not doing a better eval to see if I could tell if it was broken, as hubby had him in a full nelson and was not in a patient mood after calf had given him a fat bloody lip on the take down
Been checking him everyday, and this morning, he is more active, actually staying with the herd, but still no pressure on leg, and swelling is still there.
Do I follow Dun's words of "benign neglect" and continue to keep an eye on him? Or, do I try to see if leg is broken? Or, what if anything else I should do?
Thanks for any input!
Michele