Sciatic nerve and dead legs

[Keren]

Gave two, 1 week old lambs an IM shot in the rear leg ... for joint ill ... these lambs are so emaciated it was impossible to give in the neck, no meat there. On the fifth shot, both of them were knuckled under in the back leg, similar to contracted tendons. Someone mentioned to me that I hit the sciatic nerve.

Just wondering what the prognosis for these lambs is now? Is this something that will heal over time?

I've given hundreds of shots like this in the back leg to plenty of lambs and adults, I've never done this before, and with my luck I manage to do two within 10 mins!

 

[dun]

If you just hit the nerve with the needle they usaully recover in a ocuple of weeks. When they didn;t I layed it to having hit the nerve square enough to really damage it. Used to have that probelm occasionally with goats.

 

[Keren]

thanks ... the irony is they couldnt walk before because of the joint ill, I cleared up the joint ill, now they cant walk cos of the antibiotic :roll:

 

[dun]

You are just talking about the one leg that the shot was given in, Right?

 

[Keren]

yep, the leg that I gave the shot in

 

[grannysoo]

It will get better. The sciatic nerve is a very important one in animals and humans and is very "touchy" to say the least. A couple of weeks or so.......

 

[Keren]

thanks heaps. Someone told me that it would never heal, that the whole leg would atrophy and become useless, and that the animal might become completely paralysed. Somehow, that seemed a bit doom and gloom to be true.

which is why I came here to see your thoughts ... thanks for the encouragement :mrgreen: