[Jessica84]

Well sadly there are beef cows like that too! We bought a bull and they had him in a feed lot after weaning. I kid you not not even a week and he was crippled. The good thing was he came with a year guarantee so we got our money back. And actually sadly my jersey is doing better then he did lol (but I did get her at 4 months old )

 

[MylieD]

Do you have to put cows down that go lame?

 

[Jessica84]

We do yes.....well the bull they came and got him, that was the deal and I'm sure they put him down. The cow we had that broke her leg last year we put her down and butchered her out. There's no vets around here that want to deal with cows even if we wanted to go that way of trying to fix her. Yesterday was the first time I dealt with a goat with a broken leg and it took both me my mom and my son to splint her leg so I'm thinking there is no way we could ever try to do that with a full grown cow

 

[Cedar Point Kikos]

I've splinted a sheep's leg. Healed nicely, couldn't ever tell that the leg was broken. It was a clean break though.
Jessica, what kind of break did Bubbles have?

 

[Jessica84]

Oh you are giving me hope here, I have been seriously sick to my stomach over it and worried. Im not sure what kind of break it is lol it's between the knee and ankle and I can move it back and forth, made me sick to my stomach moving it to make sure it was straight

 

[Cedar Point Kikos]

That is pretty much exactly how/where the sheep broke her leg and the sound is the same as well.

What I did was splint it with short sticks and flannel (to keep it from rubbing plus it's nice and soft) and a tensor band around all that.
And every day, twice a day for about two weeks (I know people will say not to do this) I took that all off and put a herbal salve on the flannel that touches the leg (NOT the leg, this way I'm not moving the bone)
At two weeks the bone no longer moved. At 2-3 weeks she was hobbling around on it. At 4 weeks she was walking pretty much normal.

I left the splint on until 5 or so weeks. (The sticks were long then her legs so that if she tried walking, she never actually put weight on the broken bone)
After that I took the sticks and flannel off and just left the tensor band on for a couple more weeks.

And she was good as new!

In the salve I had comfrey, calendula, echinacea infused olive oil and several essential oils that help with inflammation and broken bones http://www.thegoatspot.net//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[Jessica84]

Hmm the longer stick idea is a good idea! Maybe I'll see if I can pick up some more get wrap and redo it that way.......yeah I think I'm gonna run to the feed store when I get the kids, I'm really liking that idea

 

[Cedar Point Kikos]

Bumping

 

[Kikinmackfarm]

What do ya,ll think about comfrey as an addative to boost the goat diet because it doesn't take much to really cut down on feed cost

 

[Cedar Point Kikos]

I think it's a good idea, it was used in that past that way Comfrey contains lots of minerals, I give it in the winter (dried) in their water

 

[happybleats]

we are planting many different herbs this year...cant wait to start using them

 

[happybleats]

I don't know enough to teach yet, give me some more time

any new lessons on this Jill? :grin:

 

[TeyluFarm]

This is awesome information!

 

[goathiker]

Well, I've been thinking about all those vegetable tops.The greens off the carrots, beets, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, celery leaves, etc. All this stuff normally goes to waste if it can't be used quickly.
So,what if it was all chopped and dried like herbs? Then a guy could mix the dried bits with their kelp, use it make slurry, mix it in a warm mash for winter, etc...

Oh, and I found the perfect thing to store leaves and stuff in. The trailer sized slow feed hay nets with the 1.5 inch holes. They can be hung up and the air can all through the bag.

 

[happybleats]

Good thinking...we do feed a lot of these leafy tops to them...didn't think about drying them...hummmmm

 

[GF3 Boer Goats]

Would you keep out a mineral tub for them or will they get all their minerals from the root, herb diet thing.

 

[toth boer goats]

This is an older Thread.

But loose salt and minerals should be free choice.

 

[Felinaherdqueen]

Old thread, but it's a goody, I'm diggin' all this history and information. Y'all are a wealth of information! ️

 

[Nommie Bringeruvda Noms]

Ok, I know this is a really old thread, but after the storms we just had, we have a lot of recovery to do. We even lost one of our bucks to hypothermia (an educated guess), and now I'm getting ready to start my gardens,and already have some seedlings started. And, info in this thread might help a lot of us, who already have our seeds.
One of the crops I have is loofa/luffa - yup, the sponges - and they're edible, suppose to be very zucchini-esque, and grow on huge vines, much like many other squash and gourds. I way over planted, am horribly reluctant to cull the extra, and reading this thread, I'm now wondering if the vines and leaves would be ok for my Nigoras? The little piggies seem to fight for anything they think might be even remotely edible, and I give them the trimmings of pruned bushes and trees, as well as some kitchen scraps (no onions, fats, or meats), and they fight over them, even when I spread them out. Their favorite tree trimmings so far, are the mimosas. But, what about the greens from gourds & squash?

 

[MadHouse]

My goats gphave never shown interest in squash leaves, I try every fall...