Broken legs

Two lambs had broken legs this year. A first. The first lamb was a twin ewe lamb that I delivered. She was born with a broken leg. She was breech. It is possible that I broke her leg when I delivered her. The other was a triplet ram lamb. After he was a few days old, I noticed that his leg was broken. The break was further down, in the pastern area.  I suspect his mother injured him in the lambing jug. She's a big ewe and had three lambs sharing her space.

Rosie, 4 days old

I set both legs using vet wrap and paint rollers. I got the idea on YouTube. First, I wrapped the legs in vet wrap. I cut the paint rollers in half and then length wise. I put them on the broken legs and re-wrapped the legs in vet wrap. Gradually, both lambs started using their injured legs. I left the splints (rollers) on for six weeks.  It seemed to work better on the ewe lamb, but it must have worked on the ram lamb, too, because I have a hard time figuring out which other lamb had a broken leg.

Rosie, 18 days old

The ewe lamb's mother is Miss Piggy. I call her Rosie. She's a clone of her mother, in looks and personality. I plan to keep her.  The brother is a "chunk." I'm sure someone will select him for breeding, if I don't.  Miss Piggy is now 10. She's not going anywhere.