Hello, I'm trying to help a jenny donkey that was left behind when our neighbors left. They essentially abandoned her. They gave me a bag of feed and made sure she had water on an automatic waterer, which is working. I am in the process of finding her a loving forever home. (I got their permission, just in case anyone is curious) She has a sac that dangles between her front legs that is blood-filled. http://s77.photobucket.com/user/tejas_ruthie/library/Chloe_Sac_Hernia She's had it around 3 years; they drained it rather than calling a vet. It went untreated, and has now filled back up with blood again. I am openly telling the people I contact about this sac, and saying that I think it might be a hernia. Does anyone else have thoughts? Because I googled for a donkey forum like this chicken forum but could not find one (& everyone here is friendly & helpful so I thought I'd try my question here). I think a local animal rescue might e-mail a bunch of other rescues for me. They cannot take her in but agreed to contact other rescues for me. Thanks in advance.
Aww poor thing. I'm glad you are able to try and help her! Equines are good at developing lots of lumps and bumps all over the place. Unfortunately, it's really difficult to tell anything without physically touching the lump, but it is something that I would recommend having a vet come in and look at. It may be something that needs a bit of medical intervention to prevent from re-occurring or getting worse, but they would be able to tell for sure. It could even be as simple as just draining it again, but since it keeps filling up, there may be something else going on. I know our large animal vet is pretty reasonable for a farm visit. It may be worth it to just call around to see what they would charge to take a look. I know finding a home for an animal with a medical problem can be really difficult, so finding out what is causing the lump may help in getting her a good home.
you can also try Backyardherds.com It's a sister site to BYC, with a lot of knowledgeable people there.
Hernias usually contain a twist of intestine, so Im pretty sure thats not what you have. It could be an abscess, a hematoma (blood clot), or something else entirely. Without looking and touching it, I couldn't tell you for certain.
