Goat with broken jaw? HELP!!

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Are you sure it is broken - can you move the "broken" side - or could it possibly be swelling from swelling from trauma? (you state the jaw is "hanging" on one side - and I understand the structure of goat jaws)

With a dog bite, you are more involved than just a “plain” break.

How important is this goat to you?


guess on cost: 300 on up in this area (cause it does depend upon area/vet)

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Much more than euthanasia.


I'm sure in olden times, when vets weren't called for everything, broken jaws did heal.

 

[mikenandrea]

ok.. sorry everyone.. I just went and checked on her again.. She IS standing up and more alert now.. I was able to place my fingers in her mouth and was able to feel the jawline.. The jaw IS NOT broken.. but under her tongue is where the dog actually bit her somehow.. Its like it has been cut and just shifted the side of her mouth some.. Does that make sense? I am going to see how it goes through the night and just check on her from time to time..

 

[Iowa Roo Mom]

The piece of tissue that attaches the tongue to the floor of the mouth is called the lingual frenulum. If it's torn, dependant upon the severity of the tear, it may heal on it's own or it may need to be sewn in the vet's office. The major concern right now would be infeection, since there really is no real way to clean a goat's mouth well at home. Give the goat plenty of fresh water, and dependand on how tame he/she is, you may want to try to syringe a bit of water into it's mouth, just to help rinse it out. You might also want to consider a round of penicillin if it starts to look like it is getting infected.

 

[montyhp]

I would definitely take this one to goat ER. It is a yahoo group that will give you immediate help on goat emergencies:


http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/GoatER/

Good luck

Montyhp

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Fortunately the mouth heals rather quickly. I'd give her the penicillin as precaution if she were mine and give her a few days to see how she does. Meanwhile some dog owners would be getting an earfull or a stray if that be the case would be put down. Just my opinion.

 

[mikenandrea]

Thanks everyone..
Yeah, its a stray.. The owner of the dog was put in jail last week.. We have a slew of strays all the time.. Hubby is going to get a gun permit and a gun!!
She is a VERY tame goat. She is my favorite out of the 5.

I have a stock of penicillin in the fridge.. Will give her some of that first thing in the morning.. Will also take her to my dog vet to see if he can do anything with her.. fingers crossed..
BTW.. she was trying to at least eat a bit of her sweet feed when I took some out to her earlier.. Poor thing..

 

[chickenzoo]

If you have anything soft, even pelleted horse feed you can make into a mash for her might help. i know they say not to give them horse food, but I'm sure once wouldn't hurt as mine eat sweet feed all the time....

 

[willkatdawson]

I've found that the large animal vet (I gave you the name and number in a post) is MUCH less expensive than the small animal vet. I bet you could get a house call and someone who actually knows about goat anatomy at 1/4 to 1/2 the price of the small animal vet. Good luck with her.

 

[SillyChicken]

Have you called animal control? Sorry about your goat, glad it's not as bad as you thought. But the poor dog is probably hungry now that he's been abandoned. See if you can't get him picked up so he can find a new home.