Dr. Eric Laporte, Bonnyville Veterinary Clinic (Bonnyville, Alberta), says he doesn’t see as many dystocia-related fractures now as he has in the past, due to better awareness of stockmen regarding proper methods of pulling calves.
“The sooner a fracture can be assessed, the better. I take an X-ray if possible to see if it affects the growth plates and assess damage to the bone – whether there are a lot of small fragments or if it’s a clean break,” he says. Some fractures are more easily repaired than others, depending on their location.
“Often, when a really young calf suffers a broken leg, it’s broken at the growth plate at the end of the long bone,” according to Dr. David Anderson, large animal clinical sciences, University of Tennessee.
“When it’s broken at the growth plate, it tends to break straight across. If you can get the leg realigned and set the fracture, these often respond very well in a cast or splint (to prevent bending), and the calf can walk on it,” says Anderson.
When the fracture occurs higher up the leg, it’s more difficult to stabilize the weight-bearing force. “If it’s above the growth plate, we’d rather use a cast than a splint. The cast can share weight with the leg much better,” he explains.
For fractures above the knee or hock, Anderson often uses pin casting, putting pins in the bones before applying the cast, to help prevent weight-bearing on the fractured area. This can easily be done in the field. “Pins are inexpensive and can give a high limb fracture a better opportunity to heal,” says Anderson.
There are splints designed for high limb injuries, and these can often immobilize the leg enough for it to heal. A plastic dog splint, for instance, wrapped with stretchy tape to hold it in place may be adequate to support a high break on a hind limb (holding it immobile) in a young calf.
“The nice thing about newborns is that as long as the blood supply is intact, and we don’t get infection in the injured area, fractures usually heal very well if we can control the weight-bearing force,” says Anderson.
Young calves’ bones heal more quickly than those of an older animal, especially if you can support the fracture properly. They heal even if the break is not perfectly in place but heal better and more quickly if the fracture is set correctly. The sooner the calf can be treated, the better.
“The longer you leave it, the higher the risk for more damage,” says Laporte. If the skin hasn’t been broken open yet, there’s also less chance for infection – and a better prognosis.
Improving odds
It’s much easier today to splint or cast a broken leg than it was 30 years ago. “We can use fiberglass and other materials that are light and hold up under pressure. I’ve been able to resolve growth plate fractures even in heavier animals, such as an 800-pound 4-H heifer a family didn’t want to send to slaughter,” he says.
A young calf heals quickly because bones are actively growing and there’s not much weight on them, but even a mature animal’s ability to heal is remarkable when given a chance.
“The younger the animal, and the lower the fracture is on the leg, the better the prognosis,” says Laporte. Even if the producer is a long distance from a veterinarian, a carefully applied splint can help immobilize the leg and take weight-bearing off the fracture until the calf can be taken to the veterinarian, preventing further damage until the leg can be set.
“Early intervention is important. Getting a clean towel around it (to keep it clean and protect it) and using something to hold it in place and wrap it can be helpful,” he says. A splint can be created from PVC pipe cut lengthwise, putting the two pieces around the towel-wrapped leg and securing everything with strong tape.
Even just half the pipe will work. Rolled cotton or a towel can be put between the pipe and the limb to pad it. If it’s a hind leg, you can use a propane torch and heat the PVC pipe to bend it, for a curve at the hock, at the same angle as the leg. Heat the half-pipe at the proper spot and push the end of the pipe on the ground until you get the correct angle, hold it a couple minutes at that angle until it cools, and it stays that way.
“Some cases can be dealt with as first aid on the ranch,” says Laporte. “If there is skin damage, the hair can be clipped away and the wound cleaned with disinfectant soap. The calf can be given antibiotics and the leg splinted. Even if you can’t get the calf to the veterinarian right away, advice can be given over the phone,” says Laporte.
After you discover the animal, get it somewhere clean and dry (out of the mud), and confined in a small area so it won’t have to walk to feed and water or follow mom very far.
Most fractures in young calves are not open wounds or compound fractures, so there’s no infection present. “But if we don’t do a good job of protecting that limb, and it becomes open, the chances for that calf to survive plummet quickly,” Anderson says.
“Keep the calf from putting weight on the leg. Sometimes we put the leg in a sling – like a human sling that holds your arm up against your chest to reduce movement. We bandage the leg up against the body. Except for fractures that occur during birth (joints and bones damaged by pulling), if a calf has already been up and around before the injury occurred, it can walk around fairly well on three legs for short periods of time,” says Anderson.
“These calves will usually be able to get up and down – and stand long enough to nurse their mothers. If it might be several hours before your veterinarian can come look at that calf, a sling might keep the calf from damaging the limb further.”
Other issues
Even unusual cases can often be resolved. Last year, Laporte had two student interns help with a calf that came in with a fractured lower jaw. “We cast and also tried to plate the jaw. Within 24 hours, the calf was back on the cow, sucking, and it grew up just fine. It was good experience for the students and definitely helped the calf.”
Simpler methods have also worked. One rancher taped a lower jaw back together with adhesive tape around the calf’s muzzle – after the cow stepped on the newborn calf. The rancher fed the calf through a nasogastric tube for three weeks (since the jaw was taped shut), and it healed fine.
“You don’t always have to perform emergency slaughter – though a big bull might be more hopeless than a smaller animal. I was preg checking on a farm where the producer pointed out a cow that suffered a fractured hind leg the previous summer – that healed on its own.
We might have been able to help it heal better since we have tip-tables for large animals. She fractured a hind leg mid-cannon, and it healed, but it’s now crooked and quite visible. If we’d had a chance to get a cast on it, this might have healed properly,” says Laporte. 
PHOTO 1: Newborn calf with a broken hind leg, stepped on by the cow. Photo provided by Dr. Eric Laporte.
PHOTO 2: The finished splint, wrapped with vet wrap. Photo by Heather Thomas.
Heather Smith Thomas is a freelance writer based in Salmon, Idaho. Email Heather Smith Thomas.
