The other morning I was checking on my cows and calves when I noticed one of my calves was limping. I took a closer look and found that I was very swollen in my rear right leg. I don’t know if the calf was playing and broke it or if a cow stepped on its leg or what exactly happened, but I knew I would have to try to do something to help this calf. He was only six days old. I led the cow and calf to the pen and decided to call my vet. He told me to bring it in and that I would splint it, or I could do it myself.

There are times when you would not hesitate for the vet to come out and help care for injured or sick animals. But the cost is usually much more than what the animal will bring if it is brought to market. So, after careful deliberation, I decided to splint the leg of this calf myself.

First, check for any punctures where the bone could have penetrated through the skin. If there is no puncture in the skin, it is probably a small fracture and it will heal well. I was lucky and did not find any cuts or penetrations through the skin. Gently wrap the leg in a wrap, cloth, or foam. Make sure to tighten the bandage just enough so it doesn’t fall off, but not too tight to cut off circulation.

Second, take a 1½ “to 2” PVC pipe and divide it vertically into two parts. This will act as the splint to hold the bone in place. Make sure the splint is slightly longer than the leg of the calf so that the calf has to walk on the splint instead of your leg. Place the splint on the inside and outside of the leg to support the broken bone and use gray tape to wrap and secure the splint in place. The gray duct tape will last for about three weeks, giving the leg of the calves time to heal.

I discovered that the calf began to walk on its three legs and held the injured leg off the ground. Also, it is important that the cow and calf are somewhat restricted in the area of ​​movement. I kept the cow and calf in my pen with a shelter post. Make sure the area where you keep your injured animal is as clean as possible. There is a lot of grass there for the mother cow and she cannot wander very far from her baby. I also supplemented the cow with grain and hay and made sure she had enough fresh water to drink.

It’s amazing how quickly a young animal can heal, so don’t despair if you see one of your calves seriously injured. Just be prepared to help the healing along the way. There is often a way to help the calf recover.

Glad to tell you that this young heifer now runs with the rest of my calves and you can’t even tell if she ever had a broken leg.