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Lamb Walking On Knuckles/ Contracted Tendons


Some lambs are born walking on their knuckles.  This may be caused by contracted tendons.  Overcrowding in the womb may be the culprit.

A treatment that works well for this problem is splinting the lambs legs for a few days.

Keep the lamb in the pen with the mother to ensure the lamb does not miss out on feeding due to the disability.



This lamb in the photo was born in the breech position. His sibling was born with normal feet but this lamb was walking on his knuckles. He seemed uncomfortable and had to be aided in the suckling of his mother and bottle feed for the first few days of life. Once he got his splints on he was much more active and acting like a normal lamb. One leg healed before the other. It took 3 days for the problem to show vast signs of improvement.
I would take of the splints off each day, message the feet and check the progress.




When making the splints ensure that you use enough padding and that the tape is not too tight.
I felt better taking of the splints each day and reapplying them to make sure he was not developing any sores or that the splint was not too tight.

I bought my self adhesive bandages in the pharmacy and used ice cream sticks, cotton wool and some padding from the pharmacy.



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