The Sunday News
Mhlupheki Dube
WE have previously discussed this problem of fractures in animals but I am thinking it is perfectly in good order to discuss it more.
Firstly, it is important to note that a fractured animal brings both economic and emotional pain. It is a very painful moment for a farmer to see his animal in pain and at times the fracture is such that it will require delicate expensive veterinary procedures that are not within the vicinity of your farm.
While the knee-jerk advice to a farmer who has a fractured animal, is to slaughter the animal or sell it to butcheries, the reality is more complicated than that. A decision on how to deal with a fractured animal may be influenced by a number of factors. An example is when your cow which is in-calf and is four months into the pregnancy term gets fractured.
Putting it down may not be an easy decision to make because the cow is pregnant, it is one of your best cows that gives you a calf regularly, it is of top genetics and you still want to infuse more of its genetic makeup into your herd.
Therefore, despite the complexity of the nature of the fracture, you may find yourself going to every length to save the animal.
But why do our animals get fractured? Causes of fractures in animals vary as a result of both age and the operational environment.
Calves get fractured mostly at birth, during assisted births, if this is not done properly. It is important also to note that as a general rule of the thumb, fractures are much easier to rectify in animals less than a year old.
The older the animal gets, the more difficult it is to get treated and recover from a fracture. Calves may also get fractured in stampede, crowded areas such as dip tank areas where there are many animals forcing entry into a narrow race.
Fractures in both old and young animals can occur in rugged train areas with a lot of pits, gullies and steep slopes and animals have to negotiate these precarious areas searching for scarce grazing.
This is further compounded by the presence of predators that may force your animals to run trying to escape, in such dangerous terrain. Many farmers are recording fractures now on their farms because of open pits left by illegal gold miners.
As a general rule fractures on the lower end of the limbs are easier to remedy than those up the limbs. The first thing to do when your animal is fractured, is to identify the extent of the fracture and immobilise that particular section so that there is not continued movement of fractured or broken bones.
Immobilising the fractured area helps to prevent injury and damage to the muscle and tissue around the fracture.
Most fractures at farm level are treated using splints that are used to affix the fractured or broken bones in place until recovery is achieved. Farmers use tree branches as splints which are tied tightly around the fractured area and allow for bone healing.
However, farmers tend to use splints that are not straight and they also place it at a wrong angle to the fracture. They also fail to firmly tighten the splints on the fracture, allowing for movement of the fractured bones. This makes healing difficult and if it heals the fractured area will be twisted. You need to find straight splints, some farmers have used PVC pipes cut longitudinally for this purpose.
I am also certain that straight planks can do the job. Secondly, you need to place the splints at a 90-degree angle to the fracture and tie the splints firmly. You will also need to give your animal a penicillin jab to prevent infection of the injured area.
All this should be done with the assistance of a veterinary officer or at minimum a farmer who has extensive experience in dealing with fractures.
The bottom line, however, is that it is far much cheaper and easier to prevent fractures than try to treat them hence let’s avoid predisposing our animals to fractures by forcing them through crowded stampede zones. Let’s also avoid if we can, grazing them in areas of precarious topography.
Uyabonga umntakaMaKhumalo.
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