Replies

I had a spider leg lamb. I was told to just hit it over the head. We left him with his mom in a pen. even though he had an extra joint in each leg, he would kneel to walk. His mom always found him and cared for him well out in pasture. Strangest looking thing.

I lost most of my sheep on cool spring nights. They would sleep too sound after the evening grazing period and would roll to their sides. Then the gas would build and They would struggle onto their back and couldn't right themselves. If you don't get tipped over sheep back up in four hours the pressure cuts off the main artery and they die. Even if you save them they are slightly paralyzed in the back end for about a week. I would lose about ten a year that way. We used to do a pasture walk around midnight to catch most of them.

Once the nights stay warm and the ground heats up the problem stops.

same with cattle. Friends raised black angus and hubby stopped at the apple orchard for the skins left from making cider...the cattle loved it.. He dumped too much into the pasture and later when they looked out the window they had 3 cattle down...went out screaming and yelling to get them back on their feet. Were successful with 2 the 3rd one wouldn't get up and died of bloat 2 days later. If you call a vet, they can use a awl and puncture the proper chamber of the stomach, leave in and allow the gas to get out, sometimes that saves the animal...first kidding season when I was dumb, lost 2 kids to bloat didn't know what to do...managed to save one that bonded to me and he could be let out of the pasture and walk around the farm with me...bloat will kill a animal with several chambered stomach....its sad. If you can get the animal up and keep it up for a while, they walk off the bloat. But your problem is the first time I ever heard of your problem with spider legs ...the more you talk with farmer with animals the more you sure can learn...

We use to do a evening walk along the pasture fence, with goats they stick their head through the old fence to eat the other side of the fence and couldn't get their horns back through. We'd have to help them get their horns out. They could push their horns through, but the horns wouldn't get out of the fencing, they would get caught in the top of the fence hole....