# frostbite



## michelle (Oct 15, 2008)

Hi everyone! I have 2 kids, who, despite our best efforts, have suffered frost bite on their ears and, of most concern, their hooves. Their ears are fine...the affected area has actually fallen off. There is no infection. 
I am concerned with the hooves. They run and play just fine, but when they stand still(not very often..ha ha) they hold the affected leg up slightly. Again, there is no infection, and it doesn't seem to be painful for them. I'm worried about longevity. Has anyone else ever had this very unfortunate situation? Will this leg/hoof suffer even more as they grow? Will it be able to support their adult weight? 
We feel so bad about this. We're new...and all the books we read said that kids can endure very cold weather as long as they are dry and out of a draft. We had a heater and a heat light on them, they were with mom, and they were dry and draft free...so now we know... kids come inside, period.


----------



## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

How much of the hoof? Maybe a picture would help? Sorry they got frostbit.


----------



## Haglerfarm (Aug 11, 2008)

Are their feet warm to the touch. Is there swelling.
Is so then I would be concerned. If not, they will probably be OK.
I will tell you that they can lose a foot to frostbite, if it is severe. But, I think you would be able to tell it at this point. 
Many, many years ago I had this happen. Back in the early 70s we had severe winters. I always tried to make sure the babies were dried off well and in a dry, draft free place. But, one year I had a little buckling got frostbite on one of his back legs. It was just terrible. He was brought into the house, but it swelled terribly, meat sloughed off and finally it actually just snapped off. He actually did very well, even 3 legged. Just a heads up at what can happen.
Les


----------



## michelle (Oct 15, 2008)

It's not swollen or warm to the touch. At first the area was very pink, and now it has turned purple...the whole hoof is purple...


----------



## Thermopkt (Oct 25, 2007)

So, have I been lucky, or is this just for the first few days of life? Ours were a week old on Friday and I have been leaving them out in the barn the whole time. It didn't get cold until they were 2 days old, though. Since then we've been down around 3-5 degrees at night.


----------



## Ashley (Oct 25, 2007)

Michelle, my expectation would be that they would be ok, so long as it's not to the bone. I'm not sure though.


----------

