Critter First Aid: Bandage Materials

Start building a Homestead Vet Cache

It’s the first week and first article of the new year, so I think it’s a perfect time to start talking about critter first aid.

Do you have a first aid kit for your animals?  Most folks with livestock have some sort of “vet box” at home, which houses needles, a few syringes, a left-over bottle of medication from the last vet visit, and maybe their tool of choice for seasonal calf/lamb/kid castrating.  And while these components will be necessary at some point, they do not a well-prepared first aid kit make.

A critter first aid kit is the most important subsection of what I call the “Homestead Vet Cache” (HVC), an on-the-farm, at-the-ready, well-stocked, animal care toolbox.  I’m excited to work this into a periodic series, where we can build your cache of skills and supplies necessary for optimal homestead husbandry.

Basic bandage materials

Preparedness is no longer optional

You know how challenging it is to get your animals in front of a veterinarian in a timely manner.  Demand for vets is way higher than the supply, and unfortunately, I don’t see the situation improving any time soon. 

Furthermore, veterinarians’ prices are being forced in an upward direction by an ever increasing cost to operate.  Sure there are a few bad apples in any industry, but let me assure you, the majority of us did not dig ourselves into 6 figure debt in order to get rich.  Most of us would do what we do for free if there was a way to do it.  Nevertheless, operational costs are skyrocketing, and that means higher prices for care.  It sucks, but it’s where we’re at.

These are some of the driving forces behind why I’m here, in this space, right now.  Animal owners, stewards, farmers, and the like must develop the husbandry prowess to be able to: #1-prevent disease from taking hold in the first place, and #2-know what to do when disease and injury strike.

Do you need to know how to perform a c-section?  No.  But you do need to be able to efficiently assess your animal for dystocia (birthing problems) in order to seek veterinary assistance in the earliest stages of the problem.

Do you need to know how to suture a massive laceration? No. But you do need to know how to maintain vascular (well supplied with blood), healthy tissue until your veterinarian is able to address it.  And y’all, anymore, this could potentially be days.

Post-op repair of day-old paw lacerations. There was compromise of the blood supply to the skin over the top of the paw and the digit at the top of the photo.

Regardless of whether it’s just you and your dog in the suburbs, or if your land’s teaming with livestock, you are the first responder, and you’ll be the aftercare provider as well.

So let’s get you locked & loaded, stocked up and ready for action. 

You got this.

Getting started is easy as a bucket, box, and bandage material

Start your HVC small, with the basic essentials, and build it up over time as your resources allow.  Our initial focus will be upon assembling the “critter first aid” components, with quality bandage material for addressing wounds & limb injuries as #1.

**Each heading below is linked to my favorite online, public-access source for that particular item.  And no, I’m not receiving any affiliate compensation or kick-backs for sales.  They’re simply there to make your life easier :). Of course, if you have a well-stocked feed store or supply house in your area, please patronize your local community businesses first.

Bucket or Box - take your pick

You’re going to need a vessel to keep your supplies clean, dry, and organized.  A cheap, aluminum toolbox or a 5 gallon bucket with a pocketed insert & lid will get you started off on the right foot.  I particularly love this Yeti bucket for outdoor use, as it’s virtually indestructible, hose-off-able, and makes for a great seat when your working with short animals.

I like tool boxes for "cleaner" work and buckets for my livestock supplies.

4x4 Gauze Squares

Keep a package or two of these on hand for everything from cleaning to applying directly to certain wounds.

4x4 inch gauze applied directly to a bite wound on a ewe, with a tie-over bandage technique. I taught this client how to change the dressing at home, and he managed this open wound until it was fully healed!

Non-adherent Bandage Pads

These are basically what little bandaid pads are made of.  These are essential for open wounds with healthy, clean, exposed tissue that needs gentle protecting.  They usually come in a huge package of 100 or more, so 1 box will take you a long way.

Non-adherent bandage pads

Cast Padding

Not just for padding under casts!  This cotton blend material comes in a roll and provides the foundational, pressure-distributing, protective layer of most bandages.  My favorite kind, made with micro-pleats to facilitate flexibility, is hard to find.  If I run across it, I’ll post a link in our Substack Chat.  The link above will take you to a non-flexible version that’s better than none at all.

Cast padding being applied before a splint. Our little Heeler x has a broken toe. This is Silas and I replacing her splint wrap after she soaked her previous one in the rain.

Brown Gauze

This material is a thin, multipurpose, self-adhering woven material that also comes in rolls.  An alternative is Conforming Stretch Gauze, but in my hands, Brown Gauze serves more purposes and provides a stability for some bandages that the stretchier version does not. Also, stretchy bandage material always increases the risk of applying the bandage too tight, which is never a good thing. Brown gauze is cheap and comes in big packages.

Brown gauze is applied after the cast padding.

Vet Wrap

This has a gazillion different names, but we all know it as the colorful, kinda’ sticky, protective outer layer of bandages, both animal and human alike.  It usually comes in 2 inch and 4 inch widths.  If you have to choose 1 size to keep on hand, make it the 2 inch.  You can always use more to cover a large area, but there’s nothing more frustrating than trying to make 4 inch bandage material fit a 1 inch space.  Keep a half dozen rolls on hand (at least) - you’ll always use more than you think.

Outer layer of vet wrap.

1 inch Porous Tape

This tape sticks to skin and hair, and is a cheap adhesive to keep on hand for emergency bandages.

White porous tape is used as a stirrup to help keep the bandage in place.

Elastic Adhesive Tape

This tape is more expensive & you won’t need a ton of it.  But when you need to hold a bandage in place, especially on a limb where it’s going to want to slip southward, a roll of this will be your friend.

Elastic adhesive tape around the top of the bandage to help prevent slippage.

Bandage Scissors

If you put a bandage on, you’re going to have to take it off (if your animal doesn’t do so for you ;).  Unwinding a bandage like a mummy is an exercise in frustration.  Get yourself a pair of good bandage scissors to cut the bandage and avoid cutting skin.

Using bandage scissors to remove the old wrap.

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And there you have it - the beginnings of your Homestead Vet Cache and a great jump on your critter first aid kit.  This months’ articles will be tailored around first aid, and focused on when & how to put these invaluable materials to use.

This is a broad topic and so rewarding to put into practice.  Please feel free to post any and all questions below!

I’ll post follow-ups, interesting cases, and little tidbits of must-have critter first aid info in our Substack Chat this week.  So download the app & come join us!