Contracture

Had a heifer calf born last night at our friends place. It was an hour before they found her. Mom was licking it but it couldn't get up so hadn't nursed at all. Luckily momma cow is fairly gentle and they were able to work with the calf trying to get it to stand but no luck. It was pretty listless so gave electrolyte paste, corn syrup, Maxi-B 1000. Tried to bottle feed the calf with some colostrum from a dairy cow but the calf's suction is weak and she only got a little. Mom is letting them get close enough to let the baby latch but she's too weak so bottle feeding every 90 minutes. She's only had about 2 pints in 20 hours. I want them to tube feed. They're very versed in breeding goats but not cattle so they're hesitant.
I could see one hind leg looked out of joint at the hock but couldn't see the front feet in the video. When they were able to get her stand she would fall forward with the first step. Called the vet. The vet wasn't able to go there but she did look at a video of the calf and diagnosed contracture of the front legs. Never had to deal with that before. I did some research to learn that it can be genetic, nutritional or just a freak occurrence. We all decided the most likely cause was the fact that the mom is a first time heifer, she was 5 days overdue and it's possible she has a small uterus that didn't allow the calf to grow properly. Maybe a little too much protein too. She was AI'd to a high calving ease, low birthweight bull. From the pictures and videos I saw she seemed about 60lbs but I don't think that small enough for the mom.
I found one treatment option to be stretching the leg and foot tendons several times a day. Can add splints as well. If the condition doesn't improve within a week surgery will be a last ditch effort. Friend has dealt with the rubbery hind leg in goats and had success.

Has anyone had success with this contracture condition? Do heifers go on to be productive cows?

Being a heifers 1st calf you should consider BVDV as in a PI or if outside that window then as a weakened calf, especially if unknown origin.
Where's the video?

Ken

I've had calves with contracted tendons, and they usually work themselves out with no intervention, but pool noodles are a great resource as a temporary splint.

60 lbs is a pretty small calf so I'd consider the health of the heifer. Was she fully vaccinated, had access to mineral & good, quality feed? What was her body condition?

If the calf is readily accepting a bottle, I would discourage tubing. Maybe switch to a goat nipple. If I have a weak calf, it usually benefits from Nursemate ASAP, Vitamin B complex and time. Physical therapy is underrated because everyone wants immediate results. Help the calf up and stand, numerous times throughout the day. And you may want to try the Madigan squeeze. There are numerous photos & videos you can follow (just google it), and it can work wonders for weak calves.

I keep a set of homemade splints around and use them once every 3-5 years maybe.
Take a piece of 2½" or 3" pvc pipe the length of the calf's front leg ( from just below the knee to the ground) and cut it length wise 40/60. Wrap the calf's legs once with vet wrap, then the 40% piece of pvc, vet wrap, and duct tape. Leave the splints on 4-5 days. Redo if necessary.
There easy to clean and pretty cheap to make.
Good luck.

We never had a calf with contracted tendons to try it on, but a friend gave the Hyland's Homeopathic Cell Salt, Calc. Phos. 6X to a mother deer that had a fawn with contracted tendons in the front legs. It had been trying to follow her and its normal twin around for three weeks after it was born, and was getting worse. It could stand well enough to suckle. We didn't want to touch the fawn so my friend gave the mother deer three of the cell salt tablets in grain. Only one tablet three times a day is needed, but he wanted to make certain that she got at least one of the tablets each time. In less than three days the fawn's legs were normal so it could run with its sibling. With a calf, the cell salt tablet can be put directly into its mouth, under the tongue or dissolved in its milk, if it is drinking from a bottle, or given to the mother if it is suckling from her.

wbvs58 said:

Being a heifers 1st calf you should consider BVDV as in a PI or if outside that window then as a weakened calf, especially if unknown origin.
Where's the video?

Ken

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Didn't even think about sharing the video. Duh. It sure would have helpful. Definitely will next time.

TCRanch said:

I've had calves with contracted tendons, and they usually work themselves out with no intervention, but pool noodles are a great resource as a temporary splint.

60 lbs is a pretty small calf so I'd consider the health of the heifer. Was she fully vaccinated, had access to mineral & good, quality feed? What was her body condition?

If the calf is readily accepting a bottle, I would discourage tubing. Maybe switch to a goat nipple. If I have a weak calf, it usually benefits from Nursemate ASAP, Vitamin B complex and time. Physical therapy is underrated because everyone wants immediate results. Help the calf up and stand, numerous times throughout the day. And you may want to try the Madigan squeeze. There are numerous photos & videos you can follow (just google it), and it can work wonders for weak calves.

Click to expand...

Heifer is fully vaccinated, in good condition with good quality hay and nutrients. We breed to low birthweight good CE bulls for heifers. Better to have live, healthy mommas and calves rather than risk any problems. It's worked so far. The calves from the other heifers were about 65-70lbs and everyone healthy. Started with goat nipple than enlarged it since the calf wasn't sucking very well. Wanted to get as much colostrum in it with each suck.
Hadn't heard of the Madigan Squeeze. Watched a video. I'll definitely put that in my calving toolbox. Thank you.

J Hoy said:

We never had a calf with contracted tendons to try it on, but a friend gave the Hyland's Homeopathic Cell Salt, Calc. Phos. 6X to a mother deer that had a fawn with contracted tendons in the front legs. It had been trying to follow her and its normal twin around for three weeks after it was born, and was getting worse. It could stand well enough to suckle. We didn't want to touch the fawn so my friend gave the mother deer three of the cell salt tablets in grain. Only one tablet three times a day is needed, but he wanted to make certain that she got at least one of the tablets each time. In less than three days the fawn's legs were normal so it could run with its sibling. With a calf, the cell salt tablet can be put directly into its mouth, under the tongue or dissolved in its milk, if it is drinking from a bottle, or given to the mother if it is suckling from her.

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Interesting product. Sounds like we should all be taking that! Thank you for the info.

SBMF 2015 said:

I keep a set of homemade splints around and use them once every 3-5 years maybe.
Take a piece of 2½" or 3" pvc pipe the length of the calf's front leg ( from just below the knee to the ground) and cut it length wise 40/60. Wrap the calf's legs once with vet wrap, then the 40% piece of pvc, vet wrap, and duct tape. Leave the splints on 4-5 days. Redo if necessary.
There easy to clean and pretty cheap to make.
Good luck.

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Thought about splints but wanted to wait to see if she got stronger to even stand. Thanks for the detailed procedure..

Update- The calf didn't improve at all and stopped sucking. The vet came out yesterday and found the calf had aspirated fluid and got pneumonia. Gave electrolytes, dex, sodium bicarb, a shot of antibiotics and tube fed but wasn't hopeful. Nothing helped and our friends decided to put her down this morning.
I really appreciate all your help.

Next issue is whether that young cow should be rebred. She's the 6th calf (but first heifer) out of her dam who hasn't had any trouble carrying or calving. If the contracture was from her small heifer uterus did it stretch enough to accommodate another calf? Should we get a pelvic measurement? Or breed to a very high CE, very low BW bull and take a chance? (Easiest but not my first choice since we're trying to build a beef producing herd and don't want real small calves or to lose the cow.) Or was this just a freak thing? - She has a 1 yr old sister (different sire) and now I'm worried about her calving ability. Ugh

TJSideBiz said:

Next issue is whether that young cow should be rebred. She's the 6th calf (but first heifer) out of her dam who hasn't had any trouble carrying or calving. If the contracture was from her small heifer uterus did it stretch enough to accommodate another calf? Should we get a pelvic measurement? Or breed to a very high CE, very low BW bull and take a chance? (Easiest but not my first choice since we're trying to build a beef producing herd and don't want real small calves or to lose the cow.

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She should have been pelvic measured as a yearling before she was ever bred.
A cows repo track stretches or shrinks depending upon what stage of gestation ( including open) she is in.
Low birth weight, high CED bulls are great for getting a live calf out of heifers, but these are hardly ever calves that I would consider keeping in the cow herd.

As for this hfr. With prices as high as they are, no body gets second chances. Pound her out.

SBMF 2015 said:

She should have been pelvic measured as a yearling before she was ever bred.
A cows repo track stretches or shrinks depending upon what stage of gestation ( including open) she is in.
Low birth weight, high CED bulls are great for getting a live calf out of heifers, but these are hardly ever calves that I would consider keeping in the cow herd.

As for this hfr. With prices as high as they are, no body gets second chances. Pound her out.

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We have only 10 cows. I know all you bigger producers pelvic measure but we've never had a problem and considering her pedigree didn't consider it. We may have to rethink this. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a dead calf or cow.

TJSideBiz said:

We have only 10 cows. I know all you bigger producers pelvic measure but we've never had a problem and considering her pedigree didn't consider it. We may have to rethink this. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a dead calf or cow.

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I've posted many times on pelvic measuring. Big heifers with big butts don't necessarily mean big pelvic measurements. Nor does lineage. The sire of the heifer has a lot to do with it. Super calving ease bulls generally produce smaller calves that are up and running but I rarely keep a heifer from one of my high CE bulls, regardless of how well they pelvic measure (and my minimum goal is 150). Having them measured is very inexpensive (in my neck of the woods) and takes a matter of minutes.

TJSideBiz said:

Update- The calf didn't improve at all and stopped sucking. The vet came out yesterday and found the calf had aspirated fluid and got pneumonia. Gave electrolytes, dex, sodium bicarb, a shot of antibiotics and tube fed but wasn't hopeful. Nothing helped and our friends decided to put her down this morning.
I really appreciate all your help.

Next issue is whether that young cow should be rebred. She's the 6th calf (but first heifer) out of her dam who hasn't had any trouble carrying or calving. If the contracture was from her small heifer uterus did it stretch enough to accommodate another calf? Should we get a pelvic measurement? Or breed to a very high CE, very low BW bull and take a chance? (Easiest but not my first choice since we're trying to build a beef producing herd and don't want real small calves or to lose the cow.) Or was this just a freak thing? - She has a 1 yr old sister (different sire) and now I'm worried about her calving ability. Ugh

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Calves with contracted tendons are usually very healthy normal animals and will get up and suck by themselves even with the fetlocks knuckled over. There could be some mineral problem causing it but usually just occur sporadically. Jhoy's cell salts might help however they usually improve by themselves without splinting or treatment over a week or two so would be very difficult to attribute improvement to the treatment
I mentioned the possibility of BVDV as it did seem from your description that the calf was undersize, weak and not well which is typical of PI or BVD infected calves in utero outside of the PI window and being from a heifer. You say it has had all its vaccinations, what is all? There is a lot they can be done with.

Ken

As Ken suggests, this would be a good time to take a tissue sample and send it off to a lab for BVD-PI testing. All you need is a notch of ear in a test tube. The vet should be able to provide a test tube to put the sample into.

wbvs58 said:

Calves with contracted tendons are usually very healthy normal animals and will get up and suck by themselves even with the fetlocks knuckled over. There could be some mineral problem causing it but usually just occur sporadically. Jhoy's cell salts might help however they usually improve by themselves without splinting or treatment over a week or two so would be very difficult to attribute improvement to the treatment
I mentioned the possibility of BVDV as it did seem from your description that the calf was undersize, weak and not well which is typical of PI or BVD infected calves in utero outside of the PI window and being from a heifer. You say it has had all its vaccinations, what is all? There is a lot they can be done with.

Ken

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We've attributed her weakness to not nursing when born but the more you guys educate me the more I agree that there was definitely something more going on than just contracted tendons before she hit the ground. My friend noticed poop in her mouth and we thought it was just from being calved in pasture but maybe there's more to it. The heifer is vaccinated with Triangle 10 HB which includes BVD types 1 & 2. I'm sure I did it correctly (including boosters) but there's always a possibility there was a glitch somehow. I've asked my friend to get a tissue sample for testing. I want to know so we can prevent it from happening again. What else do you suggest?
In 20+ years we've never had a problem. 3 so far this year with 1 more cow yet to calve -it's this heifer's dam and now I'm so anxious.

A high CE/low BW sire doesn't necessarily have to equate to small pelvic area in his daughters.
I used several high CE/low BW sires through the years, but never one that was even breed average for CEM/MCE (maternal calving ease). As we were always breeding with the resultant females in mind... I wouldn't use a sire if he was not in the top10% of the breed for CEM/MCE.

Only calf we ever had born with contracted tendons was a big bull calf, born twin to a freemartin heifer, who was reasonably sizeable in her own right... dam was a BIG HOXSM cow, but even so, I'll bet it was cramped for space in that uterus.