A Young Cow, Though Lame and Halt

[CowboyBlue]

Daddy bought a Hereford heifer a couple of years ago from a friend at church. She is a pretty little thing, and her first calf was born easily and grew off fairly well.

A few months ago, she started walking so very slowly from place to place that she is always last to the feed, last to the water, etc. I have looked her over as closely as I can, and I can find no injuries to her hooves, no swellings or marks on her legs. When she walks, she drags her back hooves through the dirt, almost as if they are too heavy to lift. She also seems to have a 'bowed,' or arched back. For a few weeks, she was poor, but not much more so than the others. Her calf was a big, pretty BWF heifer that was as healthy as could be. We took her off of her, and I am hoping that will help her get some of her strength back. And, now that I have added mineral blocks and sulphur salt blocks and a syrup tub, all of the cows are looking much better, and none more so than the little lame cow.

I asked my mentor, my oldest uncle who has been running cattle in this part of Texas for a "hunnerd years," what he thought about her. He has been keeping an eye on her, and is just as puzzled as I am. He thinks she may have fallen and injured her back or hips, or maybe she got some kind of weed poisoning. (I should add that her manure output is regular; not constipated in the least, and no looser than any of the other cattle). He said it's probably too late to call the vet, and we'd have a five-hundred dollar bill for a two-hundred dollar cow. His advice was just to let her be and see what happened. She is a pretty little cow, and I hate to get rid of her if she can pull out of this.

Have any of you seen anything like this?

 

[ALACOWMAN]

hardware??

 

[CowboyBlue]

What do you mean, "hardware?"

 

[KNERSIE]

What do you mean, "hardware?"

Piece of wire, thorn, plastic bag, etc

My guess is she was injured during breeding, she may have slipped, another bull might have tried to push the bull mounting her off her, stranger things have happened.

 

[alisonb]

Does she grind her teeth or moan? That is sometimes a good indication to whether it is hardware or not.

 

[CowboyBlue]

What do you mean, "hardware?"

Piece of wire, thorn, plastic bag, etc

My guess is she was injured during breeding, she may have slipped, another bull might have tried to push the bull mounting her off her, stranger things have happened.

Ah, hardware ... no, I have seen no indication of any of those things, but I might have missed them ...

A breeding accident would be my bet, too. Our bull is a big 'un ...

 

[CowboyBlue]

Does she grind her teeth or moan? That is sometimes a good indication to whether it is hardware or not.

No moaning, no teeth grinding. She is a gentle cow and eats cubes out of my hand. Her appetite is healthy, and her digestion is regular, it seems to me.

 

[dun]

FWIW I agree with your uncle. Benign neglect is appropriate

 

[M.Magis]

A friend had cow like that once. Walked funny, hunched up and dragging rear feet, lost condition and couldn't gain it back. No obvious illness and raised a fantastic calf. He asked if I wanted her for burger and when I butchered her it became obvious, both rear knees appeared to have been dislocated/broken at some point. Both had very large bony deposits of some sort and large amounts of fluid. A vet could give a better answer, but sure sounds similar.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

most of my injuries come from other cows riding each other

 

[CowboyBlue]

I was wondering about some kind of hip or knee injury ... She is a smaller cow and could have been "beat up" or "beat down" by a bigger cow or the bull.

One of the reasons I am concerned is that we have to make some culling decisions in the near future. We have a couple of cows that are much older than her and would be the more logical choices to haul off if all things were equal, but if she continues to limp around and drag around, I may be better off taking her to the sale barn.

I really hate to think about that, because she is young and gentle and a pretty Hereford. The kind I want to keep! :frowns: I will be very interested to see what kind of calf she raises, if she is bred, and if she can have a calf.

 

[wbvs58]

I would suspect a back injury, especially if she is dragging back toes along the ground. They often improve but may get very ataxic when heavey in calf.
Ken

 

[dun]

You could try giving her aspirin a copule of times a day for a week or so (a dozen at a time) to see if it's inflammation that may be helped. That's if you just have to do something. I would just leave her alone and see if she improves or deteriates

 

[agmantoo]

Nerve damage associated with calving
I would ship if mine.

 

[djinwa]

The arched back makes me think of pain, which is why hardware disease was mentioned (wire or whatever they swallowed poking through the diaphragm into the sac around the heart).

The dragging of both feet makes one think of nerve damage.

Put the two together and back injury seems likely (both pain and nerve involvement).

However, if you want a good diagnosis, take her in for an MRI.

By the way, you write good (I mean well). I assume you are originally not from the U.S.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Nerve damage associated with calving
I would ship if mine.

come on now ...

 

[CowboyBlue]

The arched back makes me think of pain, which is why hardware disease was mentioned (wire or whatever they swallowed poking through the diaphragm into the sac around the heart).

The dragging of both feet makes one think of nerve damage.

Put the two together and back injury seems likely (both pain and nerve involvement).

However, if you want a good diagnosis, take her in for an MRI.

By the way, you write good (I mean well). I assume you are originally not from the U.S.

Thank you! Actually, I am a native Texan. I studied English Literature in college and I teach English at the local high school. I have always freely admitted that I studied English as a second language ... I speak Texan first! :lol2:

Well, the little cow is putting on some weight and her coat is shiny again, thanks to the minerals. She doesn't seem to be limping quite as badly, but she is still dragging her feet.

I don't want to take her off, but some culling of the herd is going to occur, whether I like it or not. I would like to keep her, for all the reasons already listed, and because in caring for the animal I suppose I have grown attached to it. And, I have an affection for Herefords. Those are the cattle I grew up with on Daddy's place, and though the Angus-Brangus-black baldies have taken over in the pastures around here, I still NEED to see some red cows with white faces.

But like I said, I may not have a choice.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

is she walking on the heels of her feet......

 

[CowboyBlue]

No, sir, she is stepping correctly, as I see it. She is just very slow, and the toe of her hoof drags as she brings her hoof forward.

 

[dun]

No, sir, she is stepping correctly, as I see it. She is just very slow, and the toe of her hoof drags as she brings her hoof forward.

Our Herefords don;t drag their feet but they might just as well. Alwasy the last ones to do anything. I figured they're just so laid back they don;t see much to get exceited about