Any ideas?

[gizmom]

Any ideas of what this could be he isn't the least bit lame. My first though was snake bite but I don't see any marks.



gizmom

 

[inyati13]

Speculation on my part: no way snake bite. Swelling would be much much greater.

 

[TCRanch]

Last year we had a bull that was lame/swollen & only until the vet shaved his leg did he discover an old wound, very small, that had completely healed on the outside but had segued into a naaaaasty internal infection. Even though your bull isn't lame right now I'd suggest feeling/squeezing his leg to see if it feels "mushy" or hot.

 

[wbvs58]

My guess would be a stake wound, yes shaving the area might show some marks. A few descriptive words describing what you are seeing and feeling would help as well.

Ken

 

[gizmom]

Ok here is the story. Had a customer call wanting us to pick him out a bull, this is the 4th bull he has purchased and he has never stepped foot on our place. He calls tells us what he wants we pick one out we feel will meet his requirements and we deliver him. B48 was the bull we picked we pulled the Bulls up early yesterday morning sorted him out loaded him on the trailer easy pieezy. I walked over to the trailer to take one last look at his feet to make sure they looked good and saw the knot on his leg....oh chit we gonna have to pick another dang bull. since he was already on the trailer the boss called the vets office but Dr. Hank was off, since the bull isn't showing any signs of lameness we decided to unload him and haul him to Hank next week. By this point it was really getting hot and we still had to sort the other bull off, trust me at this time of the year you don't want to keep the bulls penned up for long the heat is just brutal on man and beast.



This photo is of him walking to the water tank. We didn't run him back into the chute so I don't know if there is any heat in the knot but he sure doesn't act like it bothers him a bit.

gizmom

 

[jscunn]

Fluid filled cyst is my guess but I will defer to Dr. Lee when you see him..

 

[Jessica06]

I think there would be more swelling if it was a snake, but I doubt it's serious and chances are it goes away on it's own if it's not bothering him even the least little bit. It would probably be worth putting him in the chute though to get a good look at it. Good thing you saw it BEFORE you delivered and not while he was getting OFF the trailer!!

 

[gizmom]

RBR

I think your right that it will probably go away on its own. We do plan to get him up this week to take a closer look and if we can't figure it out haul him over to Dr. Hank. I am glad I took that final look because I would have hated to see that on him as we unloaded my face would sure have been red. He is a super nice calf as docile as your going to find one. I sure hope he is going to be sound.

gizmom

 

[wbvs58]

I still think being staked with something like a bit of thin steel rod like in concrete reinforcement mesh. Running up under the skin will leave swelling at the end but won't necessarily make them lame just a bit stiff maybe. I'll be interested to hear what you find on closer exam.

Ken

 

[gizmom]

The boss hauled the bull to the vet this morning along with another the customer wanted as a back up to the bull with the knot. He told us get Hank to check him if he says he is sound I will take him if not I will take the other bull. So Hank checked him, no heat the knot is hard like bone. X-ray shows all is good he said in his opinion the bull is sound. We called the customer, he talked to the vet said he still wants the bull with the knot. We of course will stand behind the bull if he breaks down but, he has never shown any sign of being lame so feel pretty good about it. So that is the final story of the bull with the knot, he was delivered during the morning monsoon to his new owner. Our thundershower today dropped over 5 inches of rain and the lighting strikes took out the fence charger at the house. Since all the bulls are at the home place we really need that fence to be hitting!

gizmom

 

[TCRanch]

Good news on the bull! Little jealous of the rain, not so much the lightning. Good luck keeping the bulls where they belong

 

[True Grit Farms]

Thanks for the update.

 

[petra hoffman]

Any ideas of what this could be he isn't the least bit lame. My first though was snake bite but I don't see any marks.



gizmom

Looks like some kind of infection like bacterial gangrene.

 

[milkmaid]

I'd guess abscess... may open up in a few weeks or a lot longer. Who knows how long it has already been there. I see a huge number of these in calves and IMO the best thing to do is wait until they're ready to open, esp in that location. It may also go away on its own. I wouldn't hesitate sending the bull to the customer but know that it may or may not cause temporary problems at some point in the future.