Brisket swelling

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I got a bunch of 1-2 yr old heifers that are starting to get swollen in the brisket( looks like they have a 6-8 ball inside ) just in front of the front legs.i have them with older cows and they seem to be ok...Just the younger ones are affected.I haven't ruled out nitrate poisoning.But our weeds are grown big and I think they are safe.But they have been grazing on them.We just had a number of good rains and the really shot up.Can it be that or something else?Can someone tell me what is causing this?
 
Some bulls pass large briskets on to their offspring. Are these heifers 1/2 sisters? It might just be genetic.
 
At what altitude are the cows being kept? Fluid buildup in a cow's brisket can be a sign they are not tolerating high altitude.
 
I am at 2,100 feet..So.....Vet said it could be caused by a number of things.I think she went home and read up on it..I read the samething on the Net yesterday.Said if they don't get worse before getting better....It's proubly nothing to worry about.Damn...I can tell it not her 20 head she is caring for.The only symptoms they are showing is a swollen brisket ,right in front of the front legs.It about a 7-9 inch ball in the bottom of the brisket.Some are showing swelling behind the front legs too.All along the brisket.I know sometimes they will get a fat brisket for being heavy..But not just a big ball.ALso 2 are limping on front leg.Not bad but enough to see it.Maybe I need to get out pocket knife and see what kind of good stuff comes out. I have lost one so far and don't need to lose more...At a thousand buck a pop...Guess I'll get up every morning and hope I didn't lose more... Thanks for all UR help.........
 
Are some of those weeds thistles.Canadian thistle is deadly for nitrates,especialy after a frost or other stressful event.I know a fellow who lost 35 head in less that 4 hrs in a new pasture move.Do you have another pasture you could use till you get this fiqured out.


Lumps in the brisket can be a sign of heart problems as well, but you have too many head affected. I think to be that.

Hope this helps...
 
I have 6 that have this problem.The weeds here have really grown fast.We have had 10 inchs of rain in 3 weeks and the weeds have not been stressed.I have them on pasture with red roots in it.But they have been there for 1 1/2 weeks.If nitrate was the problem All would been dead in a couple days...Thanks guys I will wait and hope they get better.....Jack
 
idontno said:
I have 6 that have this problem.The weeds here have really grown fast.We have had 10 inchs of rain in 3 weeks and the weeds have not been stressed.I have them on pasture with red roots in it.But they have been there for 1 1/2 weeks.If nitrate was the problem All would been dead in a couple days...Thanks guys I will wait and hope they get better.....Jack[/quote

Posssible it could have something to do with PAPS.]
 
Is there a decent veterinary college any where nearby? I would be very concerned.. I hate when something happens with my cattle and the vet doesn't show any interest in finding out what the problem is! Is finding another vet an option? It may be worth the drive / research. I would hate to just wait to see if any of them died! :cry:
 
The vet we have is fresh out of school.I think she has to go read up on things first.We are finding out that we know as much or more than she does.I been doctoring for 40 years and haven't had that many problems.But sometimes I'm stumped.On this one I am.THe vet offers NO info when you try to talk to them.They want to keep it a BFS.So they can keep you coming back.So I'm going looking for another Vet.But will ahve to drive 50 miles to one.
 
Okay, well, we now have this same problem in one of our cows....just one though. Her brisket swelling is about the size of a bloated football and like yours, are just in front of her front legs. This has just popped up over the last 2 days. She's on a Bahaia pasture, and has been since October of last year with no problems. Weeds are minimal and mostly consist of a few stands of goat weed. I think I read in a previous post about this sort of thing and that it could be related to a heart condition, but does anyone know of anything else it could possibly be as well? It has been unbearably hot and humid the past few days and we're all of about 42 feet above sea level in CenTex. Haven't a clue if this information helps any. The cow seems to be feeling fine and is eating well, butting other cows, and nursing her calf, so there are no behavioral changes with this.......Any thoughts?
 
Well, it seems to me that now is the time to run those animals up the chute and into the squeeze for a closer look see. Maybe even a quick sample of whatever is in them - to the lab.

For sure I think I'd pull them from pasture and into a pen for a couple of days on hay to see if there is an improvement.

I like the idea of dragging one off to a veterinary college if there is one close by. I have done this twice in the past for other probs and been darned impressed with the advice and service. There's a whole bunch of "animal doctor brains and surgery skills" in a place like that - it's impressive to watch them in action

If they are a "thousand bucks a pop" - and I have no reason to disbelieve you - I'd be willing to drive a lot further than 50 miles at the blink of an eye. I darned sure would be happy to take one of the animals with me if necessary.

Time wasted in this could well be animals lost. Mine are only worth about 2oo bucks apiece but I still would be concerned. Hope it works out for you.

Bez
 
i had this problem with a heifer i think it was this past winter. anyway, mine was a little different but she had a swelling the size of a softball on her jaw for a day or two and then that went down and she had a swelling the size of a basketball in her brisket right in front of her legs. called the vet, he didnt know, thought it was snakebite. i still think it was from heart failure. anyway, treated with oxytetracycline for about a week, the swelling went down a lot at first and then gradually after that. we sold her in the spring and she looked normal enough not to get docked for anything..
 
Are these heifers bred? I had one out of a herd of 198 with a big basket ball brisket, and she will not breed. She is 3 now and will be in the freezer soon. Hope you find out what is going on!
 
I've always been told Nitrate is worse after a rain so it could be that other than that an infection of some sort is all I can think of.
 
Sometimes it can be a sign of hardware. But I wouldn't think that many got hardware at the same time.

Really strange and I agree, get them in and really check and maybe get another vets opinion. If you can pull them off that pasture and move them some place else for the moment.

And after I posted this I noticed the date of the orignal post. Hopefully the outcome was positive.
 
I would agree,

get them into the chute, check and see if it is pitting adema, poke finger into it for 10-20 seconds, if you leave a pit, that does not bouce back, that is piting adema, Then get a blood sample, red top, purple top, green top, send off for a Chem Panel, CBC, and save serum for further tests

Find out when they were last wormed, a heavy parasite load with perforation will cause protein loss into the paritoneum, space under body wall, and this can cause adema, After blood is drawn I would get them on steroids, if it is pitting adema,

is there any loss of apetite?, fever,? what is the heart rate? Have they had normal formed Bowel Movements, urination, what does it look like, healthy well formed poo is a good sign of health, although cattle on lush grass do not have well formed poo they are still healthy, just consuming losts of fluids

Please answer if info is available
 

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