Calf with swollen leg

[AnimalLover26]

About 2 weeks ago one of my younger steers (my cows are all pets at this point) got out due to a neighbor cutting our fence... (thats an intirely different story). He was missing for about 2 days and when we found him he was limping. We got him back into our pasture and he had a cut on the back of his left hind leg , sorta ankle area I guess you would say. Its above the hoof in the leg not the foot. So anyways I went and bought an antibiotic spray for the cut and sprayed some on , and at that point he didnt like it and ran from me as I was trying to spray more. The day after I chased him around putting that on, his leg swelled around the area and a little above. At first I was worried about hoof rot but i dont really see any signs of that and again this was more ankle/leg area. His leg has been swollen about 5 days in that area and after I put that spray on him he wont let me anywhere near him. I was going to try to get him an antibiotic shot cause my fear was infection... again i cant catch him ;( . The wound is now starting to close normally after 2 weeks and I see no puss or ooze or foul smell, but his leg is still swollen in that ankle area and hes still walking slowly. My husband thinks the leg is inflamed from me chasing him and him having to walk so much but to me infection is still a concern or something else I just might not be thinking of. I spoke to my vet but he cant do nothing unless I can get him in. I cant catch him on my own and im afraid the more I chase the more strain I will put on his leg. I used to know someone that roped cows but am no longer in contact with this person. If anyone could give me some insight on what this might be and what I could do Id surely apprecitate it. Thanks for your time.

 

[larryshoat]

Maybe construct a small pen out of some gates and steel posts or get some corral panels . If you have access to a trailer you could run him in there and treat him .

Larry

 

[AnimalLover26]

Thats a good idea. What do you think this could be though? Ive had cows about 13 years now , but I havent had hardly any health issues and have never seen hoof rot. Although it just seems like a cut to me but maybe I just dont know any better.

 

[AnimalLover26]

I have no facilities as yet because I was in my schools FFA program and we kept our cattle at an Agricultural barn with all these facilities. I was forced to suddenly move them and my dad bought 30 acres which is where they are now. I currently am fighting cervical cancer and cant afford to buy a squeeze shoot. And yes its a cut not sure if its infected I had put antibiotic spray on the cut and its closing, no signs of ifection such as puss. His leg is just slightly swollen above the ankle.

 

[AnimalLover26]

Yeah its very hard just starting out of high school getting things going. We were originally told we would have a grace period to move them but were suddenly told they had to go. Since then my parents decided they didnt want to do any cattle stuff anymore. Most of the cows are halter broke and easily caught so I can take to the vet for shots and such but this one was born on pasture and is not so friendly. He was approachable till I started with the spray and then he runs from me now. I had tried to contact a man that used to use horses to rope cattle but his number is no longer in service. Ive still been looking. The cut on his ankle is closing and seems to be fine. Im just worried about the sweelling and what could be causing it.
And yeah found out about 6 months ago I was sick , still kinda shocked im only in my early 20s lol. Have surgery in 2 weeks and hope to get this resolved before im not able to do anything