Contracted tendons

[CKC1586]

I sure hope your calf gets better and I don't mean to be a "wet blanket" (whatever that means, should put that on the sayings that don't make sense thread...) anyway... I had a bull calf last year that was contracted so bad his feet were turned back and is mom couldn't get him over the pelvic shelf, we had to pull him... he couldn't get up. I had to help him nurse for 2 1/2 weeks. Used splints, stretched him, massaged him and he was finally able to get off his knees but he never got straight. Kept him healthy and comfortable and up to 450 pounds and then processed him. I have never seen one this bad, hope I never see it again. One thing my vet did have me do is give him LA200 as it has a side effect with calcium and a theory was that calcium on the tendons made them stiff. It did seem to help. It was 5ml once a day for three days along with 10g of probios once a day for 4 days. May want to ask your vet their opinion on this.
Good luck.

 

[Katpau]

Thanks for the suggestion of LA200 and Probius. I have LA200 on hand and will try that. Can't hurt I figure. I don't know what Probius is but I have a call into a Vet to ask. I weighed the calf at 9 days for the first time and he was 132 pounds. A big boy. I couldn't lift him to the scales before that, but with splints he could walk in. I have taken the splints off to let him build strength. He walks on the front on his tippy toes half the time, then collapes to his knuckles to rest. He sometimes stretches his legs way out in front and appears to try to stretch his heals to the ground. I hope these are good signs.

 

[randiliana]

Sounds like he is coming aling. 130 lbs is a big calf, that is probably why he is contracted.

 

[CKC1586]

Thanks for the suggestion of LA200 and Probius. I have LA200 on hand and will try that. Can't hurt I figure. I don't know what Probius is but I have a call into a Vet to ask. I weighed the calf at 9 days for the first time and he was 132 pounds. A big boy. I couldn't lift him to the scales before that, but with splints he could walk in. I have taken the splints off to let him build strength. He walks on the front on his tippy toes half the time, then collapes to his knuckles to rest. He sometimes stretches his legs way out in front and appears to try to stretch his heals to the ground. I hope these are good signs.

Katpau, sounds like your little guy is on his way to straightening out. If he can get on his toes and move about he is well on his way. Probiotics are for the gut, the LA200 can make him scour thus the probios to combat that problem. Good luck. Keep us up to date on how he is doing.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

All antibiotics kill bugs - good and bad ones. Probios puts good bugs back into the stomach to keep the gut working properly.

 

[Cowdirt]

Thanks for the suggestion of LA200 and Probius. I have LA200 on hand and will try that. Can't hurt I figure. I don't know what Probius is but I have a call into a Vet to ask. I weighed the calf at 9 days for the first time and he was 132 pounds. A big boy. I couldn't lift him to the scales before that, but with splints he could walk in. I have taken the splints off to let him build strength. He walks on the front on his tippy toes half the time, then collapes to his knuckles to rest. He sometimes stretches his legs way out in front and appears to try to stretch his heals to the ground. I hope these are good signs.

Katpau, I had a calf about 2 mos. ago with the same problem. He was no where near a 130lb calf but still it happened. I did nothing since in my judgment, I felt that he would be okay in a short time. When he began to get his feet on the ground it was funny to see him go across the pasture. He reached those front legs out like a Tennessee walking horse.

 

[Katpau]

I want to thank everyone who gave me advice on the calf with contracted tendons. For over two weeks he went around around mostly on the front of his feet. Then almost overnight he was walking on his right foot. Within two days his left came around. That was on Monday. Here it is Friday, and he and his Mom are out on open pasture with the rest of the cows and calves and you would never know there was ever anything wrong. I have some great before and after pictures , but can't figure out how to post them.

 

[CKC1586]

Boy that is good news, glad your calf straightened out for you... :tiphat:

 

[msscamp]

Give the calf a shot of Vit A and selenium. Selenium defeciency is a major cause of the contracted tendons.

Interesting statement. If it is true, perhaps you could explain why we have our fair share of contracted tendons when we do not live in a selenium deficient area? Contracted tendons are caused by a calf that is crowded in the uterus - plain and simple.

 

[Katpau]

These are pictures of the calf I had last year with contracted tendons. I was not able to figure out how to post pictures last year, but I thought since calving season is here again that there may be people who find these interesting

Calf on March 1st at 8 days old. Legs are much improved from how they looked on Feb 22nd birth date.

Calf with Splints on March 1st. Probably didn't make much difference but they made me feel better.

Calf on March 10. Almost normal looking. Put him and his mother out with the herd that day. Couldn't tell anything was ever wrong by the next week.

 

[randiliana]

Good pictures. That calf I probably wouldn't have splinted, but I'm sure it didn't hurt him any either. If they are walking on their tippy toes at least part of the time they will get over it on their own, usually takes a couple weeks and you can't hadly tell they had a problem anymore. We have had calves though that pretty much only walked knuckled over, and those I think need to be splinted.

 

[Katpau]

He walked only on his knees the first two days. Then on the front of his pasterns for 3 or 4 days. He had greatly improved by the time I thought to take pictures eight days latter.

 

[randiliana]

He walked only on his knees the first two days. Then on the front of his pasterns for 3 or 4 days. He had greatly improved by the time I thought to take pictures eight days latter.

Ahh, well then, you most certainly helped him out. It's amazing how fast they can come out of that, isn't it....