dislocated shoulder longhorn calf

[carolyn eskandari]

during branding last saturday, our 9 month old longhorn bull tried to escape by climbing the fence, some how getting caught . he appears to have a dislocated shoulder. Is there any treatment for this? He rests most of the day, he is eating and drinking,but having a hard time standing. What should we do, is it possible for him to pull through this, I hate the thought of him suffering. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Bez+]

during branding last saturday, our 9 month old longhorn bull tried to escape by climbing the fence, some how getting caught . he appears to have a dislocated shoulder. Is there any treatment for this? He rests most of the day, he is eating and drinking,but having a hard time standing. What should we do, is it possible for him to pull through this, I hate the thought of him suffering. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

What did your veterinarian say?

Bez+

 

[Beefy]

yes he can recover from a dislocated shoulder. depending on the severity he made need help getting it back aligned.

 

[dun]

The upper shoulder isn;t really a joint per se. It's more like a pocket of tendons and muscle. It just sort of hungs out there. The point of the shoulder has an actual joint

 

[Bez+]

The upper shoulder isn;t really a joint per se. It's more like a pocket of tendons and muscle. It just sort of hungs out there. The point of the shoulder has an actual joint

Confused as to the way you describe it.

There is no joint at all in the front shoulder of a cow, horse, deer etc.

Muscle holds the whole thing on - having cut away many over the past 50 years. No bone to bone connection with cartilage for cushioning.

Simply some muscle and membrane that can be easily remover with a jack knife.

I do not know or care to know the medical terms - but I sure enough know what it looks like and how to remove it.

So a dislocation is highly unlikely in my mind - stretched or torn shoulder muscles would be my initial response.

I would also like to ask again - to the poster:

What did you veterinarian say?

Best to all

Bez+

 

[milkmaid]

So a dislocation is highly unlikely in my mind - stretched or torn shoulder muscles would be my initial response.

Or nerve damage. Picture?

Vet's opinion was....?

 

[Bez+]

So a dislocation is highly unlikely in my mind - stretched or torn shoulder muscles would be my initial response.

Or nerve damage. Picture?

Vet's opinion was....?

C'mon MM - you know there is probably no veterinarian - might get a claim to that now - but that could be false - usually a veterinarian opinion is in the first post.

Good call on the nerve damage - slipped right by me.

Bez+

 

[jt]

more info needed. what in his appearance makes you think it is a dislocated shoulder? the way he walks or the fact he cant get up? like others said, there is no joint there, just muscle. does he look deformed in some way now after the accident? if just a bad limp, then my guess is that he is just severely bruised or strained and will probably be ok. lots of factors come into play, and lots of fuss about what did the vet say, but if he is just limping around i most likely would not have called the vet right away anyway. in my case, my vet would not have been in his office. i am rarely with my cows during his office hours and in the after hours it is hard to catch up to him.

jmo

jt

 

[Bez+]

lots of fuss about what did the vet say,

jt

I am sure you are are of the reasons for this.

Bez+

 

[dun]

I guess bottom of shoulder blade rather then point of shoulder would have been a better description

 

[jt]

hey bez, not looking for a fuss lol... just stating my opinion. anyway, your post didnt make sense, but if you are alluding to my vet, he is a good friend and at retirement age and does not do a lot of after hours work anymore. it has to be an emergency. he has helped me out of more fixes than i can count. was talking to some buddies this weekend about it and we are not sure what we are going to do when he does finally retire. hope he brings someone in to replace him. if not, we are in trouble around here.

jt

 

[Bez+]

hey bez, not looking for a fuss lol... just stating my opinion. anyway, your post didnt make sense, but if you are alluding to my vet, he is a good friend and at retirement age and does not do a lot of after hours work anymore. it has to be an emergency. he has helped me out of more fixes than i can count. was talking to some buddies this weekend about it and we are not sure what we are going to do when he does finally retire. hope he brings someone in to replace him. if not, we are in trouble around here.

jt

Nope not looking to fuss here either - just some confusion as to how I write sometimes - got enough fuss going on the "How long after weaning can I put calves back with mothers?" thread - but it will blow over some day.

We run into a lot of folks who come here and would never think to call a veterinarian - instead they always try to find a freebee answer - and then they get 27 answers - often all different - and then they try to treat with multiple diagnoses (sp?) - sometimes I get confused at sorting them out.

Or those folks show up here and start talking drugs and treatments that they could never handle unless they have been around cattle for some time.

You got a guy and you use him when you need to - heck mine comes out every year on a schedule

So the first question asked - to give them a hint to at least call a veterinarian is always - What did your veterinarian say?

Other than that - well - it is dark here and I am glad you got back to me - glad we got it all cleared up.

Hey - You have a good one my friend

Bez+

 

[carolyn eskandari]

The vet is coming tomorrow morning to have a look at the shoulder. Thank you all for your input, your experience has been very helpful.

 

[Rob Johnson]

I had a calf a couple of years ago that hurt his shoulder playing with other calfs. The thing was limping to the point of my wife calling the Vet. The Vet gave it a shot of something and said to know more the calf would have to be X-rayed. I told her no thanks. It took about two weeks before the calf was getting around normal. We lost our Cattle Vet in my area, we now have Horse Vets that they send out on Farm calls. The prices have also gone up to the point of a in town Dog and Cat vet.

Edit: After checking my records, my calf was injected with NuFlor 7cc and Banamine 1.20cc for his shoulder problem.