Fescue tox?

[Poorman]

Good morning, I noticed a problem with one group of cattle this morning while feeding. The group is mostly heifers with a few older cows that were open. Of the 28 I have in this pasture 6 have either a limp with a swollen foot or have open sores. I rotational graze fescue and clover pastures and also give them 10 lbs of corn silage per head per day. All the sores or swollen feet are hind feet only. I am thinking that it is from fescue but they have never had this problem before. Any input would be a big help.
Thanks

 

[Poorman]

I should also mention I am located in se Indiana, and this group has had the same diet and been on the same farm since April. The only thing that has been out of the ordinary is we received over 6 inches of rain Friday night they are on a dryer section and it is not muddy so I'm not thinking foot rot

 

[BFE]

I would get a vet out soon. I wouldn't think foot rot, doesn't look like the cases I've seen. As for the fescue toxicity, are any of the affected losing their switches? Not an expert, but with the clover and silage to dilute I wouldn't think it's fescue tox either. Keep us posted.

 

[Poorman]

I plan on calling the vet today and see when she can come out. I will let u know what she says. None of them are loosing their switches, and the sores don't seem to be causing any pain or problems. I had a neighbor out last night and he seems to think it could be something due to the record rain we had last Friday night. He thought it could be fungus but I have never seen or heard of a fungus on their legs. The only other though is a put a new bull in about 2 weeks ago and didn't know if he could be causing their back legs to get beat up some. It's never happened before but who know with cattle

 

[Lucky_P]

Also consider Mycoplasma wenyonii infection in the differential diagnosis; I'm not saying that's the problem, but with multiple animals affected with rear limb swelling and lameness, it's a stone not to be left unturned.

 

[Cowsout]

Dermatophilus congolensis is a very common bacterial skin disease that will occur on wet skin of horses and cattle. If you were able to feel the adjacent hair and feel lumps, peel one off. If the hair is sticking through a scab, it is most likely Dermatophilus or dermatophilosis (the condition of having Dermatophilus). It's usually self-limiting but can be hard to get rid when their skin is frequently wet. Another consideration is pythiosis, but I don't know if it warm enough there for it to occur there, and I'm not sure it will infect cattle. It will infect horses and dogs, so maybe.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Possibly the bull is mounting them and stepping on the back feet because they aren't standing.

 

[Poorman]

Thank you all for the help and replies. The vet believes it is some form of viral infection and took samples of the sores and sent them to the lab. She was not too worried and said she will contact me when the results are back so I will let you know what we find out

 

[Poorman]

Dermatophilus congolensis is a very common bacterial skin disease that will occur on wet skin of horses and cattle. If you were able to feel the adjacent hair and feel lumps, peel one off. If the hair is sticking through a scab, it is most likely Dermatophilus or dermatophilosis (the condition of having Dermatophilus). It's usually self-limiting but can be hard to get rid when their skin is frequently wet. Another consideration is pythiosis, but I don't know if it warm enough there for it to occur there, and I'm not sure it will infect cattle. It will infect horses and dogs, so maybe.

We did feel around the sore as best we could with them dancing around in the head shoot and did not feel any mass masses or soft spots to try and drain. Once the foot has the sore it seems to relieve the pressure and the cows don't seem to be bother by it

 

[Poorman]

Mycoplasma wenyonii

I have never heard of this, I will bring it up to the vet and do some reading up on it. Thank you

 

[Poorman]

Well the vet still has not been able to track down a cause, she took samples from the open sores and prescribed antibiotics. The tests have come back negative for all the bad disease like blur tongue and hoof and mouth but they can't figure out what it is but believe it's some form of viral infection. No more have had sores popping up so I hope it will run it's course and bot affect preg rates. Thank you all for your replies

 

[FungusProudKY31]

What is the iodine level in your minerals? Does your Vet think they are adequate?

 

[Poorman]

To give an update, the vet came out a few times and ended up giving us scripts for a different antibiotic each time neither one seemed to improve their sores. All but one has completely healed up now and she is well on her way. She was the last heifer that we found the sores on. The best guess we were given is that it's a virus of some form but it did not seem to interfere with eating or their heat cycle so we are just letting it run it's coarse. Thank you all for the input