Foot Rot and Eye Problems

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whyjenny

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We've recently had quite a few of our angus herd with foot root and eye problems. The herd was in a tall grassy area with some areas of water retention. Thinking this might be the problem we moved them to a pasture where the grass had all been cut down so as not to get seeds or poke them in the eyes and there is no water for them to directly stand in. So far the problems are continuing. The cattle are always able to get to mineral blocks and all the cows were given copper pills in the spring. We've given the cows LBR and BVD vaccinations, at the suggestion of the local vet. We were thinking about giving the cows Nazel Gen but the local Bovine Medical Supply said that this would possibly cause the cows to abort. We've treated the foot root with iodine, and the calves have been given eight-way. The local vet doesn't have any more ideas and dosen't seem to want to bother with the problem. The cows and calves that we thought were free of these problems are getting them again and more new cases are occuring.

Any ideas that anyone has would be great. At the moment we're at a loss as what to do.
 
for foot rot Penicillin, tetracyclines, sodium sulfadimidine, sulfabromomethazine, for pink eye Most antibiotics or in eye sprays are effective in reducing the infection. Many eye sprays also contain an anesthetic to relieve pain due to infection. also fly control is important
 
Thanks for the suggestions. We have given them penicillin, forgot to mention that. So far it hasn't helped. We use both fly tags and a fly spray on the cows, calves just have tags. So that's under control. Is there a vaccination against pink eye that we could give? I don't know that that's what they have. There eyes are a cloudy white color, is that a symptom of pink eye in cattle. We have dusted their eyes with some type of medicine, can't think of the name off hand, but so far it's still reoccuring or just not going away.

I'd love to get rid of the idiot that claims to be a vet, just that it's at least an hour plus away for the next closest one. :)
 
Anonymous":ib7w5280 said:
Thanks for the suggestions. We have given them penicillin, forgot to mention that. So far it hasn't helped. We use both fly tags and a fly spray on the cows, calves just have tags. So that's under control. Is there a vaccination against pink eye that we could give? I don't know that that's what they have. There eyes are a cloudy white color, is that a symptom of pink eye in cattle. We have dusted their eyes with some type of medicine, can't think of the name off hand, but so far it's still reoccuring or just not going away.

I'd love to get rid of the idiot that claims to be a vet, just that it's at least an hour plus away for the next closest one. :)

Milky eyes can be either pinkeye or IBR. If they get a small white spot in the eye, if it's centered it's pinkeye, if it is offset from the center it;s IBR. For IBR an injection directly into the skin of the eye will clear it up in a day or so.
There is a vaccine for pinkeye but it seems to be real effective on some farms and not worth a toot on others.

dun
 
Unfortunately once you get either one in the herd, it just takes some time to get rid of it. The foot rot is probably initially because of the low / boggy soil.. the cows' feet get soft and they get a scrape or puncture, and that's how it starts. If I remember correctly it tends to spread in the herd, especially if they are in a swampy area. You've done the right thing by moving them out of the low area, but is there still a stock tank they can get into? We haven't had the problem for a few years now, but it seems to me when we did have it, we moved the cows to a pasture that they couldn't get into a stock tank, and it seemed to clear up faster.

I'm thinking that some folks use LA200.. but it seems to me we used Kopertox with pretty good success. That's a horse product, and expensive, but it worked.

Good luck!
 
The LA 200 is a very good product. Be sure and massage the area of injection to cut down on swelling. The coppertox is also good I've had good success with using these products on both foot rot and pink eye, ( no coppertox on pink eye ) you need to follow up on treatments if required and by all means keep them out of the wet!!
 
We had a similar problem yrs ago .Used LA 200 to clean it up,but it kept coming back.We changed our mineral and that was the ticket.
 
frenchie":3lldyc1o said:
We had a similar problem yrs ago .Used LA 200 to clean it up,but it kept coming back.We changed our mineral and that was the ticket.
Amazing how the proper nutrition can solve many health problems and for a lot less money than drugs can.
 
Bull Lady, you and Steve are right about the Kopertox on foot rot. Have had good luck with it. Lately have become more frugal, however, and have also had good luck with a bleach and water solution.

The LA200 works great, but for me, the Agrimycin200 from AgriLabs works just as good and its a lot more pleasant to use 'cause its nearly $20 a bottle cheaper! We always use the bleach/water and the tetracycline while we've got them in the chute.

And on the pinkeye, this is a secret I wouldn't want just everybody to know, but we use Today for lactating cows. I realize that's an extra-label use so that's why its a secret! ;-)
 
We've been using the LA200 like it's going out of styly lately and it's none to cheap. The advice on the Agrimycin200 was great, if it's that much cheaper we'll sure be looking into it.
 
Frenchie, I was wondering what minerals you put out that helped stop the problem? We've put out a trace mineral with silenium, so far, and salt blocks.
 
Oh, one other thing. Do you think pinkeye and foot rot, or the medicine they're getting for these problems, have anything to do with the cows coming back in heat??? A majority of the cows that were AI'd a while back and that we thought had settled are coming back in heat again. Now even some that the bull has breed are coming back in. It's quite frustrating to AI a majority of your heard and have them come back in.
 
That may be a mineral deficiency problem.. that's something that would affect both of them.. cows settling and the foot problems!

Do you use a good loose mineral free choice? We generally change minerals three or four times of year, depending on the forage quality and weather conditions. If you've got a good feed mill in town, they should be able to help you with a mineral suitable to your situation. Unfortunately it's not cheap, but it's a good investment when you consider the possible consequences.

Iodine is the mineral that's supposed to help prevent hoof rot. We've got an iodine salt block out now... we haven't had any foot rot this year, but I don't know if that's actually helped or if we're just lucky so far!
 
whyjenny":17p852vs said:
Oh, one other thing. Do you think pinkeye and foot rot, or the medicine they're getting for these problems, have anything to do with the cows coming back in heat??? A majority of the cows that were AI'd a while back and that we thought had settled are coming back in heat again. Now even some that the bull has breed are coming back in. It's quite frustrating to AI a majority of your heard and have them come back in.
I agree it could be a mineral problem but usually it is nutrition. or lack of it.
 
why Jenny ...We put out a high copper, high selimun trace mineral mix .But you have to be careful with these minerals(copper&selimun) as too much can be fatal to your animals.I would recommend you find a reputable vet or animal nutritionist to assist you.At the very least talk to some neighbours and see what they are using. Watkins range mineral is what my neighbour uses.He,s the fella that told me to switch minerals,he brings it in by the truck load.We use a Co=op range mineral as it is available locally.

Minerals do play a part in fertilty,and so does nutrition.

I hope this helps. :)
 
Thanks for the good advice. We have been using the trace selinium and salt blocks but none of them have any copper or iodine in them, although we did give the cattle copper pills this spring. We are going to check in with the local feed supply and see what they have to say.

Thanks again. :lol:
 

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