frostbite hoof

[avandam]

I just brought home a calf that was born March 16, 2013.
She had frostbite when she was born and is missing part of her back left hoof. She gets around GREAT, put some weight on it, and it is a little deformed. She is a very bright and friendly calve, and also is an embryo calve..so she has great genes! I am a large animal vet tech but this is the first time I have came across this. I don't mind her being special needs, which is why I brought her home! I just was wondering if there was anything I could do, to make her hips a little more even..like a "fake hoof," If anyone has any ideas I would greatly appreciate them!!

Please, I don't want to hear that I should euthanize her.. she is extremely healthy, lively, and a great little heifer, she has made it this far and hasn't given up, I don't want to give up on her.

Thank you very much!

 

[hillsdown]

I just brought home a calf that was born March 16, 2013.
She had frostbite when she was born and is missing part of her back left hoof. She gets around GREAT, put some weight on it, and it is a little deformed. She is a very bright and friendly calve, and also is an embryo calve..so she has great genes! I am a large animal vet tech but this is the first time I have came across this. I don't mind her being special needs, which is why I brought her home! I just was wondering if there was anything I could do, to make her hips a little more even..like a "fake hoof," If anyone has any ideas I would greatly appreciate them!!

Please, I don't want to hear that I should euthanize her.. she is extremely healthy, lively, and a great little heifer, she has made it this far and hasn't given up, I don't want to give up on her.

Thank you very much!

A good hoof trimmer in your area should be able to build her a "lift" . Kind of like a shoe for horses , is used a lot in dairy cattle . You will have to have it done regularly as she grows/out grows it and it wears down .
Good ,luck with her .

 

[Nite Hawk]

On occasion there is some nasty frostbite cases in this country. surprising that there isn't more as may calves are born out in the snow bank on some of these ranches and it can get bitterly cold.
Saw one cow who I was told had gotten frostbite as a calf, guess she didn't have any feeling in her left hind leg, as with every step she brought her leg way up in the air and made a pawing motion towards her ear. Was amazed she was even able to walk and hadn't gotten picked off by some predatory animal as she was out on the range.
I was told that oow was about 9 years old at the time and had a number of calves.
Concerning your calf, if she can get around okay I wouldn't sweat it. If not, like it was mentioned get a hoof trimmer to look at her, the other hooves might be long enough they could be trimmed down a bit to even her steps out.
If she has trouble getting around, make sure no dogs or such can get to her to harass and hurt her. Also, some more aggressive cattle may push her out of the feeder and she may not get enough grub..

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

We have a neighbor down the road that asked me to come look at a heifer. He was given the heifer, and wanted to know if he should breed her. She lost her lower leg to frostbite, about the pastern level (the joint above the hoof). I can tell you she got around just fine, since I could not even get close enough to see her stub! She was sure wild, and was running with some dairy steers. There is no way a predator would catch her, even if she ran on three legs! If your heifer gets around just fine, I would leave her.