Heifer Limping on front left....

[Ohio Cowboy]

I have an 800 pound heifer that has been limping for a week and a half now. I brought her home from pasture to rest her in the barn. She has had four shots of LA 200 and banamine (sp???) And showing no improvement. I have done my best to examine her foot ( she will let me pick it up like a horse). No hardware that I can see. I can see swelling above her hoof along the hairline on her outside claw swelling towards the middle. It Is warm and tender to the touch. I called the vet and she cant get out for 2 more weeks. Ill be trying another out of town vet tomo. Any ideas or suggestions ??

 

[dun]

There are better antibiotics for footrot then LA-anything. Get something from your vet for it.

 

[branguscowgirl]

I have seen them injure a claw and it take a very long time to heal........
Also a possibility that something is working its way up to abscess out above the hoof. So there are a couple of other possibilities to consider that would not respond to antibiotics.
Good luck, and let us know what happens.

 

[branguscowgirl]

If she lets you "pick up her foot," another thing that you can do is soak it in a pan or bucket of a mix of warm water, Epsom salt, and Betadine solution. That is my "go to" mix that helps almost everything! You can purchase a container of Epsom salt at any drug store. (Put in a few tablespoon fulls.) Use enough Betadine to color the water "tea color". Keep her foot in the soak as long as she will tolerate it. 20 minutes is great! Soak at least daily if you can.
The Epsom salts is a drawing agent and helps draw out the infection and open abscesses ect..

 

[3waycross]

Get some nuflor give her 24 to 25 cc of it sub Q. Quit screwing around with that other crap.

 

[redsimangus]

nuflor should help but I would use draxxin because it is not as much antibiotic to inject

 

[3waycross]

nuflor should help but I would use draxxin because it is not as much antibiotic to inject

I won't argue that. I usually just split it up in 2 or 3 spots.

 

[Till-Hill]

Call a different vet. 2 weeks! I don't wait 2 hours. Sounds like abscess. Hoof trim and block be good as new. No needle going to fix that anyway.

 

[Nesikep]

2 weeks? I think they should be embarrassed to say that!

While looking for another vet, I'd try and get her to cooperate and use BrangusCowgirls foot bath... Maybe if it gets really good and clean you can see a little more too

 

[cowgirl8]

If it stays infected long the coffin joint can get infected and if that happens a toe will have to be removed. Can you not haul her to a vet?

 

[Ozhorse]

I have treated hoof abscess in both cattle and sheep. My vet recommends Oxytetracycline for foot abscess as better than penicillin. I have had it work well on a bull that was almost too lame to get up, and on others that were slightly lame. My vet also suggest I treat rams with suppurating joint affected foot abscess with both penicillin and oxytetracycline together in high doses. You would not want your cow to get an infection in the joint. Oxytetracycline is also used to cure footrot in sheep.

There is some suggestion that zinc can help in foot abscess so if you have some feed or minerals that are high in zinc it cant hurt.

Can you get Oxytetracycline? The higher doses are appropriate for treating foot infections.

Make sure you dont want to sell her as it has a very long withhold for russia and saudi of 90 days.

 

[Ozhorse]

I have also seen a dissection at a feedlot of a leg where the foot abscess had spread up between the claws and travelled up the leg between the two cannon bones until it was felt necessary to put the animal down. If you can get more suitable stronger antibiotics sooner it might be better.

 

[branguscowgirl]

My vet recommends Oxytetracycline for foot abscess

This is LA 200 and LA 300 that the OP is already using, I believe......

 

[Rniemann]

Could be foot lesion. Had a bull that I assumed was foot rot, gave some 200 w no results. Vet had to grind foot down until lesion was uncovered. Once she found it drained out very quickly and he is recovering nicely. 200 will do nothing for that. It was a wound that heeled over and the infection as trapped inside. It would not have healed on its own. He was very lame

 

[paints4vr8]

I have a calf whose hoof has separated from hair line. not sure what to do other than wrapping it from bottom up then wrap around top til I can get ahold of vet.any suggestions?

 

[Nesikep]

I wouldn't know what more to do either, keeping it clean is the biggest thing (and challenge), perhaps if you get the bandage between the toes it would help keep it on.

 

[jerry27150]

have had a thorn or piece of wire get up in their foot. if pen or la don't work there is definitely something up in there

 

[jerry27150]

koppertox will work as bandage & kill any germs

 

[Ohio Cowboy]

Hey all I completely forgot about this thread and keeping everyone updated. We ended up calling another vet out. He cleaned her foot out really good and couldn't find anything wrong with it. He said she didnt have enough swelling to make him think hoof rot. He said she hurt/broke something inside her foot or bruised it really bad. No charge from him.
Got a contact number for a hoof trimmer and had him out. Loaded her onto the tilt trailer and cleaned her feet up. He didnt find any abcesses or other signs of hoof rot either. Decided to put a boot/block on her good toe. Glued that sucker on and wouldn't ya know it she walked outta the tilt trailer like nothing was wrong. Took her back to pasture and other then an orange boot you cant tell she was/is hurt.
Another bonus the hoof trimmer was able to schedule all the show people from the area to get their steers done while he was at my house. Steer hoof trimming party. Lol

 

[branguscowgirl]

Ohio that is great news! Sometimes it is just a simple injury that needs a little time and TLC!