I've got a cow that I noticed has a subtle limp. I looked her over and it's obvious she has an issue with the wear of her hoof. The other back good is much shorter in length. Is that something to be handled by a vet or by someone else?
Hoof trimming
- Thread starter jallen
- Start date
Help Support CattleToday:
B&M Farms
Well-known member
jallen":zqak9p8a said:
Either a vet or a hoof trimmer. If you have any dairies in your area they may be able to let you know of a trimmer if your vet doesn't do it.
jerry27150
Well-known member
if you know how you can trim them yourself, if not maybe some one near could show you how, but even if you trim her feet they will likely grow right back out.
She is lucky she lives at your farm, my husband believes if you have to trim feet you do it right behind the ears.
gizmom
gizmom
branguscowgirl
Well-known member
Jallen it is true that some folks feel very strongly "that if a cows feet need to be trimmed, the cow needs to go."
I do not believe that way. I have my cattle trimmed on a regular basis buy a professional hoof trimmer that brings a tilt table to my house, or I take the to my vet that also has one. As B&M stated, you can ask at the large animal clinics or the dairies about who does it in your area. She may just need it do once, or it could be a yearly thing to keep it in check. Depending on what the problem is.
Good luck.
I do not believe that way. I have my cattle trimmed on a regular basis buy a professional hoof trimmer that brings a tilt table to my house, or I take the to my vet that also has one. As B&M stated, you can ask at the large animal clinics or the dairies about who does it in your area. She may just need it do once, or it could be a yearly thing to keep it in check. Depending on what the problem is.
Good luck.
jerry27150
Well-known member
branguscowgirl, if you sell registered brangus, why would you keep ones that need feet trimmed. is not this hereditary?
Ozhorse
Well-known member
My cows all went through a bad bushfire 18 months ago. I have one who is either lame because her feet grew wrong, or her feet grew wrong because she is lame. But she has a scar down the front of the hoof that makes me think it might have been from a burnt foot. Burnt feet would make them grow weird, she is just walking unevenly on it and one claw is long and splayed with a ridge down the front.
So I am sort of inclined to try to trim her foot for her. But not sure if that is sensible.
I have to do it by myself because my husband is injured and cant help. I am about 5'3" and not as young as Id like to be any more and because he is injured its just me running the place. I have a lot of experience trimming horses and have my own gear. It is Australia so the cow is not worth much, and there is no-one who trims cows feet that it would be worth getting in.
The good side is that I have Ace promazine so I can dope her out. If I give her too much and she dies that is better than me being injured and she probably would not die and is only worth $400 anyway.
I dont want to try to pick up her feet when she is in the crush.
Is it worth haltering her head then stretching her out by the back legs and doing it on the ground?
Who has trimmed feet at home themselves on range cows?
It is a front foot.
Any tips?
So I am sort of inclined to try to trim her foot for her. But not sure if that is sensible.
I have to do it by myself because my husband is injured and cant help. I am about 5'3" and not as young as Id like to be any more and because he is injured its just me running the place. I have a lot of experience trimming horses and have my own gear. It is Australia so the cow is not worth much, and there is no-one who trims cows feet that it would be worth getting in.
The good side is that I have Ace promazine so I can dope her out. If I give her too much and she dies that is better than me being injured and she probably would not die and is only worth $400 anyway.
I dont want to try to pick up her feet when she is in the crush.
Is it worth haltering her head then stretching her out by the back legs and doing it on the ground?
Who has trimmed feet at home themselves on range cows?
It is a front foot.
Any tips?
branguscowgirl
Well-known member
Ozhorse the way I have done it in a pinch is put them in the chute. Take the biggest, softest rope that I have and loop it around the fetlock joint. Run the rope up over a bar above on the chute and hoist the foot up like a horse and tie it off. Then get to work on the foot and hope they don't go down. A quick release will get the foot down if they start too.
Jerry on my show cattle I don't want cracks or chips with natural wear and tear. They gotta be smooth and perfect to go in the ring. Nothing wrong with the feet, just making them purdy.
I nor the vets I have talked to, believe that every cow that needs a foot trimmed has a "genetic issue". I know there are varying beliefs on this, and I do not deny that that there can be some serious genetic issues with feet that you do not want in your cattle.
However, there are foot issues that are not genetic that sometimes have to be addressed. For example an injury to the coronet band can case an otherwise normal hoof to be misshapen. Uneven wear for an older arthritic cow. No wear due to being on soft irrigated pastures. Excessive growth with really good feed. And probably many more reasons that I do not have time to think about right now.
The bottom line for me, is to identify the cause. I don't just cull on an assumption or inconvenience.
Again, everyone has an opinion on this. But this is mine, for what it's worth.
Jerry on my show cattle I don't want cracks or chips with natural wear and tear. They gotta be smooth and perfect to go in the ring. Nothing wrong with the feet, just making them purdy.
I nor the vets I have talked to, believe that every cow that needs a foot trimmed has a "genetic issue". I know there are varying beliefs on this, and I do not deny that that there can be some serious genetic issues with feet that you do not want in your cattle.
However, there are foot issues that are not genetic that sometimes have to be addressed. For example an injury to the coronet band can case an otherwise normal hoof to be misshapen. Uneven wear for an older arthritic cow. No wear due to being on soft irrigated pastures. Excessive growth with really good feed. And probably many more reasons that I do not have time to think about right now.
The bottom line for me, is to identify the cause. I don't just cull on an assumption or inconvenience.
Again, everyone has an opinion on this. But this is mine, for what it's worth.
branguscowgirl
Well-known member
Yes, and I have have also read that "the genetic factor of screw claw is even questionable."dun":156ga7uj said:
rockridgecattle
Well-known member
Crappy hooves is genetic. Hate hoof trimming. We had one bull that had bad hooves, every one of his retained girls ended up needing trimming every year. Cost us us in time, money, energy, sore hands from getting kicked.
Good feet are as important as good udders and good teats.
Cows are suppose to work for you....not go on welfare.
Good feet are as important as good udders and good teats.
Cows are suppose to work for you....not go on welfare.
branguscowgirl
Well-known member
Matter of opinion on what's "bad hooves". I don't agree that all hoof problems are "genetic." I also do not deny that some "are genetic." For me, I have to have a professional evaluation and clean up before I would send a otherwise great cow to slaughter. As previously discussed, there can be many reasons for a bad hoof.rockridgecattle":1jttg387 said:
Nite Hawk
Well-known member
Fast hoof growth can be genetic, but it also can be living on soft wet ground with no hard rocky soil to wear the feet down...
rockridgecattle
Well-known member
Withe the exception of wet or dry ground or change in feed creating sand cracks, foot rot, due to iodine deficiency, most other causes are genetic. Curled or crossed claws, extra long claws due to walking or standing wrong are mostly genetic. Even how they stand can be genetic trace back.
A cow that requires more than the basics of good nutrition, minerals, fly control, vaccinations and deworming, to maintain weight, breed back on time, wean a good sized calf, and repeat the cycle costs money. When the bottom line is tight, extras consume dollars necessary for other parts of the operation. Picking bulls with good feet, good leg stance, good sound structure helps to minimize the need for hoof trimming.
Once we got rid of that bull, did not retain any heifers from those cows, we trimmed one hoof due to over saturated ground since 2002
A cow that requires more than the basics of good nutrition, minerals, fly control, vaccinations and deworming, to maintain weight, breed back on time, wean a good sized calf, and repeat the cycle costs money. When the bottom line is tight, extras consume dollars necessary for other parts of the operation. Picking bulls with good feet, good leg stance, good sound structure helps to minimize the need for hoof trimming.
Once we got rid of that bull, did not retain any heifers from those cows, we trimmed one hoof due to over saturated ground since 2002
Ozhorse
Well-known member
I got that cow's front foot trimmed that I posted about earlier. I put her in the shute, gave her 4 ml of Ace sedative, tied her back leg so I wouldnt get kicked, front leg strapped the leg and tied it with rope as well. I just used my horse gear to trim. The cows foot was both harder, and rubberier than the horses.
The cow is shoulder lame and walks with the leg out to the side. She had a long scar down the hoof (outside claw), under the scar down inside the hoof wall is a long cavity filled with black muck. The hoof wall was thickened with a big ridge inside it so there has been substantial pathology. She has had an injury, or an abscess near the corinary band. If a cow gets an abscess that goes up between the claws, can it bet into her pastern and fetlock joint? Perhaps I was imagining it but I think the fetlock is a little thickened.
She went through a bad bushfire the January before last, which is 18 months ago now. I would have thought that if it was injury from the fire, which often brings on hoof abscess after, that it would have already grown out?
I just chopped off as much toe as I could and tried to level the heels.
I have had her back in the yard 24 hours later and she seems just as lame as before despite that she can now stand evenly on her feet.
How long does it take a cows hoof to grow from the corinary band to the ground?
If a sheep gets a foot abscess it gets into the joints above and causes arthritis and the animal often goes permanently lame. Do untreated foot abscess in cattle do the same thing? Usually a foot abscess will burst above the hoof, but her hoof has been split vertically, as if she has had injury to the corinary band.
I was planning to give her a month to improve in her lameness and if she does not then take her to the meatworks in August. Does this sound like a good plan?
The cow is shoulder lame and walks with the leg out to the side. She had a long scar down the hoof (outside claw), under the scar down inside the hoof wall is a long cavity filled with black muck. The hoof wall was thickened with a big ridge inside it so there has been substantial pathology. She has had an injury, or an abscess near the corinary band. If a cow gets an abscess that goes up between the claws, can it bet into her pastern and fetlock joint? Perhaps I was imagining it but I think the fetlock is a little thickened.
She went through a bad bushfire the January before last, which is 18 months ago now. I would have thought that if it was injury from the fire, which often brings on hoof abscess after, that it would have already grown out?
I just chopped off as much toe as I could and tried to level the heels.
I have had her back in the yard 24 hours later and she seems just as lame as before despite that she can now stand evenly on her feet.
How long does it take a cows hoof to grow from the corinary band to the ground?
If a sheep gets a foot abscess it gets into the joints above and causes arthritis and the animal often goes permanently lame. Do untreated foot abscess in cattle do the same thing? Usually a foot abscess will burst above the hoof, but her hoof has been split vertically, as if she has had injury to the corinary band.
I was planning to give her a month to improve in her lameness and if she does not then take her to the meatworks in August. Does this sound like a good plan?
branguscowgirl
Well-known member
Oz any infection can end up deep in the structure of the hoof or joint. Cracks can certainly allow any bacteria in. Or could she have an injury to her shoulder to cause her to walk strange, hence the uneven wear and stress cracking of the hoof?
I would be inclined to give her a dose or 2 of LA 300 and see if she is sounder in a couple days. If she is not, you can probably rule at infection and lean toward a problem that will continue to be a problem. (And follow through with your plan.)
Good luck
I would be inclined to give her a dose or 2 of LA 300 and see if she is sounder in a couple days. If she is not, you can probably rule at infection and lean toward a problem that will continue to be a problem. (And follow through with your plan.)
Good luck
Ozhorse
Well-known member
This is an old old injury. There is no heat anywhere, including the fetlock which looks the teeniest bit enlarged.
The scar down the hoof is about 4 inches long, almost the whole length of the hoof, and about 3/4 of an inch deep inside the hoof wall.
I did not notice the lameness until about March. The cattle were away on agistment after the fire, and with trying to re-fence the whole property and put life back together I did not see her during the acute phase.
If it was a horse I would say the injury was just under a year ago from the amount of hoof growth. I fed them last winter so I am surprised I did not see her limping before.
She walks like a shoulder lameness, but logic tells me that with that amount of hoof damage the hoof must have come first.
Horses i am told take about a year to grow a hoof. Any idea how long it takes a cow?
Thanks for the advice, I have two other animals going direct to processing in early August so if she does not improve she will go with them.
The scar down the hoof is about 4 inches long, almost the whole length of the hoof, and about 3/4 of an inch deep inside the hoof wall.
I did not notice the lameness until about March. The cattle were away on agistment after the fire, and with trying to re-fence the whole property and put life back together I did not see her during the acute phase.
If it was a horse I would say the injury was just under a year ago from the amount of hoof growth. I fed them last winter so I am surprised I did not see her limping before.
She walks like a shoulder lameness, but logic tells me that with that amount of hoof damage the hoof must have come first.
Horses i am told take about a year to grow a hoof. Any idea how long it takes a cow?
Thanks for the advice, I have two other animals going direct to processing in early August so if she does not improve she will go with them.
branguscowgirl
Well-known member
Average 3/16 of an inch per month. Completely regenerates in about 14 months. But this can be accelerated due to certain genetics and feed.
Ozhorse
Well-known member
From the timing you just gave me and the length of her toe I think it is explained by burnt feet.
They have been on poor feed since the fire and she has raised a calf, it may take a little longer than "normal" to grow as far as it has.
She could have (dont know how they could have avoided) walked in burning logs and killed a whole section of hoof, which is still growing out. One of our bulls has a lesion that looks similar from the outside, but did not cause him lameness that I saw. I have seen a neighbours bull that was probably burnt in the back hooves, had big scars up both back hooves, had grown long toes and then arthritis from it.
I guess the only big question is why I have had as little problem with burnt feet as I did.
Thank you for the information.
They have been on poor feed since the fire and she has raised a calf, it may take a little longer than "normal" to grow as far as it has.
She could have (dont know how they could have avoided) walked in burning logs and killed a whole section of hoof, which is still growing out. One of our bulls has a lesion that looks similar from the outside, but did not cause him lameness that I saw. I have seen a neighbours bull that was probably burnt in the back hooves, had big scars up both back hooves, had grown long toes and then arthritis from it.
I guess the only big question is why I have had as little problem with burnt feet as I did.
Thank you for the information.
