I have a bull with what I think is foot rot. Limping bad. The vet said start with LA300. I gave him a shot yesterday. He hasn't improved. It always seems LA300 doesn't get the job done. I have a friend that says I should try Nuflor. Is Nuflor a lot better?
LA300 vs Nuflor for foot rot
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kenny thomas
Well-known member
If it's foot rot it isn't going to be better in a day. LA 300 is the go to med for foot rot.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Pneumonia. LA 300 is normally used in cases of foot rot and pinkeye. Soft tissue issues.
Are you sure it's foot rot? Did you check between his toes for the unmistakable, vile smell? Check for debris that may be caught? Swelling? Just saying - a limp does not always mean foot rot. That said, I agree with LA 300 as the initial line of defense but you could also give him Sustain boluses.
Nuflor has superior joint penetration for severe infections that have reached the bone. The most common reason to use Draxxin on these is that it goes through a dart gun well. Recent infections with a lesser degree of lameness will generally respond to LA products, I would give both LA and Sustain.
Rafter S
Well-known member
You didn't ask, but while I've mentioned this here before I thought it wouldn't hurt to do it again. My father always fed loose salt with iodine mixed in with it because it was supposed to help with foot rot (EDDI is the brand he used, but you can also buy iodine to mix with white salt). A few years after he passed away I came to the brilliant conclusion that since I never had problems with foot rot I could just feed the plain white salt instead. Guess what? I started having problems with foot rot, which went away when I went back to the EDDI salt.
I know this won't help you treat the bull now, but you know what they say about an ounce of prevention.
I know this won't help you treat the bull now, but you know what they say about an ounce of prevention.
That sounds more like an abscess.LA cattle said:
simme
Old Dumb Guy
My experience with reasons for limping:
Foot rot - Crevice of the foot between the "toes" appears to be "cracked open". Smells. Usually gets the blame for the limping. Easily cured with antibiotic. If one treatment does not solve it or show major improvement in a day, suspect something else.
Sprain or injury to leg - ligament/tissue/joint physical injury to any part of the leg structure. Needs confinement/rest. May not recover. Treat for inflammation/pain. People tend to overlook this as a cause since a "shot" won't fix it. Could be a bruise to the soft tissue on the back of the foot as well.
Abscess - infection pocket in the foot due to puncture wound. Can be caused by a nail, wire, sharp stick or metal or similar. Need to be sure that the foreign object is no longer in the foot. Clean the hoof and scrape the bottom of the hoof with a knife blade looking for a hole. Usually will appear as a black/dark spot in the hoof. Hoof needs to be clean to spot it. Use a hoof knife to "dig" out the hole until you start to see some pink/red. Dig just a little more until it drains freely. May be deeper and you may give up too soon. But, don't go too deep. If you lose the black/dark trail, stop. Wrap the foot to "try" to keep it clean. Keep confined if possible. May help to soak the foot in a bucket of water with Epsom salt. Can put a wooden block on the good hoof to keep the affected hoof off the ground. Difficult to treat with antibiotic only due to getting the antibiotic to the abscess. Antibiotic only treatment will usually follow a pattern of getting better and then limping returns when the antibiotic wears off. Foot will be swollen. If untreated, the abscess will eventually "break out" the side of foot just above the hoof and self drain. May have permanent joint damage if left untreated. Be careful with the hoof knife - holding the hoof with one hand and cutting with the other. Hoof knife can slip and cut your hand. You will meet some nice people in the emergency room that will be fascinated with what you were doing.
Something stuck in the foot - rock between the hooves, roofing nail in hoof, etc. First thing to look for. Lift the foot and inspect. Scrape the bottom of the hoof with a knife blade - dull knife preferred which I usually have.
Hairy heel wart - never had it, but looks real nasty. Looks like raw meat. More common in dairy than beef. Spreads to other animals from walking on contaminated surfaces.
First step in diagnosis is to get the animal confined and clean and inspect the hoof. Second step is treatment. Tendency is to just give an antibiotic and skip first step.
Foot rot - Crevice of the foot between the "toes" appears to be "cracked open". Smells. Usually gets the blame for the limping. Easily cured with antibiotic. If one treatment does not solve it or show major improvement in a day, suspect something else.
Sprain or injury to leg - ligament/tissue/joint physical injury to any part of the leg structure. Needs confinement/rest. May not recover. Treat for inflammation/pain. People tend to overlook this as a cause since a "shot" won't fix it. Could be a bruise to the soft tissue on the back of the foot as well.
Abscess - infection pocket in the foot due to puncture wound. Can be caused by a nail, wire, sharp stick or metal or similar. Need to be sure that the foreign object is no longer in the foot. Clean the hoof and scrape the bottom of the hoof with a knife blade looking for a hole. Usually will appear as a black/dark spot in the hoof. Hoof needs to be clean to spot it. Use a hoof knife to "dig" out the hole until you start to see some pink/red. Dig just a little more until it drains freely. May be deeper and you may give up too soon. But, don't go too deep. If you lose the black/dark trail, stop. Wrap the foot to "try" to keep it clean. Keep confined if possible. May help to soak the foot in a bucket of water with Epsom salt. Can put a wooden block on the good hoof to keep the affected hoof off the ground. Difficult to treat with antibiotic only due to getting the antibiotic to the abscess. Antibiotic only treatment will usually follow a pattern of getting better and then limping returns when the antibiotic wears off. Foot will be swollen. If untreated, the abscess will eventually "break out" the side of foot just above the hoof and self drain. May have permanent joint damage if left untreated. Be careful with the hoof knife - holding the hoof with one hand and cutting with the other. Hoof knife can slip and cut your hand. You will meet some nice people in the emergency room that will be fascinated with what you were doing.
Something stuck in the foot - rock between the hooves, roofing nail in hoof, etc. First thing to look for. Lift the foot and inspect. Scrape the bottom of the hoof with a knife blade - dull knife preferred which I usually have.
Hairy heel wart - never had it, but looks real nasty. Looks like raw meat. More common in dairy than beef. Spreads to other animals from walking on contaminated surfaces.
First step in diagnosis is to get the animal confined and clean and inspect the hoof. Second step is treatment. Tendency is to just give an antibiotic and skip first step.
Farmgirl
Well-known member
Agree on the abcess comments. Everything that looks like foot rot at first glance isn't. BTDT
Excellent post, Simme.
I had a bull with an abscess due to stepping on a honey locust thorn. Vet went straight to Draxxin.
Another thing to consider is whether the limping is due to a foot injury/foot rot, etc or possibly something else further up on the leg. Stifle injury is one. Outcome is generally not good.
I had another bull that was limping with no obvious symptoms. Vet felt along the back of his leg & discovered a lump above the hock. Shaved his leg & there was a scar; evidently suffered some kind of cut & healed on the outside but has a naaaaaasty infection. Took weeks to heal with a rubber tube threaded through the slits for the abscess to drain, multiple rounds of penicillin and antibiotics and flushing every other day. Lucky for me the bull was super docile! And he made a complete recovery.
I had a bull with an abscess due to stepping on a honey locust thorn. Vet went straight to Draxxin.
Another thing to consider is whether the limping is due to a foot injury/foot rot, etc or possibly something else further up on the leg. Stifle injury is one. Outcome is generally not good.
I had another bull that was limping with no obvious symptoms. Vet felt along the back of his leg & discovered a lump above the hock. Shaved his leg & there was a scar; evidently suffered some kind of cut & healed on the outside but has a naaaaaasty infection. Took weeks to heal with a rubber tube threaded through the slits for the abscess to drain, multiple rounds of penicillin and antibiotics and flushing every other day. Lucky for me the bull was super docile! And he made a complete recovery.
simme
Old Dumb Guy
TCRanch said:
Generally the vet and staff get excited about draining a large abscess. Lots of videos on the web. Not for a weak stomach.
simme said:
Love the videos! Fascinating & repugnant at the same time. I can actually smell it online :lol: :yuck:
