Not sure if steers have abcess or other problem

[GoodValley]

I am a hobby farmer with about 4 acres, fenced into three fields. This is my second winter with angus and I am the first to admit I am a total newcomer to this.

Last May (2006) my purebred black angus gave birth to twin bulls. So I have four angus: two baby bulls, a mother, and a heifer.

About 6 weeks after the bulls were born (maybe 8 weeks?) a vet came out and castrated them.

It's been a very wet winter here in the pacific NW. My field is very mucky, I am embarassed about that. One section, near their feeding barn, has muck that's 10 inches deep. Usually they stay in an area that has no muck though.

A month ago or so I noticed that both steer have a grotesque looking growth hanging down between their rear legs. It looks like it could be their ball sack, but I thought since the vet cut their balls off there should be nothing there. I would estimate one is about the size of a large grapefruit, the other a bit larger. I can not get very close to them but it looks like this is their penis, pee comes out of it. I hope I am just worried for no reason. The fact that both of the steer have the same thing makes me think it could be natural.

I was going to call a vet but I also got concerned that a vet may not like the muck here and say I am in violation of some accepted farming practice, and open up a can of worms. If I have to get them sedated by a vet, and the growth removed, I will. In the future I will probably cut back and just keep 2 animals on this land not 4.

All suggestions welcome. Thanks.

 

[cattleluvr18]

i dont really know anything about this but i do have one thing to say....

I was going to call a vet but I also got concerned that a vet may not like the muck here

ok he's a vet...he should be able to handle the muck...if he cant he needs to grow some balls himself.

 

[KMacGinley]

Lower 3/4s? You are seeing what is left of their scrotum. Don't worry.

 

[holly heifer]

:shock: I thought the muck was just part of the cattle
operation :shock: If that is not so, then my place is a felony!
After 5 inches of rain that then froze, add 15 inches
of melted snow and wed. an impending thunderstorm ----
why would there be MUCK-- Mud--- Quagmire---

 

[Alan]

Deep muck is part of living in the NW, call your vet if you have a doubt. But don't expect your vet to run through muck to catch you cattle, have them caught and contained to where the vet is safe to handle them, or look at them.

Alan

 

[3MR]

I'd follow Alan's advice, pen them up and call the vet. If your not sure, it could be an infection and if it is its not something you want to just let take its course.

Is there anybody around you familiar with cattle you can have look at it for you, or maybe take a good picture of it and post it here.

 

[Bama]

A month ago or so I noticed that both steer have a grotesque looking growth hanging down between their rear legs. It looks like it could be their ball sack, but I thought since the vet cut their balls off there should be nothing there. I would estimate one is about the size of a large grapefruit, the other a bit larger. I can not get very close to them but it looks like this is their penis, pee comes out of it. I hope I am just worried for no reason. The fact that both of the steer have the same thing makes me think it could be natural.


All suggestions welcome. Thanks.

You got me wandering what your looking at. There should be plenty of daylight between their sac and penis. It sounds as if the sac is infected from the muck. [/b]

 

[KMacGinley]

I missed the pee part. You got me. That should be in the mid belly region. Also they were cut last July? Should have been healed up in august. No idea what you are seeing.