pregnant cow walking as if lame?

[ufo_chris]

Hello, I'm pretty new here and to cattle.
I have a pregnant cow that has at least 4 weeks to go. Possibly longer(bull was here 3 month) but she is pretty huge.
Barely fits in a 28" chute. She's Highland.Bread by a Angus.
Anyways she has been walking as if she is lame. I found a crack in her foot (coronet band to halfway down),took a good pic and took it to the vet.
He says don't worry till after she calves (also researched this and seems it is common and not much one can do) then we'll check it out if she still walks funny.
My hubby says she's walking funny because her huge belly sways back and forth and she is loosing balance!
So do heavyly pregnant cows walk funny sometimes?
Or heaven forbid, could this indicate twins? (the hugeness at 8 month)
:wave:

 

[hillsdown]

Is it sand cracks ?

 

[dun]

The size of the belly doesn;t indicate the size or number of calves. Not unusual for a heavy bred cow to walk strange. Could be the belly, could also be the way the calf is laying and impinging on a nerve.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

, could also be the way the calf is laying and impinging on a nerve.

This was my thought exactly, provided the 'lameness' described is in the hind end.

I've had a couple do this.

Katherine

 

[ufo_chris]

Thanks for the replies.
My Vet says it looks like she had an injury at the coronet band and it caused the crack.
The 'lameness' is in the front ,where the crack is also ,but it actully looks more like the other leg, but I see nothing wrong with it.
Should I not worry as long as she still gets around?
She doesn't have to walk too far for food and water.
Also ,some days she walks a bit better.
Chris

 

[dun]

If I did anything at all it would be to give her a dozen aspirin a day to help with the swelling. Other then that just practice benign neglect.

 

[Putangitangi]

I noticed lameness over a couple of years in some mature cows in my herd, around the time I started to realize I had a Magnesium deficiency problem in the early spring as they were coming up to calving. Supplementing a bit of Mg Oxide (mixed in with some Molasses) for those cows appeared to eliminate that problem, along with the other signs of marginal deficiency. I have no idea if it really ties together, but putting the MgO out for the cows in the last few years appears to be making things better. You may already supplement by some other method, of course.

 

[mnmtranching]

It's not unusual for a heavy pregnant cow to walk slowly and limp. could be she stepped on a rock and has some tenderness, or maybe a strain. as long as she gets around ok she should be fine. How old is this cow?

 

[lakeportfarms]

All good suggestions above. We have Highlands and they are not especially fast movers, especially nearing the due date. If you can keep her in a small pasture (ideal if you have managed pastures) to limit their mobility, make sure she has minerals, and you can keep a closer eye on her at the same time prior to calving. I know it's tough this time of year with nice pasture in Ohio (beats snow and mud), but even just feed some good hay and keep her penned if necessary to limit the walking and standing. A lot of hay becomes available around here as people are trying to clear out their barns for their first cutting.

 

[ufo_chris]

Thanks so much for all replies.
She just turned 9 which I understand is not too old.
I do rotational grazing and removed my heifer and have her in the closest one to shed & water.
Also give her some hay even though there is plenty grass.
I noticed today that both front feet have a little puffyness between her toes ,up on top where it goes into the coronet band. Looks kinda like a tiny butt ! About the size of a fingertip. No cracking or dryness or broken skin.
I read all I can about footrot and it does not seem to be it.
Reasons: She's been 'lame' for over 1 week,no oozing ,and both front feet affected.
Can't check the rear because she'd kick!
Also she has quite a bit of pasture ,has not been too muddy .
What do you guys think?
Thanks,Chris

 

[dun]

I think that other then the limp that everything is normal. Did you look at her fet or any other cows and see the "butt"? I see it on all of our cows.

 

[ufo_chris]

Ok, I should have said...I did compare to my heifer and the 'butt' is kinda flat on her.
On the cow it's puffy,like a fat round butt and when you touch it it feels puffy and on the heifer more firm.
While at work I was thinking...maybe it's like a pregnant woman with swollen feet?
So you don't think it's foot rot then? Would it be oozing by now? And only on one foot?
I'm sure glad you're here to help,Thank you and God bless!
Chris

 

[dun]

Ok, I should have said...I did compare to my heifer and the 'butt' is kinda flat on her.
On the cow it's puffy,like a fat round butt and when you touch it it feels puffy and on the heifer more firm.
While at work I was thinking...maybe it's like a pregnant woman with swollen feet?
So you don't think it's foot rot then? Would it be oozing by now? And only on one foot?
I'm sure glad you're here to help,Thank you and God bless!
Chris

If she is gympy on one foot, anything that the other foot has in common is probably not a problem. I still think it's a heavy bred cow with a cracked and sensitive foot.
Too many people look for problems and find them everywhere, even when there isn;t any.

 

[ufo_chris]

Yes ,I am a worrywart and very pessimistic!
I just don't want to let something go that should have gotten treated.
Thanks for all the advise.
I'll keep watching her closely .
Chris

 

[dun]

Yes ,I am a worrywart and very pessimistic!
I just don't want to let something go that should have gotten treated.
Thanks for all the advise.
I'll keep watching her closely .
Chris

Being concerned is fine. Save the worrying until something happens that is worthy of it.

 

[mnmtranching]

I keep a close eye on my cows for culling purposes. At 9 years old I would probably cull her after her calf is weaned. Next year will likely be worse for her late in the pregnancy. It might be one of those cases where you try to get one more calf out of a good cow. Works sometimes, in the long run, just not a good policy.

 

[ufo_chris]

UPDATE!
Well ,I hate to say ,I,a novice, was right.... no I don't :banana:
SHE HAD TWINS!!!!!
I have talked to women who had twins and they said they were huge and had a hard time walking and stuff. Makes sense!
I checked her 3 am ,she was fine but a little slime and was switching her tail and was clear in the back of the pasture.
So signs of active labor though but I told hubby would not be surprised to have a calf next day.
I was very surprised to have twins though!
Checked again at 7.30 am (since no signs of any active labor and she had beeen switchin and I read the slime can be days before)and Bull calf no.1 was standing already!
As I was waiting for her to pass the afterbirth bull no.2 arrived easily!
I thought it was the afterbirth comming when I noticed little feet and nose and was kinda in shock!
First calves (for me) and they are Twins!WOW!
He was a little weaker though, I helped her out a bit drying him and stuff ,he laid flat on his side at least 1/2 hr. she did lick him some and moo at him but she was still busy with no. 1 (was not nursing yet but trying) and you could tell she was a bit confused but willing to mother both.
I rubbed him more and helped him up but he only tried halfheartedly to suck on her and after 2 hrs. I fed him some bought colostrum I had just in case (glad I was prepared!) No. 1 was nursing now.
Meanwhile my vet called me back and said I did good feeding him some.
I left him with her all day and watched closesly and he never did nurse on her. Fed him more later and then put him in a stall so now he is a bottle calf.
He's 5 days old now and getting stronger . Might try to put him back with her next week, any thoughts on that?
Does that usually work.
By the way they look like their dad ,black angus, not Highland at all,and were about 55 lbs. each which seems a good weight for this x.
Her first duedate was 7/1 this happened 6/27.
I put him on medicated milk replacer as he had a little diarr. day 1.
Also did a lot of praying!
Any thoughts on how long they can be on the medicated stuff?
Also he would drink more then the reccomended amount but they say they can develop scours from too much milk. Just got some starter pellets too.
Also ,any newbies reading this I highly reccomend investing a few bucks in some books on cattle, they have really helped me a lot! And are faster to get to when you need to know something right now then to get online.
Hey,anybody know how the probability of twins in cattle compares to twins in people?
Also, is it something in the genes? I mean can a certain bull or cow have more chances of sets of twins?
Does it come from the dam or sire?
Anyways, Thanks again for all your help,
Chris