raykour":1xdgpyeg said:
2 year old first calf heifer is pretty lame on the front. I assume she has hoof rot, as I had another case of it earlier this year and she holds the weight off of her foot and her toes are pretty spread. There are no indications of any other issues (swelling, etc)
What can I treat her with? I treated my last case with Nuflor, but it is not labeled for pregnant cattle. LA-200?
My vet it out of town (great time of year for a vet to travel for pleasure, don't you think) so I am asking here!
There is sooo much available if you do a search. Is there only one veterinarian in your county? There must be at least ten witihin a couple hours of my place.
Did a search for you - this one works - and yeah - it is my own response to another person.
Tetracycline will be the best treatment. There are literally hundreds of "name brands out there" but the active ingredients are pretty much the same and all are effective.
Oxy this, Ala that, LA blah blah - some have a number on them - 200, 300 - some are just labelled with a name and an LA for long acting. Just remember to get a tetracycline based product - ask your vet or your local and qualified farm store rep if unsure.
In my opinion - topical treament is schitte - it has no way to penetrate to get to the problem - a complete waste of time.
Most people that do this and get some results - in my opinion - is likely because the foot would have healed on it's own anyway.
Remember - until you actually look at the foot and dig around you can only guess at what it is.
Tetracycline and bred animals? No problem. There are literally hundreds of "name brands out there" but the active ingredients are pretty much the same and all are effective and will not give you grief.
Almost everything below will matter to you - the rest you can read and laugh at.
Cheers
Bez
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This is easy
Squeeze her up - lift the foot and look at the bottom of the hoof and between the hooves.
Worried about the squeeze? Bait her in. Make it so she has to go through the chute system to get to water - they can go without food but not without water.
There may actually be something embedded in the bottom of the hoof that you cannot see.
Could be something like metal in the bottom of the hoof, foot rot (which does not always swell or smell despite what some folks will tell you), a small rock stuck up high in the meat between the toes, sprain, strain, muscle tear or so many other things it is not worth listing them all.
While you say she has been doing this for some time, you make it sound like you have not completed a visual inspection. Did you pick up the hoof and visually examine it?
A shot of any tetracycline based med at a rate of approximately 1cc per 10kg body weight - or whatever the specific directions for the drug you choose - will do the job. Be sure to follow the subQ or intramuscular directions as required - see the bottle for that as well.
You can do this on pure speculation as it will definitely not hurt her and it is cheap.
We use Alamycin LA here but there are a multitude - literally a mutitude of different equivalents out there on the market. Your vet will know and if you have a decent feed store with a veterinary section - they will be able to help as well.
Just do not put more than 10cc in any one spot.
This is not something to be worried about - it just needs to be handled.
If you have to cut a hole in the bottom of her hoof to drain it - be sure you run her on dry grass - that area around the feed trough is a bad place for animals like her when it gets wet. I usually make a sock for a hoof injury if I have to cut the hoof - I use an old shirt sleeve and duct tape to keep the dirt out if the hole is large - it will eventually wear off on its own and keep the wound clean.
The length of symptomatic time tells me she needs to visited by a vet if you cannot handle this yourself - hope it works out for you.
And one last thing - stop petting your cattle on the head - a real potential for problems.
If I have missed anything I am sure others will fill you in.
Stay safe.
Merry Christmas
Bez
