Preventing Hoof Rot

[ksmit454]

First encounter with hoof rot today. I have had cattle for about a year and a half and boy am I learning. Noticed a limp, swelling. Got him in the chute and it seems to be hoof rot after sending pictures/info to my vet. Any tips/suggestions to prevent it? They are on pasture so not standing in muck all day but it has been very wet from lots of downpours. We cleaned and treated the area and will continue to treat with Dr. Naylor's hoof rot treatment. He's in the dry barn now.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Supplement Iodine added to your mineral, or mixed with salt. Zinc also helps some.

Organic Iodine Salt 40 grain (EDDI) Vedco - Feed Medications | Oral Medications | Farm

Free Shipping on most orders over $49. Great Low Price. Organic Iodine Salt provides a nutritional source of iodine for cattle. Equivalent to 9.2% EDDI (ethylenediamine dihydroiodide); 40 grains EDDI per oz; 41,760 mg EDDI per lb. Organic Iodine Salt may be mixed with cattle ration or salt...

www.valleyvet.com

 

[SBMF 2015]

An old cattle feeder who fed a lot of cattle on dirt all his life told me; You put barn or Ag lime in an ally way or narrow place that the cattle have to travel through daily. The lime cauterizies their feet.
Sounds ouchy, but it's cheap.

 

[TCRanch]

There are foot rot vaccines (I know one is called Fusogard) but I don't know how effective they are. This time of year, when it's muddy & cold, keeping the bale areas scraped & iodine in the mineral is helpful. And I feed mineral with CTC from appx April - Oct.

 

[Silver]

We used Fusogard on our bulls for a few years. I did not notice a significant difference in the incidence of foot rot, but it was noticeably easier to treat.
Last few years I have switched the bulls to a Highboot TM salt block (high in iodine) a few months before turn out and that seems to be working better than the vaccination.

 

[ksmit454]

I didn't know the hoof rot was something that many ranchers encountered. I appreciate all the input thus far. They do have free choice mineral blocks, but I'm thinking loose minerals is a better option. Now I need to find a way to keep those minerals dry and not all over the ground lol.

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

I utilize salt with EDDI (iodine) on all my stock (goats, cattle, horses ) 24/7/365. Aside from good husbandry (keeping loafing and feed areas clean and dry, maintaining overall animal health, ect), I have found its the most effective way to promote hoof health...

 

[ksmit454]

How long can I expect something like this to heal?

 

[TCRanch]

How long can I expect something like this to heal?

Depends on the severity and treatment. If you used LA200/300, you'll generally see improvement in a few days. I recently treated one of my girls. In a perfect world, I'd get her in the chute and thoroughly examine & clean the hoof, make sure it's truly foot rot (not something lodged between the toes, puncture wound, abscess, etc.), and I usually use LA300 or Draxxin. But I don't live in a perfect world. She's docile enough I was able to pull out debris between her toes and there's no mistaking the vile smell of foot rot. Contemplated how long it would take to get her to the corral/chute and decided to start by hand feeding her Sustain III boluses (sulfamethazine). Bingo! Three days later, barely even a limp, no swelling.

 

[TCRanch]

I didn't know the hoof rot was something that many ranchers encountered. I appreciate all the input thus far. They do have free choice mineral blocks, but I'm thinking loose minerals is a better option. Now I need to find a way to keep those minerals dry and not all over the ground lol.

Definitely loose mineral. This is what I use but there was a recent thread about mineral feeders with a lot of creative options.
B&W Big Blaze Mineral Feeder | B And W | NRS (nrsworld.com)

 

[TCRanch]

@ksmit454, found the thread. Lots of good info.
Too Mineral or not... | CattleToday

 

[Caustic Burno]

Supplement Iodine added to your mineral, or mixed with salt. Zinc also helps some.

Organic Iodine Salt 40 grain (EDDI) Vedco - Feed Medications | Oral Medications | Farm

Free Shipping on most orders over $49. Great Low Price. Organic Iodine Salt provides a nutritional source of iodine for cattle. Equivalent to 9.2% EDDI (ethylenediamine dihydroiodide); 40 grains EDDI per oz; 41,760 mg EDDI per lb. Organic Iodine Salt may be mixed with cattle ration or salt...

www.valleyvet.com

Works

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

As TC said - it definitely has a foul smell. It is best to restrain the foot and clean out. We take a couple pieces of baling twine - make knots in it about every couple inches - then run it back & forth between the toes. It will clean out the rot - then put coppertox on it - and definitely a shot of LA200 or LA300. There are lots of antibiotics out there, but the 200 & 300's are the only thing for foot rot or pink eye.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

And you are wasting your money feeding mineral blocks. There isn't enough trace mineral in a whole block for 1 cow if she ate the whole thing in one day. A 50 gallon drum with a swivel eye bolt on the top, hanging from a tree or cross post works great. Cut out a hole on the side big enough for them to get their head in to eat. I offset the eyebolt so the bucket tips down on the "hole" side. Keeps rain from getting into the bucket.

 

[jerry27150]

when we had dairy vet had us make a foot bath with copper sulfate & water, then switched to hydrated lime. 5 day sulfa drugs used to be the drug of choice by vets. now i use cobalt blocks which has more iodine than cobalt. if they still get a sore foot i just use 2 day penicillin

 

[Silver]

And you are wasting your money feeding mineral blocks. There isn't enough trace mineral in a whole block for 1 cow if she ate the whole thing in one day.

There is enough copper in one block of TM salt to cause acute toxicity to 10-15 mature beef cows if they ate it all in one day.
There is good chance you are wasting your money feeding any supplement if you don't know what you need.

From the Ohio State University Extension: Salt blocks may not provide sufficient trace mineral intake in marginal or deficient situations due to the block being so hard it may be difficult for ruminants to consume enough to meet requirements.

Key here is MAY NOT. Test your forage, test your cattle, observe you cattle over a period of years, hire a nutritionist, whatever route you choose... don't ASSUME you NEED or DON'T NEED one or the other.

 

[gcreekrch]

We have treated hoof rot by just a good bathing in bleach. I concur with the increased iodine.

 

[ksmit454]

Thanks all! We did put him in the squeeze yesterday when I first noticed it and I hosed it all off and ran my finger in between his toes all the way underneath. It was definitely ouchy for him, but it smelled almost like a horses hoof abscess. We immediately put him in the dry barn. I've only been treating 2x daily with Dr.Naylor's Hoof Rot Treatment. I do have LA300 on hand but this guy is getting butchered in May... thoughts? I can ask my vet too. He seems to be walking better on it but still swollen.

 

[kenny thomas]

Thanks all! We did put him in the squeeze yesterday when I first noticed it and I hosed it all off and ran my finger in between his toes all the way underneath. It was definitely ouchy for him, but it smelled almost like a horses hoof abscess. We immediately put him in the dry barn. I've only been treating 2x daily with Dr.Naylor's Hoof Rot Treatment. I do have LA300 on hand but this guy is getting butchered in May... thoughts? I can ask my vet too. He seems to be walking better on it but still swollen.

LA 300 has a 28 day withdrawal.

 

[ksmit454]

LA 300 has a 28 day withdrawal.

Ok thank you. I'm reading the bottle now and it is saying 3ml per 100lbs of body weight either IM or Sub-Q. I've only administered LA200 one other time to a sick calf with pneumonia issues. I do not remember if I gave IM or sub Q. Suggestions? I do however remember giving two injections, one on either side of neck because it was a large dose for one area.