Rear foot problem?

[ousoonerfan22]

We have a coming four year old angus cow that has a bad back foot...a hole in the bottom of the pad about the size of a nickel. We hauled her to the local vet Saturday and he said he could give her a shot of antibiotic but that the foot will always be a problem and we should probably haul her to the sale barn. This cow is a registered angus that is three months bred to our registered angus bull so I would like to keep her long enough to calve then maybe haul her off before she breeds back. What would you do haul her off now? I guess that pad won't grow back? :???:

 

[regolith]

Yes, it should grow back.

A 'shot of antibiotics' for a hole in the foot is a ridiculous suggestion.
You need a good foot trimmer.

It may take a couple of trims about four weeks apart to get her right. A 'hole in the bottom of the pad' could describe a few different things - you might want to google images of 'sole ulcer' 'sole bruising or stone bruising' 'white line abscess' 'sole penetration' to help you figure out what it is and what the appropriate treatment is.
Most likely the appropriate treatment is to remove all under-run horn and put a block on the sound claw to allow the bad one to rest.

 

[regolith]

As Lucky said in a previous thread... the vet on the ground has the much better basis to offer an opinion. From what you've said though, I'd be wondering whether this vet is at all experienced in fixing up bovine feet.

 

[ousoonerfan22]

The vet had a tool and peeled or scraped off a piece of the pad and you could see pink flesh that looked swollen plus that foot is slightly swollen. He mentioned he could add that pad to the other claw and take pressure off the damaged one.

 

[regolith]

Okay, that sounds bad.
The issue with using antibiotics for abscesses in the foot is that they don't penetrate the tissue very well, is how it's been explained to me. Unlike a simple footrot which is an easy fix. If the infection has got into the bone it may not be fixable.

If you only want her to calve and don't make her walk you'll probably be able to keep her that long in a small pasture even if the foot doesn't heal. Once the infection is in the bone the only real option for keeping the cow is amputation of the claw; if it's bad now but not in the bone yet trimming + antibiotics may save the cow, your vet can advise on what antibiotic has best chance of getting to the right area.
He should have a block - wooden or rubber - that can be glued to the other claw. The type I've used are 'shoof' claw slips, though there are others on the market. Before blocks came in we used to bandage feet or put shoes on them (the old shoes were cute, like something you'd put on a doll).