Screw claw
- Thread starter tom4018
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kenny thomas
Well-known member
Is she one of your better cows? If not slaughter cows are high.
farmerjan
Well-known member
Yes, she will walk better and be more comfortable... cut it back some, then in a month cut it back a little more to close to where it meets the other in length... It sure can't hurt unless you try to take off too much all at once... We have 2 bought cows that obviously had foot problems and have one toe that grows 2x longer than the other one... they get trimmed at least once a year... and we cut them way back.... and they go on and raise a decent calf every year... both are getting some age and will be at the top of the cull list if they have any other issues...
Agree with @kenny thomas .... one thing, if you cut it back some, she might bring a couple pennies more if she is walking better too....
Agree with @kenny thomas .... one thing, if you cut it back some, she might bring a couple pennies more if she is walking better too....
kenny thomas
Well-known member
If you can do it yourself go for it. If you have to get a vet it might not be worth it unless she is a good cow.
farmerjan
Well-known member
We get them in the chute, use a "lopping shears" for plants/brush/small limbs.... long handled like pruning shears... nothing fancy. If she will stand, just cut it off while it is on the ground... or use a rope and tie the leg up a bit and do it... but we do ours while standing on the ground in the chute... cut it back some then if it needs more we will put a rope around the foot/hock and raise it up some to trim it more...
OP
OP
tom4018
Dumb Old Farmer
She is a good producer.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Well worth fixing then.
OP
OP
tom4018
Dumb Old Farmer
Can I trim too much off?
OP
OP
tom4018
Dumb Old Farmer
Curious what the vet will charge.
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Haven't had one done in years so no idea.
Silver
Well-known member
I'd bet if you get the foot picked up and look underneath you'll see the hoof wall folded under. I use horse hoof nippers and a rasp and make the bottom of the hoof look like it is supposed to.
Then in the fall I cull them out.
Then in the fall I cull them out.
wbvs58
Well-known member
Some embryotomy wire can work well on them.
Ken
Ken
chaded
Well-known member
I can't imagine having to trim hooves..
kenny thomas
Well-known member
I have never seen that done but it makes sense.
farmerjan
Well-known member
Yes, you can initially trim too much if you get it down to where it bleeds. Just like a sheep or goat hoof. That is why I do it in a couple stages. Agree with @Silver that it could be "folded under" ...and that place that will stay damp, collect manure etc, and cause hoof rot also.
Had the vet work on the hoof of a neighbors bull when he was at our place doing preg checks on our cows... Think it was only an extra $20 bucks because the bull was too big for the chute... so he gave him rompum and maybe something else... bull went down easily, trimmed it up and gave him something else and he was up and walking in 15-20 minutes. We had brought the bull to our barn to do... very quiet and gentle....
Had the vet work on the hoof of a neighbors bull when he was at our place doing preg checks on our cows... Think it was only an extra $20 bucks because the bull was too big for the chute... so he gave him rompum and maybe something else... bull went down easily, trimmed it up and gave him something else and he was up and walking in 15-20 minutes. We had brought the bull to our barn to do... very quiet and gentle....
coachg
Well-known member
Have a 10 + yr old cow that I carried to my vet to get both back feet trimmed . Put her in the chute that rotates to make a table . $40 is what he charged me . She's headed to the sale barn in a couple of months . Raises one of the best calves in the herd .
farmerjan
Well-known member
Unless she was foundered from too much grain for some reason (like a show animal) our experience has been that it tends to be hereditary... we kept a couple heifers out of the one cow we bought with the very long, fast growing toe, and 2 of the 3 developed "long toes".... so we do not keep any out of the cows now... But they put big strapping calves on the ground and other than the toe, are not any sort of problems.... so for terminal animals it is not a big deal.
Mind you, we do not go around "trimming feet" like so many dairies do because these animals are not stuck on concrete and fed all that high protein feed... don't get strawberry warts and foot rot and such like dairy animals are prone to with the concentrated walking in manure and on the concrete. But not a big deal for an otherwise productive cow to trim her foot/toe once a year or so.
To get a vet out special you would pay the vet call and all those fees....
Mind you, we do not go around "trimming feet" like so many dairies do because these animals are not stuck on concrete and fed all that high protein feed... don't get strawberry warts and foot rot and such like dairy animals are prone to with the concentrated walking in manure and on the concrete. But not a big deal for an otherwise productive cow to trim her foot/toe once a year or so.
To get a vet out special you would pay the vet call and all those fees....
kenny thomas
Well-known member
Jan, in cows coming through the market and going to slaughter i seem to notice more long claws on back feet than front. Had you ever noticed that?
farmerjan
Well-known member
I would say that 75% of the long claws I have seen, on BEEF cattle, are back feet... but on dairy cows it seems to be nearly even with front and back for some reason....and in the parlor where the cows are up close on a dairy every day... it is usually easier to nip off the back ones because most parlors are either parallel or herringbone... so the back feet are close to the farmer....
BFE
Well-known member
Sold an otherwise nice 5/3 Simangus cow a couple weeks ago. Long toes in the back, walking on her heels. I don't give them time to go lame, they have bad feet, they gone.
