Skin condition, Parasites or injury?

[sunnyblueskies]

What's your best guess? See pictures.

So we bought this yearling Simmenthal bull this spring, older bull beat him up once they were turned out with the cows and the yearling decides to leave...... but that's a whole other story.
We were finally able to catch him a few days ago in the neighbouring herd and bring him home. We hadn't seen him in a few weeks, this pasture is mainly heavy bush and forest which means I'm not sure what happened to him during that time.
I saw the injuries on his sides, they are hard to miss, and thought he might have gotten stuck in a brushpile or something, but the 'whatever that is' on the tail doesn't match up with that.
He has lesions on both sides of his rump, looking like he squeezed through a very tight spot and the skin got shaved off, on the legs he has marks similar to the rump, as if he had to walk through debris and came out with quite a few lesions and cuts, but then I started to wonder if this is maybe the result of some kind of skin condition and less injury. That it is itchy and he rubbed and scratched for these lesions to break open.
It's strange on the tail, this thick flakey stuff covers both sides of the tail, but not the top and not underneath. As you can see the skin cracked open.
Have any of you come across a skin condition like that? What was it? What caused it?

I've sprayed all these wounds with anti bacterial spray and also 'ivomeced' him. Just never dealt with something like that.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Dang.

 

[Travlr]

What's your best guess? See pictures.

So we bought this yearling Simmenthal bull this spring, older bull beat him up once they were turned out with the cows and the yearling decides to leave...... but that's a whole other story.
We were finally able to catch him a few days ago in the neighbouring herd and bring him home. We hadn't seen him in a few weeks, this pasture is mainly heavy bush and forest which means I'm not sure what happened to him during that time.
I saw the injuries on his sides, they are hard to miss, and thought he might have gotten stuck in a brushpile or something, but the 'whatever that is' on the tail doesn't match up with that.
He has lesions on both sides of his rump, looking like he squeezed through a very tight spot and the skin got shaved off, on the legs he has marks similar to the rump, as if he had to walk through debris and came out with quite a few lesions and cuts, but then I started to wonder if this is maybe the result of some kind of skin condition and less injury. That it is itchy and he rubbed and scratched for these lesions to break open.
It's strange on the tail, this thick flakey stuff covers both sides of the tail, but not the top and not underneath. As you can see the skin cracked open.
Have any of you come across a skin condition like that? What was it? What caused it?

I've sprayed all these wounds with anti bacterial spray and also 'ivomeced' him. Just never dealt with something like that.

I was gonna be a smart a** and say it was him not wiping properly after seeing the picture of the tail... but damn, that's some nasty stuff.

It really does look like a skin condition, but the side with the line of rash/injury kind of speaks to some kind of physical trauma.

I wouldn't mess around. You don't want that spreading... or even worse, be some kind of genetic anomaly. Gotta ask... is he inbred?

 

[coachg]

Tail head Might of started as lice and it rubbed till it got raw . Some baby oil would probably help . Not sure about the side . Maybe some type of wound ?

 

[M.Magis]

He didn't get that from walking through brush. Any chance its road rash?

 

[GoWyo]

I have a cow that the flies just raise hell with the base of her tail that looks like his tail only it goes out to the sides from the base as well. Lower leg could be fly bites as well. We had a lease pasture with horrible deer and stable flies and a couple looked like that. The side scrape, no idea.

 

[sunnyblueskies]

I was gonna be a smart a** and say it was him not wiping properly after seeing the picture of the tail... but damn, that's some nasty stuff.

It really does look like a skin condition, but the side with the line of rash/injury kind of speaks to some kind of physical trauma.

I wouldn't mess around. You don't want that spreading... or even worse, be some kind of genetic anomaly. Gotta ask... is he inbred?

I don't know if he is inbred. Doubt it. He is from a simmenthal breeder but without papers.
It's just odd, trying to add up as to what could have happened to him. If he truly fell into a brushpile or got stuck between something he would have lost some weight, but he hasn't.

 

[sunnyblueskies]

He didn't get that from walking through brush. Any chance its road rash?

No pavement where he was and its same kind of scrapes or lesions on both sides of the rump.

 

[sunnyblueskies]

I have a cow that the flies just raise hell with the base of her tail that looks like his tail only it goes out to the sides from the base as well. Lower leg could be fly bites as well. We had a lease pasture with horrible deer and stable flies and a couple looked like that. The side scrape, no idea.

The leg wounds could be scrapes that flies went nuts on I suppose. There is some standing water that these cattle cross often too. Maybe it's a combination of scrapes, flies and whatever is in that water/mud?
The tail is just....... weird, because of that flakey thick crust confined to just that area on both sides.

 

[Silver]

That is odd. Looks to me like he was tangled / caught up in something but no idea what.

 

[SBMF 2015]

I have a cow that the flies just raise hell with the base of her tail that looks like his tail only it goes out to the sides from the base as well. Lower leg could be fly bites as well. We had a lease pasture with horrible deer and stable flies and a couple looked like that. The side scrape, no idea.

The hfr in the middle had fly strike the summer before. She is still bald. Kinda scaly but doesn't seem to bother her. She got bred on time and should calve this month.

 

[TCRanch]

What @Silver said. It doesn't look like "typical" fly strike. Yeah, they scratch themselves raw if they have lice, but that doesn't explain the wounds on his feet. Is it possible he got bogged down in a muddy creek/pond/water source and somehow made his way out?

Just to be on the safe side, I'd take his temp to make sure he doesn't have a fever or infection and proceed accordingly.

 

[wbvs58]

Almost looked like a burn when I first saw the photo of his side. Could he have wiped down his side on something caustic, could also explain some spillage onto his leg.

Ken

 

[simme]

Probably not the cause in this case, but photosensitization can cause some nasty skin conditions. Something to consider when skin conditions appear.

Photosensitization: Causes and testing options - Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

Photosensitization is a serious skin condition in horses and cattle caused by a hazardous combination of certain plants and ultraviolet (UV) light. Certain plants contain photodynamic agents, which then cause a reaction in the animal’s body that leads to ultra-sensitive skin. This condition is...

tvmdl.tamu.edu

 

[GoWyo]

Work some Shapleys MTG into his bald and skinned up spots. That stuff seems to heal skin issues pretty well

 

[Brute 23]

How did yall catch him? It almost looks like he was droug in a trailer or through trees or some thing like that.

 

[Lucky_P]

My money is on chorioptic mange... Chorioptes bovis mite infestation. Lesions are typically worse around the tailhead and on the legs, but can be anywhere on the animal.
Most cattle have C.bovis, but certain individuals have a bigger problem with it than others... possibly due to mineral deficiency, stress, etc.
Treatment with a pour-on macrocyclic lactone, like Cydectin or Ivermectin would be in order.

simme mentioned photosensitization - but with the caveat that that's probably not what's going on with this animal... only non-pigmented skin would be affected in those instances.

 

[sunnyblueskies]

Almost looked like a burn when I first saw the photo of his side. Could he have wiped down his side on something caustic, could also explain some spillage onto his leg.

Ken

He was on a bush quarter. I don't know what happened to him, but there is nothing on that pasture but bush, pasture area and a small lake. No machinery, no sheds, no chemical storage etc.

 

[sunnyblueskies]

How did yall catch him? It almost looks like he was droug in a trailer or through trees or some thing like that.

We set up a pen with large panels, about 40x40 feet kind of thing. Put salt blocks in there, sometimes a little bit of oats and a molasses tub and waited a couple weeks for the occasion to see him with the other cows in it. Cows went into the pen quite often. It was a wait and see game. Because of the heavy brush and wet areas there was no way to chase him into a closure.
Backed up the trailer to that pen and set up a few panels to funnel him in kind of thing.
No dragging involved. =D Just a lot of frustrating patience.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Probably not the cause in this case, but photosensitization can cause some nasty skin conditions. Something to consider when skin conditions appear.

Photosensitization: Causes and testing options - Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

Photosensitization is a serious skin condition in horses and cattle caused by a hazardous combination of certain plants and ultraviolet (UV) light. Certain plants contain photodynamic agents, which then cause a reaction in the animal’s body that leads to ultra-sensitive skin. This condition is...

tvmdl.tamu.edu

Had that here my first or second year with cows. It was pitiful looking. Big hand size pieces kept coming off. Finally did heal up though.

I wondered if it was induced by a plant shed eaten. Hope to never see it again.