Stiff back leg

[Anonymous]

Bought 3 bred cows about 10 days ago. All were from same farm. Penned them up for a few days. Seemed fine and calm so turned them loose with other cows. Seemed to be blending in. Yesterday noticed one walking with a stiff back right leg. Penned her back up again. She walks with her leg stiff then it's like it pops loose and she can bend it. When she stands very long it gets stiff again. Stockyard had her tagged 5 years old, 7 months bred. Called my vet, he said may be calf pushing on a nerve, just watch her for couple days and let him know. Any ideas?

 

[kenny thomas]

Could be a calf on a nerve or could be slightly injured while they were deciding who was boss. I am gonna bet that when you put them with the cows that were already there there was some pushing and maybe fighting going on to see if the current boss was still the boss. Watch her a couple days and see if she improves.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for quick response. I penned her with one of the other cows that she was already with just to keep her calm.

 

[kenny thomas]

Thanks for quick response. I penned her with one of the other cows that she was already with just to keep her calm.

Good idea, within a couple days you should know if its an issue to worry about or not.

 

[Nesikep]

I'm leaning toward it being an injury.. I've had a couple of those, and most of the time it's when there's 2 against 1 tag team.. 2 cows head to head, and 1 fiddling around the hind legs.

Hope she gets better.

 

[wbvs58]

From what you have described it may be that the stifle is catching, this will cause the leg to be locked and not able to bend and then when they get it right it frees up and movement is normal until they rest it again usually out behind and the kneecap gets caught again. It is a common condition in horses but I think it can occur in cattle. Being confined may have exaggerated the problem. I used to see horses with the problem when they were confined to small yards especially if it had been raining and there was a lot of mud in the yards and they were moving very little. They would usually come right after they were back out in the paddock for a few days but sometimes they would take a while. They are usually very straight in the back leg and tend to pivot on a leg to turn rather than pick it up.
Ken