stiff walking steer

[UG]

We have a yearling steer who along with his penmates has been on concrete since last Fall when he was weaned. The last few days he's been laying down more than the rest and when he is up, he walks slower than normal and acts stiff.

I'm guessing that he is stiff from being on concrete for almost 8 months. Any thoughts on what I should do?

 

[Farmhand]

We too have cattle on concrete in one place. I would say you are right if there is no other evidence of injury. The best thing to do would be to get them on dirt if possible. If not - does this area have a barn? Ours does and we bed the barn with cornstalks. We also leave the wasted hay around the hay ring for as long as possible. Have been known to even spread some cornstalks out in the open pen. These areas give them softer spots to spend parts of their day on - gets them off the hard concrete some. It works for us anyway.