Stiffled Cows ?

[Stocker Steve]

Most folks blame the bull and then cull cows with a slight limp in one rear leg.
Have you seen them maintain enough condition to bred back on time in good grass country?

 

[TCRanch]

We had a beautiful 2 year old 1st calf heifer that immediately bred back & ended up with a stifle injury so severe she could barely walk (not from the bull, she was already bred at the time of the injury). The vet said there was very little chance she would recover, didn't even give her Dex or Banamine.

 

[Aaron]

Given lots of time, most recover, but it is a weak spot and prone to relapse. Never had it happen to cows, but have had two bulls do it and they got shipped. Best to send sooner than later before they lose condition.

 

[Lucky_P]

Never saw one that didn't recover well enough to last for several more years - but I didn't get to follow up on every one I was called out to see.
Most of them just sort of 'stablize' the joint (this is, in most cases, an ACL rupture, just like athletes get) with scar tissue... and all they have to do is walk around, graze, and raise a calf. May always have a gait abnormality, and wouldn't win the KY Derby... but they don't have to...
For a bull... it's usually a career-ending injury.

 

[76 Bar]

We periodically experience front and hind limb lameness in both females and bulls. With a few exceptions, the primary cause here is joint injury due to our steep, rugged mountain terrain. Depending on the extent/severity, some do eventually recover but the prognosis for most is guarded at best. Crippled bulls and cows are expediently shipped. Expecting to extract a pound of flesh i.e. more dollars from an animal who has a debilitating and highly likely painful condition goes against the grain of stockmanship.

 

[LauraleesFarm]

I have an Angus/Brahman cow that raised her first calf this year. She was locking one stifle intermittently when she was in the last month of pregnancy. After the calf was born, she has not stifled since. Should I expect this to happen again when she is heavy bred?

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Stifled calf? Maybe, maybe not. Got a bull calf born August. About 2 weeks ago, as cows were cycling and being pushy byythches, he came up lame on his left rear. Immediately, I thought stifle pull, as I've been through that w/ horses. The neighbor more cattle-smart than me thought he'd probably been stepped on. Nothing busted. I didn't see signs of "busted" either. ???? Have had that pair in a smaller space for a week, and the calf is now putting weight on that leg. He was really off on it to start with. But I wonder . . . stifle pull or stepped on ??

 

[Bigfoot]

If a person was of a mindset to keep a cow with a stifle injury, it'd probably be best to put it in a small flat area. Have everything from hay to water in close proximity. I'd think it would heal as much as it was going to heal in say 8 weeks. Personally, I don't like stuff to just drag around. I guess if a cow was important to an operation (flushing etc.) keeping the cow around would be the way to go.

 

[Stocker Steve]

If a person was of a mindset to keep a cow with a stifle injury, it'd probably be best to put it in a small flat area. Have everything from hay to water in close proximity. I'd think it would heal as much as it was going to heal in say 8 weeks. Personally, I don't like stuff to just drag around. I guess if a cow was important to an operation (flushing etc.) keeping the cow around would be the way to go.

I sold one to a guy who wanted it to clip around his farmstead.

 

[JW IN VA]

Mine always went downhill.Allowed to raise the calf but that's it.Bring good money per pound as there is little fat

 

[Stocker Steve]

Mine always went downhill.Allowed to raise the calf but that's it.Bring good money per pound as there is little fat

There seems to be a lot of variation in the severity of limp and the amount of recovery. I think we have some that get injured on ice in the north land. I have seen one "totally recover" on easy pasture, and another that improved enough for two more calves.

 

[milkmaid]

I'd say it depends on the problem and the degree of severity...... I see a lot of bizarre lamenesses here, I haven't quite figured out a flow chart but I usually need to put my hands on them and watch them walk up and back once or twice.

*IF* the problem is an ACL/CCL tear there's stifle swelling but not non-weight-bearing lameness. According to the literature some will heal given confinement and time (50/50, I think). Diagnosis of a CCL tear may be made easier by noticing animals tend to improve with exercise (and then are worse the next time they get up from rest).

Don't rule out toe or sole abscesses depending on the terrain the animal was on. In horses, it's said 90% of lameness is below the fetlock... I don't think it works quite that way in cattle, or else I just see the miscellaneous crap that didn't recover with a normal treatment regimen.

If the stifle is swollen and the animal is non-weight-bearing or has no/very limited mobility of the joint, it's typically septic (infected) and the best option is shipping the animal. ASAP.

I can't seem to get good stifle rads in any age, elbow/shoulder depends on size, otherwise anything below the knee or hock is simple to radiograph and determine whether bone involvement is the cause of the lameness... if you can't figure out why the animal is lame and it hasn't responded to your typical treatment protocol, take it to your vet. We can radiograph legs pretty easy.

Of course don't rule out complete or partial fractures of associated bones when there's swelling. I probably see a fracture or two a week - everything from a partial tibia fracture to pastern fractures - lots of septic joints in all ages of cattle, occasional hoof puncture wounds (needles, nails), miscellaneous injuries and lacerations of all types. Time in conjunction with appropriate treatment heals many problems, but it's important to identify the ones that are going to get worse with time...

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

I'd say it depends on the problem and the degree of severity...... I see a lot of bizarre lamenesses here, I haven't quite figured out a flow chart but I usually need to put my hands on them and watch them walk up and back once or twice.

*IF* the problem is an ACL/CCL tear there's stifle swelling but not non-weight-bearing lameness. According to the literature some will heal given confinement and time (50/50, I think). Diagnosis of a CCL tear may be made easier by noticing animals tend to improve with exercise (and then are worse the next time they get up from rest).

Don't rule out toe or sole abscesses depending on the terrain the animal was on. In horses, it's said 90% of lameness is below the fetlock... I don't think it works quite that way in cattle, or else I just see the miscellaneous crap that didn't recover with a normal treatment regimen.

If the stifle is swollen and the animal is non-weight-bearing or has no/very limited mobility of the joint, it's typically septic (infected) and the best option is shipping the animal. ASAP.

I can't seem to get good stifle rads in any age, elbow/shoulder depends on size, otherwise anything below the knee or hock is simple to radiograph and determine whether bone involvement is the cause of the lameness... if you can't figure out why the animal is lame and it hasn't responded to your typical treatment protocol, take it to your vet. We can radiograph legs pretty easy.

Of course don't rule out complete or partial fractures of associated bones when there's swelling. I probably see a fracture or two a week - everything from a partial tibia fracture to pastern fractures - lots of septic joints in all ages of cattle, occasional hoof puncture wounds (needles, nails), miscellaneous injuries and lacerations of all types. Time in conjunction with appropriate treatment heals many problems, but it's important to identify the ones that are going to get worse with time...

Milkmaid Claire, I'm so glad you're here, watching over all of us!