Swelling

[TheBullLady]

Ok.. this is a new one for me. My pet steer (yeah, yeah.. I don't want to hear it) when I checked him this morning had a lump / swelling on the bottom of his back leg.. above his hock. I checked again this evening, and it was even bigger.

Here's a lovely photo..

He's not sore at all when he walks.. it doesn't seem to be sore when I touch it. No puncture or wounds. It's soft.. like it's filled with fluid. Goes from the top of his thigh to down between his back legs.

Any ideas?? :roll:

 

[Bama]

I had one do it years ago. It finally went away in about two weeks. The only thing I could figure was maybe a snakebite. Keep us posted.

 

[jerry27150]

not sure if it is a bruise or infection but sometimes they just go away others will eventually break & drain

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Is it possible that he was kicked by a herdmate? Resulting in swelling/fluid build-up. If that is the case, as long as he is sound, he should be fine and it should clear up on it's own.

Katherine

 

[Beefy]

we had a mare at work that did like that after she got kicked in the chest. no visible puncture wound but it blew up like that (but got bigger) and she had a staph infection in it. we had to lance it and squeeze some chicken noodle soup out of it. didnt have chicken for lunch that day...
also had to quarantine her and wash up real good.

It almost looks like i can see a tiny puncture wound there though OR where he got stung by something. in the middle of his leg. its probably just the hair but it looks like it has a smaller puffy ring around it and then is also swollen above that? i wouldnt worry about it too much yet. if its a sting it will go back down. if an infection its easy to treat.

 

[docgraybull]

Sounds, and looks like it just got kicked and has some local edema. Generally it would just resolve on its own, but there is a chance of developing an infection in the area/edema. If so, it should present itself with inflammation or more swelling, warmth, and soreness/lameness, and should be easily treated with antibiotics.

Or the steer is a Belgian Blue cross and is just now developing its "double" muscling in the area! :shock:

 

[TheBullLady]

"Taz" is doing better today.. the swelling is down considerably, about half the size of the original spot.

It was just a really strange thing. I've had a cow with a similar swelling, but that was caused by an infected injection site. He has no punctures of any kind.. I checked very closely. He's a big steer (2000+ lbs) so it would have had taken a lot to bruise him like that. He has one speed.. slow.. so it's not like he's injury prone! :roll:

He's in the yard with two first calf heifer pairs that love him.. can't imagine he got kicked by one of them. It would have been hard for either of them to get their leg that high!

I'll keep an eye on it.. hopefully I won't have to lance it! Been there.. done that!

hahahah on the Belgian Blue referrence. He's a full blood Brahman!

 

[Bama]

I'm still wandering if it could be a snakebite. I had one several years back that did the same thing. I just thought she might have been bitten by a watermoccosin while in the pond. I'm just guessing here. What does a cow that has been bitten by a poison snake look like?

 

[Beefy]

More swollen and feverish than that. Plus a brahman wouldnt be caught dead in the pond. I'm still leaning toward Sting, then kick, then puncture. most stake bites are on the legs (front seems more common) or in the jaw/face maybe neck region.

 

[cherokeeruby]

I am wondering since you say he weighs a ton if he could have blown out the hocks.


:?:

 

[sidney411]

Very unlikely in your case, but I had a hereford cow swell up in the exact same spot about a month ago. I took her to the vet and she had an infection in the hoof which traveled into the lymph node on the leg and caused an intar-muscle abcess. I think I remenber that's what the vet called it. He didn't lance it but gave her 3 rounds of 60cc's of antibiotic.

 

[TheBullLady]

Well I've never been able to figure out what it was, but the good news is the swelling is completely gone.

One of those very bizarre things you run across with cattle. I'm just very lucky it wasn't something serious.

Thanks for all your help!

And you're right Beefy.. a Brahman wouldn't be caught dead in a stock tank! Especially this one.. a big WUSS