swollen leg

[dansangus]

I have a week old calf that has a very swollen front knee.It!s able to get up and walk,but leg is straight and seems almost like a break at the joint.I have never seen this kind of injury before. I would think it would be quite difficult to diagnose between a break and a bad sprain.Joint is swollen nearly twice the size of other leg.I can!t feel a break at the joint.Before I get the Vet, I was wondering if anyone else has had a sim ilar problem? Thanks Dan

 

[dun]

Sounds like joint/navel ill to me.

 

[Anonymous]

Dun beat me to it.

 

[dansangus]

The local vet suggested penicillin. 30 days at 8 m.l per dose.I don!t think this is something they deal with much in this area.The front knee is still swollen but does not seem warm to the touch.The back leg(same side)is a little swollen about4 inches above the hoof. The navel seems fine,no swelling or tenderness. The calf does limp,stiff legged, but drinks well. I hope the calf makes a recovery,but I am a little skeptical about penicillin as the cure all. Thanks for the advice. This illness is something I was unaware of. Dan

 

[dun]

The only calf we ever cured with navel/joint ill was with penecillian, only a few years ago.

 

[regolith]

penicillin does the job. That recommendation is a huge dose... but then, joint ill is really hard to clear.
the only calves I've seen with it were bulls (bobbies) so I don't treat them. My boss treated one with penicillin last year and finished up with a very funny looking calf, I don't think he'll ever walk properly.
I'd get a second qualified recommendation on the amount and length of treatment of drug if I were you - a week at 8 ml probably won't do any harm but 4 - 5 ml is a more normal amount for a very young calf.

 

[larryshoat]

A 1 week old calf is kind of young to have joint problems from a navel infection, but it sure sounds like what happened. I had 1 in this last group of calves and we treat navel infections very aggressively, maybe I missed 1 when I went through, I don't know.

8ml of pen is a high dose, but as rego points out it is hard to treat those, circulation to the joints make it hard to get enough antibiotic there to help. I would add a shot of Draxin to that as well, about 1 1/4ml SQ in the neck.

Larry

 

[regolith]

Larry, I'm sending calves off-farm at 4 - 7 days old, probably about 100 a year and just about every year one of them is condemned by the meat company for navel ill. They're not eligible for transport till the string is dry so every calf has its navel checked and I know for sure that those condemned calves didn't have swollen navels or any other symptoms.
I did have one with joint ill at about that age last year, and put him down. I wasn't using iodine on them at the time and they were coming into the milking yard with the cows and lying down, so maybe that was why.

 

[larryshoat]

[quote="regolith"]Larry, I'm sending calves off-farm at 4 - 7 days old, probably about 100 a year and just about every year one of them is condemned by the meat company for navel ill. They're not eligible for transport till the string is dry so every calf has its navel checked and I know for sure that those condemned calves didn't have swollen navels or any other symptoms.
I did have one with joint ill at about that age last year, and put him down. I wasn't using iodine on them at the time and they were coming into the milking yard with the cows and lying down, so maybe that was why.[/quote]

We were getting docked on fat cattle for being over 30 moths old, about one every load. Finally I told them I knew they we`re liars because I get those calves when they're 2 days old I know exactly how old they are. We never had another one, but I'm sure they're making that and more on things that I can't prove.

Larry

 

[coxy]

Hi I use 9cc of nuflor every four days under the skin for a month and 3cc of flunazine in the muscle every day for five days for calves with swollen joints. Calves with swollen navals that are one to two fingers big and hard I use nuflor in the muscle first and then two days later double up the nuflor and put it under the skin and that always cures it for me. Now calves that are born with long umbilical cords are better off cause it takes longer for the infection to travel up to the navel and hopefully dries up before it reaches the naval. Good mothers keep the navals nice and moist and warm which is perfect for bacteria conditions and putting iodine is good but do it every few hours when they are new born because u put it on the mother licks it off and I don't have time for that noise. I bed all the time and the corrals are clean but when it's in the ground u have it. A shot of long liquid liquamyacin when they are born is a good preventative of naval ill to even get a stronghold.

 

[dansangus]

Just a update on that heifer calf with the swollen joints.After 3 weeks on medication,the calf is on the mend.The left knee is still larger than the right,but this does not seem to bother her. Growing well and runs with the other calves. Since she is a bottle fed calf(heifer wouldn!t claim her) the Grandkids are quite attached. Now that they have named her,it looks like she is a permanent fixture around here. Thanks again for the advice. Dan