What is it

[dun]

Cow is very slow walking

 

[Lucky_P]

Interdigital fibroma, aka a 'corn'.
Every time the old gal puts her foot down, that mass of hyperplastic tissue's getting pinched by her claws. Makes 'em pretty gimpy.

Haven't seen one since I left the lands of Brahman-influenced cattle - though they can occur in all breeds.
We'd put the cow on the table, do a ring-block above the fetlock with lidocaine, excise it, pack with gauze and wire the toes together with some 9 ga. wire laced through a couple of holes drilled in the wall of each claw.

 

[dawnrogerl]

Sounds interesting Lucky_P, do you have any idea what a procedure like that could cost? I might add, they are on all four hoofs. The others are not as large as this one. She is also a $4,000. donor cow.

 

[hillsdown]

Sounds interesting Lucky_P, do you have any idea what a procedure like that could cost? I might add, they are on all four hoofs. The others are not as large as this one. She is also a $4,000. donor cow.

Treatment:
Systemic therapy, including the use of antibiotics, is not cost effective. In severe cases, the lesions should be cleaned and dried, after which a topical bacteriostatic agent is applied, eg, a 50% mixture of sulfamethazine powder and anhydrous copper sulfate. Alternatively, an animal can be confined in a footbath for 1 hr, bid for 3 days.

Control:
Good management and housing systems to keep claws dry and clean are most important. Regular foot trimming helps avoid complications. Foot bathing, beginning in late fall and before clinical cases can be identified during high-risk periods, is essential in herds known to be infected. Weekly foot bathing may be sufficient in the late fall, but the frequency may have to be increased in late winter.

When we got the odd one with the dairy herd our hoof trimmer sometimes would cut them out ,we also did footbaths quite often for the milking herd which helped keep cases like that to a minimum.

 

[angus9259]

Had four of them cut out of one cow at Mich State for $180. Her's were worse than those though . . . even had some hairy heel infection in the corn and they were starting to stink.

 

[jedstivers]

Good thing shes a donor, need those genes spread out in lots of cows.

 

[dawnrogerl]

Thanks jedstivers !!!!!

 

[TexasBred]

Sounds interesting Lucky_P, do you have any idea what a procedure like that could cost? I might add, they are on all four hoofs. The others are not as large as this one. She is also a $4,000. donor cow.

Cheap cows don't get this condition. Just the expensive ones. :cowboy:

 

[dun]

Cheap cows don't get this condition. Just the expensive ones. :cowboy:

Not always. We bought a bargain heifer, bred her 3 times and got a dink the first time, a no tailed calf the second and a runt the third, but by then she was laying around more then she was eating. The good part was that as a kill cow she sold for almost twice what I paid for her originally.

 

[hillsdown]

This is not usually a genetic condition BTW !
More often an environment one .
Dawn how are you housing your flush cow and what breed is she ?

 

[dawnrogerl]

hillsdown, she is a Reg. Angus donor cow that we bought this spring. She is in a 9 acre pasture where the shade is at one end of the pasture and the water is at the other end. That's not good for her but I do not have any way to fix that. She makes it from the back to the front about 4pm every afternoon with the other cattle. It just takes her about 1/2 hour longer to get there. In the evening she is out grazing with the rest of the herd. I am starting to feel sorry for her and need to do something to help her. I don't have a covered pen or shady pen to put her in. I normally could move her to another farm and put her in a small paddock, but our trailer is getting a new floor right now. I am probably going to need the trailer this next week to take her to a Vet clinic. Hopefully we can get her help this next week. All you guys on this board have been very helpful and GREAT !!!!!

 

[hillsdown]

Dawn you payed 4000 for her and she now has trouble walking, get her to a vet Monday morning and ask some very serious questions . Like if he thinks this could be a genetic condition ,if it can be then she is done as a flush cow. I hate to tell you what you have probably already thought yourself, but I think you guys have been duped

It happens ,and way more than people think in the purebred business. Some crooks out there have given us honest seed stock producers blk eyes . I too have dealt with a few crooks in the Holstein world and have had to suck it up and move on, hard to get your money back sometimes from these pieces of crap.

Is she bred ? If not, did you ever get her ultra sounded to see if she is in fact flushable ?

 

[dawnrogerl]

hillsdown, we purchased her from a very reputable breeder in Virginia. One of the best. We have also bought from them before. I did a lot of research on this cow before we bought her. They paid $55,000. for her in 2005 and her calves have been averaging around $9,000. each in sales. Her flush sister sold for $210,000 in $2005 and happens to be a donor at another farm in Virginia. Again another very ruputable breeder. We looked this cow over close and unfortunately we did not see anything wrong with her. If this condition was there at that time, it was not bad enough that we saw it. We felt that the only reason she sold for $4,000. was that she is 8 years old. She is bred to calf in November. Unfortunately we do not have a large animal vet anywhere close to our Farm and probably for something like this we will need to take her a Vet Clinic anyway. I am in the process of contacting the head of the NC State Veterinary School near Raleigh NC. and might take her there this next week. I am hoping that this is not genetic so that we can get this natural calf and at least a couple flushes out of her. I do know what you mean however about the crooks out there. I have been burned there also. I don't feel this is one of those cases. In fact I will share this with the owner that I purchased her from and it would not surprise me at all if he offers to make it right. First I need to see what can be done now. Well, I guess that is about all I can tell you. Sure do appreciate your help !!!!

 

[hillsdown]

Glad to hear she is bred. Good luck .

 

[dawnrogerl]

Thanks hillsdown, I'm going to need some luck here I think. I forgot to tell you something it my last post. She came with a heifer calf at side. If I can get this next natural calf out of her and a couple of flushes, I'll be ok. It will not be the 3-4 years of flushing that I had planed on but she would not owe me anything either. I think I got her reasonable and I can't cry or blame anyone on this one. Again, many thanks !!!!

 

[dawnrogerl]

dun, you are amazing and a GREAT mentor to all of us on this board. Thanks for posting the picture and question for me. We have now correctly diagnosed the problem with this cow and I am in the process of getting help for her. I hate to say that I have been dealing with this problem for amost 3 months now. Thanks to everyone for your help. :tiphat: