Best way to eliminate warts

[Buck]

We have two steers and one heifer up that we are getting ready for our show season (Fall & Winter). One of the steers and the heifer have a significant number of warts on their face and necks. Over the years I have tried pulling them off and even feeding some of them back. The theroy is to help build up an immunity to the virus causing the warts. I don't know if this ever helped or if it was the actual pulling off that worked. As you can see this method has a tendancy to traumitize the calf and sems a bit inhumane. I have never used the vaccine before but have heard that it is essentially uneffective. Is this true and if so is there other more humane methods of eliminating warts?

 

[willow]

I have been told different stories about the vaccine, but the one I believe is that if the vaccine is given after they already have the warts it is like shutting the gate after the horses are already out...it is pointless.  Pulling them off has worked for us part of the time.  WartsOff the ointment has worked for us every time, but you have to use it daily and it can take a couple weeks+.  Good luck to you.  It seems some are much harder to get rid of than others.

 

[Bryan]

our vet recommended Wartsoff when my steers had warts

 

[flacowman]

bust a few of them with pliers, make sure they bleed. This will release the virus into the blood where white blood cells can adapt against it and destroy it.  The vaccine is good for about 3% of wart strains and will not work if they already have warts anyways,

 

[CowTek]

Crush them with pliers. The body can easily kill the wart virus but it is sealed off and the body doesn't know it's there. Crushing a few gets it into the blood and the body will start to fight all the warts. Always worked for me.

 

[rmbcows]

We always had good luck with using sidecutters and cutting them off as close to the skin as possible.  No need to try to get them all, just go for a few of the big ones.  They bleed a little, but it's got to feel better than crushing them with pliers.  The rest usually go away shortly.

 

[cowhand-68]

John Deere makes a lubricant called Fluid Film , try spraying this on the warts. It also works on ring worm.

 

[ALTSIMMY 79]

I just had a beautiful yearling heifer get a ton of warts both sides of her lower neck about a month ago , it a bout made me sick . I was told by my vet to have at them with a side cutters . I by no means got them all off but within a week they all started disapearing and within two weeks all were gone so it worked well . I was also told the vaccine is worthless when they all ready have warts , its something that needs to be given as a prevenative type of shot .

 

[Dvrom]

John Deere makes a lubricant called Fluid Film , try spraying this on the warts. It also works on ring worm.

I agree a few years ago we bough a white steer and a roan one and they had some warts And the guy we bought them from said to use fluid film and it worked well just make sure you use it every day.