Injured Calf Question

[Warrior10]

We have a commercial calf that won't put much pressure on the heal of one of its back feet. The calf will walk on basically its tip toes on that foot then once it stops walking will gingerly put weight on the foot. It hasn't always been like this, just came up in the last week or two. Anyone ever had experience with something like this?

 

[renegadelivestock]

sounds like a foot abscess to me

 

[ejoe326]

Do you mean you couldn't find anything when you picked up the foot or you have not looked yet?

 

[Warrior10]

Do you mean you couldn't find anything when you picked up the foot or you have not looked yet?

Gunna get her in this week, was just wondering if there was certain things I should be looking for.

 

[willow]

Muddy Creek, is it a calf that is still on the cow or an older calf?  If it's a calf that is still on the cow it seems like whenever we have a calf that gets stepped on it is always a hind foot/leg.  That may be something to think of as well.  We had one last year that got stepped on and she was so sore on that foot/leg for weeks.  I thought she wasn't going to come out of it.  Now as a yearling+ you cannot even tell.  I would however check her to make sure it isn't something else. 

 

[leanbeef]

This sounds like maybe a touch of foot rot which you'll see in wet spring time conditions, especially if cattle tend to loaf in wet or low areas as daytime temperatures start to warm up. LA-300 at 3 mL/cwt plus some type of fungicide (like Koppertox) applied directly onto the foot and between the toes would be my recommendation. Foot rot might cause a distinguishable bad odor, but not necessarily so if it isn't an advanced case. If you can get your hands on that foot and get it up and look at it--clean it up enough to really see her foot--you'll wanna look for either signs of foot rot, an abscess, or a hairy wart. Any of those will cause lameness and could be the cause, but I don't think those conditions are as common. As somebody mentioned, it could also be a matter of her being stepped on by another animal which will probably just need some time. Good luck!