How to treat a cow's hoof? What are the symptoms of these diseases and what are their causes? Such questions often arise among farmers, especially with little experience in breeding cattle. A veterinarian or animal technician can give a detailed answer, but everyone who keeps a cow should know the basic rules of care, signs of pathologies and principles of treatment.
Diseases of the hooves in cows
Pathologies and their causes
A cow spends almost its entire life on its feet. A large mass constantly presses on the hooves. With improper care, they are damaged, an infection enters the skin and stratum corneum, and inflammation occurs. The hoof consists of two halves with a blade in the middle. It is covered with horn tissue that grows throughout life. In summer, the horn grinds on its own. This process slows down in winter because the hoof needs to be trimmed.
Why can leg diseases occur in calves and cows? Previously, people believed that such a nuisance is a corruption or conspiracy. Now, of course, no one will blame troubles on evil spirits or evil people. There are several reasons for the occurrence of pathology:
- Weakening of the immune system.
- Incorrect maintenance, mud in the barn, hard bedding.
- Ignoring regular inspection and poor care.
- Incorrect feeding.
- Cattle walking on rocks and hard paths over long distances.
Calves are especially sensitive to various infections and damaging factors, therefore, young animals are examined at least 2-3 times a week. They carefully adhere to hygiene in the barn, regulate the load during grazing, and try not to drive calves on hard roads. In winter, animals should not freeze. An ordinary stick is useful for cleaning hooves, and you need to trim them with a special knife. Treatment that is carried out regularly will help prevent disease and treatment will not be needed.
Here are the main hoof pathologies:
- corolla phlegmon;
- aseptic pododermatitis;
- purulent pododermatitis;
- erosion;
- strawberry disease;
- wounds and injuries;
- lameness.
Correct treatment of hoof diseases in cows and prevention of pathologies allows you to maintain the milk yield at the proper level. If you do not monitor the limbs of animals, you can lose not only productivity, but also the whole herd, because when the legs of an adult or a calf completely fail, the animals often have to be sent to slaughter.
Phlegmon Corolla
Corolla phlegmon is an inflammatory, purulent process in the tissue under the skin. It occurs after damage and microbes in the wound, especially against a background of weakened immunity. The main symptoms are:
- Cattle are limping.
- Severe pain arises.
- There are visible signs of a tumor in front.
- The temperature rises.
- Decreased appetite.
- The depressed state of the animal is manifested.
- Low milk yield is observed.
A sick cow needs complete rest and a daily change of bedding. Antibiotics are administered intramuscularly, urotropine and calcium chloride are injected intravenously. Alcohol compresses are placed on the foot, Vishnevsky ointment, ichthyol ointment is applied, the antibiotic is treated or chipped off the sore spot. To relieve soreness, the affected area is pricked with novocaine. If an abscess forms in place of phlegmon, it is necessary to open it.
Pododermatitis
Cow hoof diseases called pododermatitis are inflammation of the skin base. They are purulent or aseptic.
Aseptic pododermatitis
Aseptic pododermatitis can pass in serous or serous-fibrous form, be acute and chronic. The main causes of pathology are bruises, squeezing, walking on roads with stones, keeping on a hard bedding or hard floor. Disease symptoms:
- A cow stands with legs wide apart or crossed.
- The stratum corneum is yellow or purple, covered with spots.
- The temperature rises in the sore spot.
- Palpation causes pain.
- In the acute form, it can be seen that the tissues are swollen; in the chronic form, the horny tissue is overdried, brittle, and can exfoliate.
Sick cattle are kept on a clean bed. First apply cold, and then warm compresses. The wound is treated with iodoform, rivanol or furatsilinom. With severe pain, when the leg is swollen, inject with novocaine. You can make a salt bath, and then treat the hoof with an antiseptic. To prevent the disease from recurring, the conditions for keeping cattle are changed, heifers are grazed exclusively on grassy pastures with soft soil.
Purulent pododermatitis
Purulent pododermatitis can occur as an independent disease or aseptic complication. Often, pathology is associated with infection in the wound. Calves often suffer from purulent pododermatitis. Main features:
- An increase in temperature, both local and general.
- Lameness.
- Pain on palpation.
- Cracks and wounds.
- Corolla swelling and redness.
- Fistulas and discharge of pus.
When purulent pododermatitis is detected, the heifer is washed well with warm water and soap, the affected area is treated with an antiseptic. Often there is a need to remove the stratum corneum within healthy tissues. After that, the surgical site is carefully treated with an antiseptic, antibiotic, and a clean bandage is applied. An antibiotic is also administered intramuscularly.
Hoof erosion
Erosion occurs with the uneven development of 2 parts of the hoof. An uneven load is created, which is why one half of the stratum corneum erases more. The disease is complicated by inflammation and suppuration, often occurs at a young age. If the calf falls to its feet, is limping, unstable, dragging the front or back limb, it is necessary to examine the hooves. It happens that with erosion, one leg becomes higher and the other lower.
Diagnosing erosion is fairly easy. You can immediately notice that one part of the foot is longer than the other. With an advanced disease, the stratum corneum becomes inflamed and suppurates. To cure the pathology, a special heel is applied to the healthy part, which reduces the load and contributes to the further more uniform growth of the hoof. It is imperative to regularly clean the cow’s legs, graze it in meadows with soft soil, and change the bedding in the stable several times a week.
Strawberry disease
The causes of this disease have not yet been clarified. Most veterinarians associate it with improper care and maintenance. The base of the hoof and the skin around the corolla are affected. The name "strawberry" is due to the fact that red bumps and swelling appear on the skin and corolla, resembling strawberries in appearance. The main symptoms of this bovine hoof disease are:
- lameness;
- swelling of the affected area;
- characteristic skin changes.
There is no specific treatment for the disease. A vaccine was invented, but it was ineffective. The problem is often solved by itself, if you change the conditions of detention, regularly change the litter, feed the cattle with a quality and balanced feed. It is important to keep the hooves clean, you can periodically treat the sore spot with an antiseptic.
Injury and damage
Injuries and bruises are common hoof problems in cows. An animal can injure its legs in the pasture, on sharp branches, twigs, in fights with each other (first of all, this is typical for a bull or a growing calf). If the hoof is injured, it swells, bleeds, and lameness appears. In this case, you need to immediately treat the wound with an antiseptic, bandage it so that suppuration does not occur. Until the cow recovers, she must be kept in a stall on a clean bed.
A bruise can appear if the animal falls, hits a hard surface. With bruises, visible tissue damage is not noticeable. Hematoma, edema may occur under the skin, movements will be limited. With bruises, a cold compress is needed, complete rest. If the muscles, tendons or ligaments are damaged, the cow has a dislocated leg, a tight bandage should be applied. To relieve pain, a bruised place is punctured with novocaine. For fractures (open or closed), the leg is immobilized.
Lameness and joint pathology
Cattle lameness may occur due to long confinement without sufficient movement. With this disease of cow hooves, the horn grows, this prevents the animal from moving normally. If you do not help, the tissues become inflamed, they can fester.
It is unlikely that it will be possible to trim the hoof correctly on your own; it is better to consult a specialist. The cow is placed in a special installation, the limb is fixed. An excess layer of the horn is cut off with a mechanical or electric knife, having previously cleaned it. At the end, the cut site is treated with an antiseptic.
Hoof diseases in cows can be combined with joint pathology. Arthritis develops in poor livestock management, in damp conditions, after injuries. Old animals often suffer from the disease. Joints can become inflamed after injuries. Arthritis is serous and purulent. The main symptoms of pathology:
- The joint swells, its shape changes, the legs swell.
- The joint is hot, with a purulent form, a fever appears.
- The heifer can neither stand nor lie (when the legs have completely failed, the animal is kept in limbo).
- Behavior becomes apathetic, appetite decreases, milk yield drops.
Treatment of joint lesions is rather difficult and lengthy. The animals are given regular massage, they warm the diseased limb with an ultraviolet lamp. Compresses with anti-inflammatory drugs, ointments, local blockade with painkillers help. It is best if the cow is treated by an experienced veterinarian. With purulent arthritis, they often resort to surgery, a puncture of the joint.
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Arthritis is contagious, caused, for example, by brucellosis. This is an infection that can cause miscarriages, prolapse of the uterus. In this situation, you should immediately contact the veterinary service. If the calves are deficient in vitamin E, they may experience white-muscle arthritis with severe muscular dystrophy.