How to treat a cow's hoof and how to identify a disease
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 livestock 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 causes of their occurrence
A cow spends almost her entire life on her 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 lobe in the middle. It is covered with a horny tissue that grows throughout its life. In the summer, the horn grinds off on its own. In winter, this process slows down because the hoof needs to be trimmed.
Why can leg diseases occur in calves and cows? Previously, people believed that such a nuisance was damage 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 stable, hard bedding.
- Ignoring regular check-ups and poor care.
- Improper feeding.
- Walking cattle over 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 along hard roads. In winter, animals should not freeze. An ordinary stick is useful for cleaning the hooves, and you need to cut them off with a special knife. Treatment that is carried out regularly will help avoid illness 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.
Corolla phlegmon
Corolla phlegmon is an inflammatory, purulent process in the tissue that is located under the skin. It occurs after damage and the ingress of microbes into the wound, especially against the background of a weakened immune system. The main symptoms are:
- The brute is limping.
- Severe pain arises.
- Signs of a tumor are visible from the 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 injected intramuscularly, urotropine and calcium chloride are injected intravenously. They put alcohol compresses on the leg, apply Vishnevsky ointment, ichthyol ointment, treat or inject the sore spot with an antibiotic. To relieve pain, the affected area is injected with novocaine. If an abscess forms at the site of the 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 take place 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 mat or hard floor. Disease symptoms:
- The 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.
- Pain occurs on palpation.
- In the acute form, it is 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 bedding. Cold compresses are applied first, and then warm compresses. The wound is treated with iodoform, rivanol or furacilin. 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 a complication of aseptic. Often, pathology is associated with the ingress of infection into the wound. Calves often suffer from purulent pododermatitis. The main signs are:
- Temperature rise, both local and general.
- Lameness.
- Tenderness to palpation.
- Cracks and wounds.
- Swelling and redness of the corolla.
- 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. It is often necessary to remove the stratum corneum within healthy tissues. After that, the site of the operation is carefully treated with an antiseptic, antibiotic, and a clean bandage is applied. An antibiotic is also administered intramuscularly.
Hoof erosion
Erosion occurs when the development of 2 parts of the hoof is uneven. An uneven load is created, which is why one half of the stratum corneum is worn out more. The disease is complicated by inflammation and suppuration, often occurring at a young age. If the calf falls to its feet, limps, walks unstably, drags the front or hind limb, it is imperative to examine the hooves. It happens that with erosion, one leg becomes higher and the other lower.
Erosion is fairly easy to diagnose. 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 suppurating. 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. Be sure to regularly clean the cow's feet, graze it in meadows with soft soil, and change the bedding in the barn 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 signs 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 turned out to be ineffective.The problem is often solved by itself, if you change the conditions of detention, regularly change the litter, feed the cattle with high-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 should be kept in a stable on a clean bedding.
A bruise can appear if the cattle falls, hits a hard surface. With bruises, visible tissue damage is not noticeable. Hematoma, swelling may occur under the skin, and movement will be limited. For 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, inject the bruised place with novocaine. In case of fractures (open or closed), the leg is immobilized.
Lameness and joint pathology
Lameness in livestock can result from being locked up for a long time 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. With a mechanical or electric knife, the excess layer of the horn is cut off, having previously cleaned it. At the end, the cut site is treated with an antiseptic.
Diseases of the hooves in cows can be combined with pathology of the joints. Arthritis develops with poor livestock management, in damp conditions, after injuries. Old animals often suffer from the disease. The 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, fever appears.
- The heifer can neither stand nor lie down (when the legs are completely abandoned, the animal is kept suspended).
- Behavior becomes lethargic, appetite decreases, milk yield drops.
Treatment of joint lesions is rather difficult and lengthy. The animals are given regular massage, the diseased limb is heated with an ultraviolet lamp. Compresses with anti-inflammatory drugs, ointments, local blockade with anesthetic drugs help. It is best if the cow is treated by an experienced veterinarian. With purulent arthritis, surgery is often performed, a puncture of the joint is performed.
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 intake of vitamin E is insufficient, calves may develop white muscle arthritis with severe muscular dystrophy.