I wasn't sure if I noticed anything Tuesday evening but on Wednesday I could see her limp. She still ate and chewed her cud. Thursday her limp was worse. She didn't even want to stand on that leg. One time she started to kneel down but changed her mind. I didn't see her eat or chew her cud. She would move the leg like she was a prancing horse. Odd. I called a few friends for advice but none could explain the prancing motion.
I visited the vet place near me. While most vets are equine (horse) vets as that is where the money is, the office did have one cattle vet. He was out of the office but called me back around 5:30 pm. He suspected the cow may have an abscess near her hoof.
He had called me after closing hours and did not leave a phone number. I called him in the morning and finally he called me back during the noon hour. We made an appointment for me to bring the cow in at 2:30 pm.
Once we got the cow in the squeeze chute the vet could tie her leg up and check her hoof. Yup. An abscess. The vet cut it and drained the puss from it. There appear to be a lot of pressure from the puss buildup. He cleaned the area around the hoof and gave her some antibiotics and a shot for pain.
I also had him do a preg test to see if she was pregnant. After buying the cattle I learned the bull was a young small bull who had not had offspring yet. Was the bull up to the task of inseminating these big cows? This cow... yes. She is pregnant. Yay!
Now to watch to see if her leg gets better. The vet thought she would get better by Monday. The predicted cold weather may be a good thing as it will freeze the muddy ground. With all the rain we had recently the corral is on the muddy side.
Once home the cow laid down for a while, and when she did move, she walked stiffly but I didn't noticed her prancing like before.
How did the cow get the abscess? Unknown. She must have stepped on something that caused a wound that developed into an abscess due to the muddy state of the corral right now. The corral and north pasture should be mostly clear of bad sharp objects.
From several web sites:
Abscesses of the Coronary Band:
The coronary band is the area at the top of the hoof that is normally soft, shiny and pink in color. It is the area between the actual hoof wall and where the hair growth of the leg begins. An abscess of the coronary band is often undetected, since this is an area where the foot gets muddy and can therefore be overlooked. On a cleaned foot, there is usually swelling and redness.
The cause of an abscess is usually from penetration near the coronary band, but even at the sole of the foot. The infection works its way up under the wall and develops as an abscess at the coronary band. The treatment requires that the abscess drains, so it is important to call in a veterinarian who can determine the extent of the problem, open the area properly for drainage and prescribe a treatment, which usually includes antibiotics.
Bacteria may enter the hoof itself through a crack or bruise, usually on the bottom of one of the digits. A bruised sole (as from stepping on a sharp rock, or from uneven weight bearing due to misshapen foot) may eventually become an abscess.
With an abscess, initially there is no swelling above the hoof, since the infection is confined to the hoof itself. If a lame animal does not have a swollen foot, an abscess (rather than foot rot) should be suspected and the bottom of the claws/toes should be carefully inspected. A crack or bruise should be probed with a hoof knife to find the abscess and open it up. In some cases it may need to be flushed and drained. The infection creates a foul-smelling fluid that will be obvious when the abscess is located and opened.
Treatment generally consists of paring away all the affected horn tissue around the abscess, and minimizing the weight bearing in that area until new horn can grow and fill in the hole. This can be accomplished by paring the affected claw so that the sound one bears the weight, or by gluing a "shoe" or wood block to the sound claw to build it up so it bears all the weight.
Here is a 1:07 video of my cow trying to walk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyQVvx0UPfo&feature=youtu.be
By the way... now I have a limp. Tammy and I were able to easily load the cow into my stock trailer. When the vet's helper and I unloaded the cow from my stock trailer and herded her into the area with the squeeze chute the cow was reluctant to enter one area. Because of her limping and bad legs I got a little too close behind her when herding her and suddenly - like lightning - she kicked out with her good rear leg and nailed me in my right thigh. Nothing is broken but I have a painful bruise and a strong limp. I need to remember to take and use my whip when herding cattle in close quarters. I guess I need to find and sometimes channel an inner "Fifty Shades of Grey" persona and use a whip.
Also, while the vet was draining the abscess I looked over and saw my stock trailer was no longer on the hitch. Huh?! I had forgotten to fasten the catch on the trailer. When the cow stepped off the back of the trailer the trailer hitch popped off the receiver's ball and ended up on the bumper. I had to get a block of wood for the trailer's jack as I neglected to toss my block in the back of the pickup. Once I jacked up the trailer I moved the truck a few inches and then lowered the trailer back on the receiver's ball. This time I closed the latch. Once I got home I had to wash out the trailer as the stress had the cow crapping in the trailer.
In the evening I let the herd back into the corral to join the limping cow. They were all standing at the corral gate and Beulah - as usual - was bellowing to show her displeasure at being locked out of the corral. A problem is that the herd eats the hay and pushes the limping cow around and she gets the short end of the stick sometimes.
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