Sick Moo Cow.....What is it.....

[Pooh_Bear]

Was helping my neighbor this evening with his cows.
One of them was laying and down and wouldn't join the others.
When he got the cow up it was limping and had little cuts
and sores all around its ankles. I had found some barbwire in
the field earlier but we don't think that is what caused it.
But we don't have a better explanation.

Also, the cow was covered with bumps. Little sores. Scabs maybe.
Does anyone here have any idea what that mite be.
He wormed them all a few weeks back. There is a teeny tiny
possibility that this one got skipped. So he wormed her again today.
But all those bumps have got us stumped.
Anyone know what they are or what causes them.
Neighbor said he had never seen anything like this before.
I told my neighbor I knew just the people to ask.

Thanks.

Pooh Bear

Here are some pictures.

Cow's Right Side (head is to the right)



--------------------------------------------

Cow's Left Side (head is to the left)



---------------------------------------------

Another left side.

[egon]

Not sure but I think if you dig into one of those bumps you will find a worm type thingy.

Vetenary time!

Egon

[Bird]

I think what Egon is referring to is the Botfly larvae. If it is, you can squeeze them out. You might try one of the bumps to see if that's it. I've seen them on cows and I've shot rabbits in the summer who had them. But I've never seen an infestation even close to those pictures.

[Pooh_Bear]

I also posted this question on another forum and got these
likely responses. I looked up the first one and it sounded
like a plausable theory. But I didn't find pictures to compare with.
I haven't had a chance to look up the second opinion yet.
What do y'all think. Thanks. Pooh Bear.

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I've been seeing and hearing reports from veterinarians around western KY &amp; TN, of increased numbers of cases of dermatophilosis in cattle this year.
Most commonly, the lesions are most prevalent on dorsal areas, but some years, legs/lower extremities appear to be more severely affected.

[/ QUOTE ]
Dermatophilosis

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
Did you call a vet? This is 3 possibilities I found .
I looked in my raising cattle book. It could be Photosensitization. It's a skin disease caused by eating plants that contain chemicals that intensify damaging action of sunshine. Pigmented skin is not infected, but pink skin can be, looking blistered. Damage may be so deep the affected skin dies and sloughs off. It affects just white markings such as face, legs, udders, etc. Plants that cause this are fescue, some clovers, wild carrot, lupine, perrenial rye grass, and dried buckwheat. Areas swell, itch, and blister, then develop thick crusts and oozing cracks. The animal quits eating. Sunshine causes pain. Treatment: put animal out of direct sun and give antibiotics.

Also could be cattle grubs in the imature stage of heel fly. Adult flys pester the cow and interfere with grazing. The immature larvae lives within the body much of the year. Emerging grubs come out through the skin on the back making holes. The flys torment cows by flying around thier legs to lay eggs on hair. You need systemic insecticide absorbed in the body to kill grubs.

Another possibility is scabies mites that deposit eggs on the skin. They attack any part of the body, picking skin to obtain food. As they multiply many wounds are made causing inflamation, intense itch, and small sores. The sores ooze and mix with dirt creating a scab that becomes infected and hardens to a gray or yellow color. Scabs increase in size. They feed on withers, head, tail, shoulders, etc. eventually infesting the whole body. Itching is so intense the animal is so busy scratching and rubbing it doesn't eat and may die if not controlled.

[/ QUOTE ]

[Pat]

I repeat the chant... VET VET VET...

Dermatophilosis? I don't think so. These aren't scabs or cracked open and runny things. Doesn't look like photosensitivity. They look like BUMPS.

VET VET VET

Did I mention that a vet should be involved?

An earlier respondent, I believe, suggested a vet. If enough time is used trying to get an e-consensus a vet might be too late and all that will be needed is to euthanize the beast.

Pat

[Pooh_Bear]

I agree a vet should be involved ASAP.
But it is the neighbor's cow so it's his call on that.
The guy that posted and said it is dermatophilosis is a vet.
But pictures over the internet are no substitute for a direct exam.
Nearest vet to us that works with large animals is 2 hours away.
Gets costly real fast. Could end up losing money on this cow.
I'll try to check with my neighbor tomorrow and see if the cow is
getting any better. Didn't get to see it any last couple of days.
I know it was up and around last time I saw it.

Thanks.

Pooh Bear

[Pat]

Sometimes one has to compare the "salvage value" of a dead cow to the cost of a vet and the odds of vet success. Many conditions get better with time but if the conditioin is one that doesn't fix it self then waiting is not too clever.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[3mr]

Those are cattle grubs. You can treat them yourself, nasty critterrs, but not life and death. Your neighbor needs to get a handle on fly control though.

[egon]

Think that's what those heavy rope like things in the pastures are for. They are filled with ??? and cattle will rub on them. Helps control insects of various types.

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[3mr]

What [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] OH, I get it!! your talking about those rope swings the nice farmers and ranchers put out in the pasture for their cows to play with. I've noticed that some of the real nice ones put it buy a feeder in case the cows get hungry while they are swinging. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Sorry to the original poster. If it was your cow I wouldnt be so calous, but you have to admit the previous post was humerous. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]