injured bull

[gwithrow]

I am really sick over this one, we have a borrowed bull visiting our 6 girls..well cows...he has been here three days, this morning when I went out to feed everyone, I noticed that he is limping..well favoring one back leg..he is huge, and I would think he needs all four feet to manage..we sprayed off the hoof, to see if we can see anything...nothing unusual that we can see..he is so big, I don't think he would fit all the way through our chute...we called his owner to let him know, couldn't get hold of him yet so I guess we wait now to see if it just gets better...any thoughts here..??? we put him where the ground is most level and with the cows...can't see separating him since that would surely lead to problems...but at least now he won't have to slip down a little hilly area to go out to the bigger field...there's nothing in there to eat anyway and where he is now is closer to the trough..seems like he only does two things, eat and well, girlfriends....so like I said can anyone think of anything else we can do.??.I think it is too early to call a vet, he can walk, just not easily...thanks..

[susieM]

Call the vet. He's not your bull, so it's the responsible thing to do.

[DJ in WA]

There's obviously many possibilities of problems, from the toes up to the hips.

Most common are probably foot problems, stepping on nail, abscess, that type of thing. I assume not muddy fields, no foot rot.

Or since he's breeding, maybe he strained something while riding a cow. How old is he? Are his feet in good shape?

Go ahead and pick up that hind foot, LOL, and scrape off the bottom with a hoof pick and knife and see what you can see.

The obvious answer is to call the vet, but not sure how much he/she can do if can't restrain him. How docile is he? Maybe they can dope him some to check his feet out.

Just some ideas - others might have more detailed experience.

You'll have to work it out with the owner as to how to proceed. ONe reason I hesitate to borrow bulls - if he drops dead, who's responsible?

[gwithrow]

we got in touch with the owner, and his feeling is watch and wait a day or so...he says this happens with big boys....I would love to clean off that foot and see, the fields are muddy, but they aren't standing in it at all..lots of dry areas...we sprayed it off with the hose, he is pretty easy going and is used to being handled....but we will get his 'daddy' out here to pick up that foot...we could put him in our chute, but I don't know that he could go all the way through....the best thing would be if it is something lodged in there and we can just pick i t out...where ARE those really big tweezers? .he is sosooo big, I must say I am intimidated..., he has only been here three days...and early this AM he was fine...now he is up in the trees resting...I guess we will see in the morning how he is...we will not hesitate to call a vet if he is not better....with only 6 cows it doesn't make sense to keep a bull of our own...but we may try to do AI next year..thanks for the input...

[Faith Farm]

He probably strained his leg or something while servicing the ladies.
Separate him from the ladies for several days if you can to recover and it
should clear up in a few days but still contact a vet. This is not uncommon
with breeding cows. I have a bull that experienced this and a few neighbors
have as well.

[susieM]

One of the ladies probably tried to kick him in the nuts and missed.

[Christiaan]

...now he is up in the trees resting...

Well, he can't be all that big if he can get up in the trees! Maybe he hurt himself jumping out of the tree?

[gwithrow]

ok, this is the kind of comment I get from my 17 year old...under the trees....not in...yesterday we talked to the vet, she said to wait and see....my son was able to go up to him while he was lying down and pick at his foot...and he felt that there was nothing stuck up in there at all...we will see how he is this morning when we got out to feed...nothing appears swollen that we can tell, he didn't respond to a cow who was throwing herself at him yesterday..really wanton hussy style...trying to mount him while he was resting...he limps over to eat, his appetite doesn't seem affected....he has a lot of trouble getting up when he has been lying down...so if he is not improved we will get the vet and the owner out here...the vet did say she could give him some shot of something...but she also said she didn't really like to give cattle whatever this is...my son talked to her so I didn't get the name of whatever she was talking about....would it be steroids? which made me wonder since bulls seem to be one big steroid....does anyone know if there is something that can be given to help this kind of situation?

[Terry W]

Have your son feel for warmer areas on the leg an in the hip area. Some injuries will not be outwardly visible, but they generally produce heat. realize, 'prey' animals are ususally very stoic-- helps keep them alive in the wild.

If the bull cannot get up at some point-- roll him over to his other side, so his legs are doing a different set of movements for getting up.

[DJ in WA]

Some ideas - not specific to your situation, but something to think about.

For injuries there are anti-inflammatory shots, some are steroids, and some are Non-steroids (kind of like aspirin). Will make him feel better, but that's not always good, cuz if injured and get feeling too good, might keep using it and aggravating it.

Steroids also suppress immunity, so if has an infection, could worsen it.

My bet, as others say, is he probably strained something. Rest is best. Or you could put him in a hot tub, lol.

You could poke around his leg and see if pressure in different spots makes him move due to pain. Should be restrained, though, so you don't get hurt. If injury up high around hip, might be hard to figure out with alot of muscle over the area.

[gwithrow]

this morning he seems slightly less in pain, his area to move around in is not huge, and we have gated them away from the slippery hill...he was up and with the cows when we went out to feed...he is moving a little faster, now that is not speedy at all....I have asked the owner to come and evaluate as well...I feel like this next few days will tell...he will either be on the mend or he will need to go home and let the owner decide what to do...I am more than willing to have a vet out, but agree that the pain may keep him resting and be the faster better solution...one of the girls is in heat, so we will see what we see..or don't see...if he can't breed them, we really can't keep him here..he certainly has not lost his appetite...for feed and hay,...I guess that is good...his owner is comfortable with wait and see and he says he has seen this type of thing before...and they usually get better...so we are still hoping for the best...I think we will try to feel for a hot spot...thanks

[gwithrow]

it's raining here, which we are very glad about...I put the bull and the cows in a field about an acre in size....much less mud and not too hilly...he just strolled by...with hardly a limp!!I hate that they are all out in the weather, but perhaps a little rain won't hurt them....I haven't seen him do what he is here for, but today I am hopeful ...I really appreciate all the input, and I have to say I have learned a huge amount from many of you....now a new question...we just bought some sorghum hay...very heavy bales...dry and green....is this as good as nice grass hay? same ridiculous price....with the bull here they are eating more..and wanting more and more...too bad, they have to make do ...we are also feeding the 'hay stretcher' feed that is soy hulls and corn gluten at 200/ton.....about 7 pounds ea per day....

[ksfarmer]

I would test the sorgum hay for nitrates. Sometimes in drouthy situations the nitrates will be at such a high level as to be unsafe to feed cattle.