Cattle arthritis

Rob30 · #1 08/02/12, 11:08 AM

I just had steer condemed at the butcher. I was told he was full of arthritis. They described it as the bones being full of watery fluid instead of the thicker marow. The inspector said the cause was nutritional. We keep our cattle on pasture. I suppose they could be getting into some plants that are poisoness. With the drought this year pastures are not the best, but the one they are on now is still green.
Has anyone had experience with this?
From what the inspector said the arthritis is nutritional and is not contagious. We usually keep a selenium mineral block out with the cattle. Should I be giving loose mineral to get their mineral levels up?
I have done a search on the net, but can not find anything that really fits the description.

mekasmom · #2 08/02/12, 11:55 AM

I'm curious about this? I would ask the vet.

And, I personally would wonder about an adeno virus rather than nutrition, but it is a great vet question.

I just wanted to add this link on the topic of adeno viruses. They are a cause of arthritis in most species.
http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid...w=1024&bih=517

mekasmom · #3 08/02/12, 11:59 AM

Just curious--
You did use the meat, didn't you? It wouldn't hurt you if it was nutritional or an adeno virus either way. I mean, he wouldn't sell high at market, but he was still edible. It's not zoonotic.

G. Seddon · #4 08/02/12, 04:05 PM

How old and what breed?

Loose minerals are much better than a block

unregistered41671 · #5 08/02/12, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G. Seddon

Loose minerals are much better than a block

No doubt about it. It takes lots of licking to get what they need from a block.

Rob30 · #6 08/03/12, 09:18 PM

I will be talking to the vet.
The inspector would not release the meat, so we lost it. We even said that we would take it just for dog food and they still would not release it.
Our food inspection laws are pretty strict here in Ontario.
I have done alot of reading about minerals and from what I understand for the average beef cow loose minerals are a waste. That being said we just put out a high quality loose mineral. The cattle were not overly interested.
We usually keep out a regular mineral block, and we through out the odd selenium block. Especially before and during calving season.
The animal was a 16month old shorthorn bull. I bought him and his brother as 8 month olds. They looked good when I bought them. But after introducing them to the herd I could tell something was not right. They both looked off.
I think it was something genetic because he was out on pasture. All the calves are growing well. A nutritional issue just does not make sense. Our pastures are just old field, but all the others look ok.

MO_cows · #7 08/03/12, 11:33 PM

Ouch! That hurts, losing a whole beef. "Arthritis" is in the joints, not the marrow isn't it?? If the cattle you raise are fine and the ones you bought from elsewhere weren't, seems like a genetic problem or else there was something different in your environment they couldn't adapt to. I would definitely consult a vet. Too bad you couldn't send samples to the lab, too.

G. Seddon · #8 08/04/12, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob30

I have done alot of reading about minerals and from what I understand for the average beef cow loose minerals are a waste. That being said we just put out a high quality loose mineral. The cattle were not overly interested.

Rob30, I don't know where you read that loose minerals are a waste. Please read this article about minerals. They are VERY important.

Cattle Today: MINERAL INTAKE CRITICAL FOR REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE

It might be too late, but tissue samples could be analyzed at a lab to determine what was wrong with this animal. If your vet has no answers, you could contact the pathologist at your animal health lab or someone at a university vet school.

genebo · #9 08/04/12, 09:21 AM

I think you should read up on arthritis. What you described doesn't sound like arthritis at all.

Having your steer diagnosed and condemned by the inspector falls far short of an expert diagnosis, in my opinion. I'd want a well trained veterinarian at the least, and a well qualified lab at best, to diagnose him. An accurate diagnosis could be crucial for the rest of your herd.

Bone marrow disorders include anemia, myeloma, leukemia and lymphoma, but not arthritis.

I'm sorry that you lost all that meat. That's quite a blow.

MARYDVM · #10 08/04/12, 09:36 AM

This sounds fishy. Ask for a copy of the report. You should see scientific terminology describing exactly where (femur,pastern, etc) and what (necrosis,exudation,inflammation,etc) was seen. There has to be a specific disease process suspected that would be dangerous for human consumption. Plain old "arthritis" tells you nothing. Maybe you can monitor how the meat is disposed of. I'd hate to think it was being diverted into some other person's freezer.

myersfarm · #11 08/04/12, 09:37 AM

I was think the man that feed them the first 8 months might have done something like this

I was reading this yesterday about black beef.....it might have something to do with it......Why I was reading was with the hay shortage some people were feeding chicken manure to the cattle as a feed....there are a bunch of other sites with info....but this says bactria really grows fast in this beef and when they hang it to age it will not stay on the hook just look at the pictures and you will see why......do not know if it had anything to do with it but sorry you lost all the time and money

Dark cutting beef - what is it? | NSW Department of Primary Industries

myersfarm · #12 08/04/12, 09:41 AM

I also heard of good cattle finishers getting nothing from one beef out of a semi load... because of the black meat.....so It might be nothing anybody did but the single animal with the wrong genes

agmantoo · #13 08/04/12, 12:27 PM

DCB dark cutting beef is undesirable but is still not condemned meat

myersfarm · #14 08/04/12, 12:43 PM

Agman your right in USA but it might be in Canada were the OP lives

genebo · #15 08/04/12, 01:11 PM

Don't get off the track. The reason for condemning the meat was:

"They described it as the bones being full of watery fluid instead of the thicker marow."

Nothing was said about the meat being dark.

agmantoo · #16 08/04/12, 01:18 PM

From what I have read DCB results in downgrading of the meat in most countries, not rejection and unsuitable for human consumption.

There is something we are not recognizing!

PaulNKS · #17 08/04/12, 05:51 PM

I wish the OP had more details.

The only thing I know of or can find online is that a severe calcium deficiency can cause weak soft bones in younger cattle. However, just like with humans, it causes the bones in older cattle to be brittle.

I think we should know more. There's something missing here.

SpaceCadet12364 · #18 08/04/12, 06:36 PM

This one I think is a US site ....... Watery pools in bone marrow key to psoriatic arthritic damage

And, this one is a Canadian site. Yep, they err on the side of caution, unfortunately for the economic aspect of it for you....but fortunately for preventing problems for you down the road. http://www.banffpork.ca/proc/2006pdf...Goetzinger.pdf

Editing to add this one..... http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/...ves/6100.2.pdf .....even in the US, you can have a carcass condemned if systemic involvement is present for arthritis in a carcass.

genebo · #19 08/05/12, 11:10 AM

You can learn something new every day, when you know where to look.

Thanks, Spacecadet.