Okay this is a new one for me... I have 5 bull calves that have pooh stick to their feet how do I go about getting it off. It is very hard and somw of it is frozen on there. We attempted tonight to remove some of it from one of the calves but now they are walking funny and almost limping. What is the best way to go about getting this off. The ones that have alot of crap on their feet are walking with a little bit of difficulty. We clean out their pen when we go out and do chores but it doesn't seem to make any difference if there's a pile in there they always seem to step in it.
If they are small enough that you can force them to do thngs, you could stand them in a tub of warm water until the manure thawed, and softened up enough to be scraped off. Might do one foot at a time in a bucket of real warm water. Tie them between two gates where they can't move around to do this.
If you could use deep sawdust or shavings for bedding, they would drag the bedding around enough to cover most piles.
I would say more bedding. Hosing off their feet will get it to thaw and wash off, but then they'll be wet and cold. I've never had any cattle get manure stuck to their feet. I wonder if there's something about what you are feeding that is making it more sticky? Jena
Jena, I don't understand it either I have five heifers in a different pen and they don't have this problem, just the bulls... They are on an 18 percent feed which I have raised all of mine on..
Shelby, what do you have them bedded in?? Maybe like the others said, just add more bedding, when they warm up the manure should start coming off. Carol K
they are bedded in about 6 inches of hay but they still manage to get it stick and hardened on their feet even if we go through and clean them out at chore time.
Could you use woodchips for a while?? I know they are expensive if you have to buy them in the bags, about $3.50 (?) I think, but it may help. If not get a couple of bales of straw (not hay) and try that. We have a wood chipper, and in the summer I chip loads of branches that have been cut the year before and I use that as bedding. Every year I do more, but I always run out and I have to but woodchips. So if you have access to a chipper, that is another idea. Carol K
You could get them one of those boot scrubber things You know, I was thinking about this and maybe it's because of their different...um...anatomy. When heifers urinate, it all goes out behind. When steers do, it's right there on their feet. I wonder if it's a combination of wet feet and maybe unusual weather or something making them stick? I think the solution is still more bedding. I like the wood chip idea. More abrasive maybe. Jena
