How to treat joints of cows and calves

When breeding cattle, many farmers are faced with the problem of how and with what to treat the joints of calves. In fact, this is a rather serious problem, and with inexperienced breeding, many animals get injured, bruised or get joint diseases. To deal with this, you need to know what joint diseases in calves are and how to diagnose them.If the farmer is even a little versed in this topic, it will be easier for him to notice the disease at the very early stage of its appearance and take timely treatment measures.

Table of Contents
  1. Types of Diseases joints in cattle
  2. Dislocations in cattle
  3. Arthritis <
  4. Arthrosis in cattle
  5. Bursitis in cows and calves
  6. Disease prevention

Болезни суставов у коров и телят

Joint diseases in the cortex and calves

Diseases of the joints in calves may be congenital or acquired. To minimize the risk of congenital abnormalities, during pregnancy, the female should be shown to her veterinarian for visual examination and collection of tests. Acquired joint dislocations in a cow and a calf are not uncommon, they most often occur in rooms where conditions for full-fledged cattle rearing are not met.

Types of joint diseases in cattle

  • dislocation;
  • arthritis;
  • arthrosis;
  • bursitis.

Dislocations in cattle

If the calves are dislocated, then it must be urgently treated. Most often, a hock or hip joint gets a dislocation.Adults are less likely to be affected by this disease than calves. Dislocation can be complete or incomplete. Such a disease occurs due to displacement of bones in the joint. A complete dislocation is characterized by the fact that the head completely falls out of the joint. Incomplete is a kind of partial displacement of the joint, and some farmers treat such dislocations in their herd on their own.

Diseases of the joints of calves can be divided into subtypes:

  • Congenital, when abnormal actions the calf received a joint injury at birth.
  • Pathological dislocations can occur due to muscle atrophy.
  • A traumatic dislocation is accompanied by an injury that cattle received as a result of a fall. Animals can also harm each other.

Along with a dislocation, injury to muscles, ligaments and periarticular tissues can occur. Symptoms of such a disease can be seen visually: it is enough to examine the animal and pay attention to its gait. When injuring the joints of the legs, cattle will not be able to walk normally. If the knee joint is damaged and the injury is complex, then the cow can generally only lie. This disease is quite common among young animals, and the farmer needs to know what to do in this case.

How to treat joint dislocations in a cow and calf? If the dislocation is simple, then an experienced veterinarian can easily straighten a limb. After restoration of normal gait, a special fixing bandage is applied to the joint, which contributes to the healing process.

Arthritis

Arthritis is purulent or inflammatory. Purulent, chronic or inflammatory arthritis is a serious disease that must be treated immediately. Arthritis is exudative (occurs in a chronic stage) or active, it is also called deforming arthritis. Inflammatory arthritis in cattle is mainly due to the fact that the tissue or cavity is torn. This may be due to ligament rupture or sprain. Also, joint inflammation in cows and calves can occur due to metabolic disorders, deficiency of vitamins and minerals in the body.

A disease such as purulent arthritis can occur due to wounds and open dislocations of the legs or other parts of the body in a cow or a calf. The first sign of active inflammation is bone growths. The disease is characterized by an increase in body temperature in cattle. Also, the joint becomes hot. If the animal has inflammation, the legs hurt and swell, then perhaps it is purulent arthritis. Symptoms of such a disease appear immediately: a cow cannot step on a sore limb because her legs are swollen, the animal is apathetic, milk yield is reduced.

With this disease, pus can leak out of the wound. Treatment in this case should be carried out immediately at the first symptoms of the disease. If treatment is not done on time, the processes in the joint become inflamed, outgrowths or bone tissue may grow together incorrectly.Deforming arthritis can occur due to constant standing on the legs and untimely treatment of hooves. In this case, treatment of a cow or calf should first be directed to relieve pain and remove inflammation. To do this, make compresses, apply cold, and then heat to the affected joint. With the fibrous form of arthritis, a lidase solution is used. Any arthritis is poorly treated, so you need to monitor the condition and health of the livestock on time, and also take time to walk and rest.

Arthrosis in cattle

Arthrosis is mass disease, which most often occurs on farms where animals are not kept in keeping conditions and walking. The disease mainly affects the hind limbs of cows and calves. The disease can occur if the animals walk a little and lead an inactive lifestyle, as well as when feeding old feeds.

Please note that as a preventative measure for this disease, animals should be fed only with balanced and high-quality food, in case of violation metabolic damage to the joints can be observed.

Arthrosis is characterized by the fact that it slowly destroys cartilage. With arthrosis, they become soft, grow, and then ossify. At the initial stage, the disease does not manifest itself. You can only notice by the way cattle walks and steps on limbs. When the cartilage changes, the cow cannot fully step on the foot, and this can manifest itself in the form of lameness.Joints affected by arthrosis should be treated with sollux. The veterinarian also prescribes various irritating ointments. In the early stages of this disease, arthrosis can be successfully cured.

Bursitis in cows and calves

Bursitis is an ailment in which inflammation of the mucous membranes and synovial bag occurs. Basically, bursitis can occur in the area of ​​the hock, knee joint, shuttle bone and maclac. The causative agents of this disease most often arise due to improper care and raising of cattle or due to infections in the animal body. Bursitis can occur if the cow hits hard objects in the barn or if the animals do not have a soft and warm litter on which they can rest.

Bursitis can occur in various forms and depend on the stage of the disease. Only a veterinarian can diagnose what form of bursitis in an animal. As a treatment, mainly compresses are prescribed, constant rest and all conditions for the restoration of previous activity. You can see in more detail how bursitis looks in cattle in a photo or video.

Treatment of hock arthritis in Jersey calf.
Cow hock assessment
Cow diseases. Purulent arthritis. purulent arthritis

Disease Prevention

to cows suffering from various diseases of the joints, it is necessary from birth cared for properly and taken care of. It should make it a rule to feed the cows are always balanced and quality food. Particular attention should be paid to winter diet. In winter, the vitamin supply in cattle is minimal, and you need to replenish the daily intake of vitamins with special additives, another option is to create a separate winter diet. In the summer, you need to constantly let the cows and their offspring into the street. Deficiency of sunlight and vitamin D also negatively affect the general condition of cows.

In some cases, farmers with a shortage of sunny days illuminate the barn with ultraviolet lamps. In the summer, cattle graze on fresh grass and receives all the necessary vitamins. Such animals do not have problems with the joints, as their body has enough minerals, and good nutrition helps to strengthen the immune system and make it resistant to protection against bacteria and infections. Be sure to comply with the rules for keeping cattle, it is necessary to remove from the premises all unnecessary items that may interfere with cows. If done correctly, problems such as joint diseases should not occur.

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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