Find out about the symptoms and treatment for cows with unusual gait, stiff movements or tender feet.
What to look for - ranges from serious acute disease to milder chronic form.
Excess amounts of carbohydrate-rich foods such as grains or fruit. Rumen function is overloaded leading to increased acid in the rumen. Milder forms have a slower onset, but if not managed can lead to long term changes to the rumen.
Often seen in cows in early lactation. Typically seen after calving, especially in cows that have been fed on pasture during the dry period and the rumen has not had time to adapt to concentrate feeds.
Serious cases of acidosis need rapid treatment. In severe cases your vet can operate to remove the rumen contents and provide other supportive treatments to help get the rumen operating again and prevent infection.
Less severe cases may respond to treatment with magnesium products given by stomach tube. Afterwards it is important to feed good quality hay and ensure that animals do not have access to water until the next day.
Animals that have mild acidosis should be fed good quality hay and reduced amounts of concentrates. Watch them closely to ensure that any animals that are not improving can be treated more intensively.
When introducing cattle to concentrates monitor them closely and check the consistency of their manure.
This organism is widespread in the environment but only rarely causes disease in cattle. Tetanus usually occurs when an animal has had a penetrating wound, has been castrated or tail docked, or had a difficult calving. It can take days to weeks from receiving the original wound until the appearance of tetanus. The tetanus organism must enter the wound and be sealed off from the air before it can multiply. It then produces a powerful toxin that targets the nerves responsible for muscle movements.
Cattle of any age.
Other diseases that cause sudden death. Young animals seen in the early stages of the disease might show similar signs to animals with polioencephalomalacia.
The tetanic muscle spasms are usually characteristic enough to diagnose tetanus especially if there is a history of a deep wound in the last few weeks.
The disease does not spread from animal to animal but sometimes a number of animals may develop tetanus at the same time. This is usually because the animals have become infected at the same time following a procedure such as castration.
Take care when handling animals that are experiencing muscle spasms. People cannot get tetanus from direct contact with cattle, but are susceptible to infection with the tetanus organism through a penetrating wound. It is also important for all people that handle livestock to make sure that their tetanus vaccinations are up to date.
If animals are seen early in the course of the disease and are particularly valuable, your vet may administer an antitoxin and recommend other measures that will save some animals. Treatment is not effective if animals are in an advanced stage of the disease.
Ensure that all calves are protected against tetanus with a clostridial vaccine (5 in 1, 7 in 1 or 8 in 1). Use high levels of hygiene when performing procedures such as castration and dehorning.
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