Post by guineatech on Dec 29, 2008 14:12:16 GMT -5
Hi Vanessa. I'm sorry about your cow!!
I ran this by my husband, and the two things that struck him as possibilities right off were injury to the back or pelvis from slipping on ice, or white muscle disease.
He has seen cattle go down with a strained pelvis from slipping in the ice. After the swelling gets started, the animal can go down and not be able to get up (nerves may be damaged/irritated or tendons and ligaments become swollen and unable to keep the back legs from splaying when they try to support the cow). Those animals were treated with pain killers and by hobbling the hind legs together, and lifting her as you all are doing. They would leave the legs hobbled together for about a month to help the cow keep her legs from splaying, while she healed.
I'm sure you are familiar with white muscle disease, I checked online and found some info about Alberta in relation to selenium in the soil and crops, and am passing this on. I expect you have already ruled that out but it never hurts to pass on info, right?Good luck and God bless!
"Any feed grown in Alberta can be low in selenium. However, the likelihood of experiencing selenium deficiency is greater in the areas west of Highway 2 and north of Highway 16.
Selenium deficiency is a significant problem in Alberta. Deficiency symptoms include white muscle disease, reduced resistance to diseases, birth of dead or weak calves, increased incidence of retained after-births, and lowered cow fertility. The minimum suggested allowance for selenium in the diet is 200 mg/kg. Higher levels than this may be required in some instances.
The addition of selenium to commercially manufactured supplements for cattle is regulated by Agriculture Canada. Under current regulations, feed manufacturers can add the levels of selenium shown in Table 3.
The role of vitamin E is similar to that of selenium and a deficiency can produce similar effects. Vitamin E should also be given when selenium supplementation is warranted. " source:www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/beef4887
I ran this by my husband, and the two things that struck him as possibilities right off were injury to the back or pelvis from slipping on ice, or white muscle disease.
He has seen cattle go down with a strained pelvis from slipping in the ice. After the swelling gets started, the animal can go down and not be able to get up (nerves may be damaged/irritated or tendons and ligaments become swollen and unable to keep the back legs from splaying when they try to support the cow). Those animals were treated with pain killers and by hobbling the hind legs together, and lifting her as you all are doing. They would leave the legs hobbled together for about a month to help the cow keep her legs from splaying, while she healed.
I'm sure you are familiar with white muscle disease, I checked online and found some info about Alberta in relation to selenium in the soil and crops, and am passing this on. I expect you have already ruled that out but it never hurts to pass on info, right?Good luck and God bless!
"Any feed grown in Alberta can be low in selenium. However, the likelihood of experiencing selenium deficiency is greater in the areas west of Highway 2 and north of Highway 16.
Selenium deficiency is a significant problem in Alberta. Deficiency symptoms include white muscle disease, reduced resistance to diseases, birth of dead or weak calves, increased incidence of retained after-births, and lowered cow fertility. The minimum suggested allowance for selenium in the diet is 200 mg/kg. Higher levels than this may be required in some instances.
The addition of selenium to commercially manufactured supplements for cattle is regulated by Agriculture Canada. Under current regulations, feed manufacturers can add the levels of selenium shown in Table 3.
The role of vitamin E is similar to that of selenium and a deficiency can produce similar effects. Vitamin E should also be given when selenium supplementation is warranted. " source:www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/beef4887