# Foot Rot



## Delinda (Dec 5, 2005)

Hi all, I could use some advice here, I have a 300 lb. steer with a bad case of foot rot on his rear hoof. We caught him and gave him a good dose of antibiotic ( LA 300 injected ) cleaned out the hoof the best we could and poured peroxide and Kopertox in the area (green liquid used to treat hooves on horses). We went to check on him last night and he seems worse, what else can we do for him? He is in a pasture with 12 other steers, should we worry about it spreading to the others? We see no sighs of it in the other steers yet. Any advice would be appreciated, we have never had this happen before.


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## Bountiful Ranch (Jan 11, 2010)

I have a cattle ranch and I see it every year but generally in spring with the rains. You've done what you should but keep up the shots for awhile. I have never seen it spread but be sure he is on dry ground. My 2000 bull had it and I couldn't get him in the shoot to even give a shot and boy was worried because he is like 1/2 of my herd. It went away on its own when it moved the cattle to very dry ground. I happen to feed in one area and that can get muddy with droppings and all so I now move my feeder to different areas. You have the boy in an area that you can keep up the shots which is great and keep the foot clean. Now remember you can't send him to the sale barn or slaughter him because you must wait quite away after giving those antibiotics and LA200 is a very powerful one. I doubt that is in your interest being a baby still. I use pen but double the dose it says to use on Pen but not on LA 200.
By the way I treat my horses and cows the same way.


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## Farmer Jayne (Oct 21, 2013)

I've watched a vet pack the hoof with copper sulfate powder and wrap it well. Copper sulfate is the same thing as Kopertox, but packing it with powder is more, you know? I don't know how long the bandage stayed on, or if they had to repeat it. Not much help, I know. You can get copper sulfate at a hardware store. It is used in septic tanks to keep roots from growing into them. I've had to deal with foot rot with goats, which are a little easier to handle. Cutting away the rotted part of the hoof is also important. Also, one hoof on one steer makes me think that maybe he could have injured the hoof to make it vulnerable. Make sure there is nothing stuck in it. 
Good luck. Hopefully you'll hear from someone with a little more experience.


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## Delinda (Dec 5, 2005)

Thanks for the info, how often should we give him a shot? We gave him the one good dose Sunday of LA300, we were thinking we should wait 7 days to re dose? Also we do raise these steers to take to the Holstein steer sale, usually we take a load at around 350 to 400 lbs. that is when they are bringing the high dollar around here. We buy 3 day olds from a local dairy, and since we have 3 cows that we milk we have fresh milk to give them, so we raise them up to this weight to sell, we always have young calves coming up. We were not going to take this steer off for awhile since he has this foot rot, how long will it take for the antibotic to get out of his system so we can take him? We can keep him as long as necessary.


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## Delinda (Dec 5, 2005)

Thanks for the info on copper sulfate, we are going to the hardware store to look for it, I wonder what type of tape we will need to hold the bandage on, maybe the self sticking horse wrap?


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## sv.maple (Feb 16, 2014)

Wrap with vet wrap but be sure to take it off in a few days or itll make sores and foot will get worse


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

I would give him the LA200 about every 3 or 4 days for about 3 or 4 times. It will take time to heal and he may always be crippled.

I gave LA 200 to a big bull once with foot rot until he could walk well enough he could get away from me, he was shut up in the corral. Figured he was getting better when he wouldn't stand and let me using for a pin cushion any more.


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## Missourifarmboy (Aug 24, 2014)

LA 300 / Noromycin is the antibiotic to use but you only inject every 3 to 4 days. You should be able to get a squirt bottle of foot rot spray, pink in color, with benzalkonium chloride. Clean the foot and hoof, a big syringe minus the needle works well. Spray with foot rot spray till absolutely soaked , wrap in gauze and then wrap with duct tape or wide medical tape. Might have to repeat in three days but it should clear it up. I would still pull him off and bring him up to a corral or pen. Everywhere he is walking now is a chance to spread the bacteria. When you work on him just put a rope around his ankle just above hoof put it over the chute and pull his foot up like working on a horses foot. One holds the rope the other can clean and wrap it fairly easily.


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## msscamp (Sep 8, 2014)

Delinda said:


> He is in a pasture with 12 other steers, should we worry about it spreading to the others? We see no sighs of it in the other steers yet. Any advice would be appreciated, we have never had this happen before.


Yes, you should be concerned about it spreading to the others. Foot rot is a bacterial infection, and it can spread.


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## kycrawler (Sep 18, 2011)

It is off label use but draxxin has given us very good results


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## Delinda (Dec 5, 2005)

The steer is much better this evening, the swelling has gone down and he is walking a lot better, after catching all of them and inspecting their feet we have seen signs of it starting on two others, we gave them a shot and treated their feet also. I do wonder what has caused this, they are in an 18 acre pasture, plenty of grass and it is not a wet area at all. We did move all the feeders around to new ground so hopefully it will not spread anymore.


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## msscamp (Sep 8, 2014)

Are your water tanks running over, or is rain accumulating around them? One of the more common causes of foot rot is water collecting around tanks, weeds grow, and when the cows/steers come in for a drink they break the weeds off and the stalks cause a break in the skin between their toes, thus allowing bacteria in.


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

Have you recently mowed the pasture leaving any weed or tree stumps they could step on.


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## Delinda (Dec 5, 2005)

Allen W said:


> Have you recently mowed the pasture leaving any weed or tree stumps they could step on.


We never thought of this, actually we did bush hog the field about a week ago, I bet this is what happened to them. There is really not any small trees, but I am sure there were some strong weeds that could have got them.
We loaded up all the steers except the 3 showing foot rot and took them to the Holstein steer sale today, they all graded as number ones, hopefully we will get a good paycheck tonight for all the work and feed we have put into them!


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Maybe this will help:

How To Prevent Foot Rot In Cattle
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif]By Heather Smith Thomas[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Beef Magazine[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif]September 22, 2014[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif] [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif] [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Foot rot is an infectious condition that causes swelling, heat and inflammation in cattle's feet, resulting in severe lameness. Swelling and lameness can appear suddenly, with the animal walking normally one day but limping the next day. Lame cattle can lose weight quickly if they're reluctant to travel to feed and water.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif]J. Dustin Loy, veterinary diagnostic microbiologist in the University of Nebraska's Veterinary Diagnostic Center, says the microbes associated with foot rot are mainly anaerobes, meaning they thrive in an environment without oxygen.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif]"The most common is Fusobacterium necrophorum. We usually find one or more of several other anaerobic bacteria associated with it, including Prevotella and Porphyromonas. They're all gram-negative anaerobes. We often find one that used to be called Arcano-bacterium pyogenes and is now called Truperella pyogenes. It forms pus and helps induce the anaerobic environment for other bacteria by reducing oxygen in the tissues," he explains.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif] [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Andrew Niehaus, Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, says the anaerobic bacteria are symbiotic. "One of them enters the break in the skin, and another comes along and helps perpetuate the infection," he says. The bacteria multiply and further damage and destroy tissue, which leads to more anaerobic conditions as the tissue dies, which further facilitates the infection.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif] [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Full text:[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif][FONT=Arial,sans-serif]http://beefmagazine.com/health/how-prevent-foot-rot-cattle[/FONT][FONT=Arial,sans-serif] [/FONT][/FONT]


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## Delinda (Dec 5, 2005)

Thank you for the article. The calves brought top dollar, actually more than we expected. I don't see how these prices can continue, I can't imagine how much beef is going to cost in the grocery store with prices like this, how is the average person going to afford to buy any? I am thankful we raise our own.


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