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Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 7:40 pm
by carole
Unfortunately one of our young heifer calves has a problem with her front feet. I have taken a couple of photos. She seems to flick out her front feet when she walks. I know it does not look good but can anyone tell me what this is before the inevitable has to happen. Just as an aside and I doubt this is connected but her dam lost her last 2 calves (both born dead) but has had perfectly healthy calves prior to this. Could it be genetic?
She is one of 10 calves born this year from the same bull and none of the others have the same problem
Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 8:42 pm
by Duncan MacIntyre
Looking at a picture is no substitute for a hands on examination, but I wonder if there has been some damage to the undersized claw of this foot early on, and blood supply has been limited. Have you had any bother with scouring, any damage in others to tail or ears?
I don't think it is necessarily as much a disaster as you might suppose. The opposite foot is also in need of foot trimming, has she been inside on straw bedding, or on very soft ground? If you do not know how to trim the hooves yourself try to get someone who does know to do it and show you. Even the foot with the small claw may function better if the larger hoof is pared a bit.
Whatever the reason, the calf is not going to grow into a cow with good feet, but it may well be possible to rear her for beef. I know some do not like the prospect of killing heifers for beef, but it is only the mushrooming of numbers of dexters over the last dew decades which has let us keep such a high proportion of female calves for breeding. Eventually we will need to kill a higher proportion of heifers and in a way this will be a good thing as it will mean we are being more selective.
Duncan
Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2009 7:44 am
by Saffy
Hello Carole,
Out of interest, did you happen to notice if she was born like it?
How annoying that you will have to beef her - as I take it she carries the colour you are breeding for but with feet like that there is not much choice.
Stephanie
Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:53 pm
by carole
Hi
Thanks for the replies, its good to know that it may not be a complete disaster Duncan. I was not aware of her damaging her hooves nor of any scouring and everyone else seems O.K. She hasn't been in but has been on soft ground but again no different to what the others have been on.
We are just in the process of getting everyone back from their summer grazing and then will get the hoof trimmer in so I will get him to have a look at her. Its such a pity as she was shaping up to be a really nice beefy heifer (wish I could swop her feet for a couple of poor heifer calves we've got which will definitely go for beef).
Her colour was a bit of a surprise (a throwback to grandsire) but as we raise for beef I'm not really concerned about colour although we have got a primarily black herd.
Thanks again
