Contracted tendons

[lakeportfarms]

We had a little heifer calf born today.  Tiny thing, about 24 lbs., and most likely a shortie.  We'll be keeping her.  However she has severely contracted tendons on her front legs, severe enough that I don't think waiting it out is the best remedy in this case.  We've only had one case of it before many years ago in an Angus calf we had.  Here is the solution that helps a lot...a shot of Oxtetracycline, and possibly a splint for a few days (we're waiting on the vet to evaluate her) and some physical therapy of stretching out the tendons a few times/day.  A second shot might be needed depending on the severity.  I'll get some photos up when I have the opportunity.

Usually this clears up on its own, but she must have cooked a long time in mama's belly in this position or something.

[lakeportfarms]

Yes, the first thing I did before I even saw the calf was prepare a shot of BoSe to take out to her in the pasture. We have her and mom in a stall now, the vet already gave her an IV of the Oxtetracyclene, and will give her another today. He didn't recommend any splints, as they can cause rub sores at the pressure points. Fortunately Sheril will be finishing up the school year tomorrow so she'll have lots of time to do physical therapy on the calf to give her the best possible chance. She'll be a friendly calf and her mother is great about us handling her.

[zephyrhillsusan]

There are some posts on KFC about people who splinted calves for this using PVC pipe and lots of padding, but maybe theirs weren't too bad. I think you're right that PT is key. Can she get up enough to nurse on her own okay? It's a good thing mama lets you handle her. Best of luck with her, and keep us posted.

[Fran]

I have a mare that almost cut her back leg off when she was not quite 2 (stripped everything except main artery from below back hock to ankle). She was in a cast for a couple of days and then a splint for quite a while. We used PVC pipe, cut in half. Wrapped the leg with sterile cotton, used one half of the PVC pipe down the back of the leg to just above ground level (we didn't want her to buckle her ankle under and pull everything back apart) then wrapped tightly with nylon strips and then taped it tightly but not too tight. She had cut all muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc. This had to be changed out 2X day for approx. a week and then 1X day for a very long time. The cotton comes in rolls and is pretty thick - kept her from getting rubs or sores. Hers had to be sterile because of all the stitches in her leg. If no open wounds, you could probably use quilt batting or something like that.

[rawlingsdexter]

Hi All

We have had a few cases of contracted tendons, and all we do is give 20ml of cod liver oil by syringe direct into the mouth. Check the next day and they may need a second dose. We had one so bad it could not walk or get up to feed and it came good in just two doses.

Good luck

[lakeportfarms]

Our little heifer's tendons are pretty severe. Sheril has noticed some improvement, but it's likely going to be a long process. It also has seemed to affect her knee angle, and some corrective action may be necessary on that (surgical). It may get better as the tendons are improved, but if not, it involves either scraping at the side of the joint that we wish to grow, or putting a staple in the long side to restrict the growth. That would be done at Michigan State University, and the results are usually quite successful.

Her mother raised a really nice steer last year, weaned at 10 months, but she had a mummified calf 2-3 years ago that we had to extract using several shots of Lutalyse. I'm wondering if the period that she carried the mummified calf (1-1/2 years)resulted in some changes to her uterus somehow. I'll have to ask the vet about it, but I would think that with such a healthy steer in between there wasn't any long term effect.