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Any cattle owner understands that animals can get sick. They, just like people, often have problems with their limbs. Joint diseases in cows are most often treated, although deaths cannot always be avoided. The causes of diseases, methods of prevention and treatment will be discussed further.
Types of joint diseases in cattle
Any disease causes a decrease in the productivity of cattle. There are different diseases:
- arthritis;
- arthrosis;
- bursitis;
- dislocations;
- sprains and other types of joint problems.
To ensure that the cow does not reduce productivity, it is necessary to identify the problem in a timely manner and seek help from a specialist.
Arthritis
Adult animals and calves can develop different types of arthritis. In veterinary medicine, there are 2 forms of the disease: purulent and aseptic. We need to figure out what is the difference between these arthritis.
Aseptic form
There is exudative arthritis, which can occur in acute or chronic form. Varieties of the form include periarthritis, deforming arthritis.They are most often chronic.
The aseptic form of arthritis occurs most often due to bruises, ruptured ligaments or sprains. The cause of the disease may be a violation of metabolic processes in the body. Poor quality food, lack of vitamins and minerals are other causes of the aseptic form of arthritis.
Purulent form
This disease does not occur on its own. Most often, problems with joints in the form of purulent arthritis in cows begin if open dislocations and other wounds on the animal’s limbs are not treated in a timely manner.
Causes and symptoms
To protect cows from various types of joint diseases, you need to know why they occur. In addition to injuries, metabolic disorders, and poor-quality feeding, the cause may lie in increased stress on the joints. For example, if the pasture is located at a long distance.
In addition to the causes of arthritis, you also need to know what signs to react to in order to provide timely help to the cow:
- A swelling appears on the joint, and after a while the cow begins to limp.
- Due to the increase in temperature in the inflamed joint, the animal becomes lethargic, apathetic, and does not respond to the owner.
- The joint that has become infected becomes hot.
- When walking, the cow tries not to step on the sore leg. During palpation, she twitches and tries to move away from the person examining her.
- The joint swells over time, and if treatment is not started, bone growths appear.
- With purulent arthritis, the joint cavity is filled with purulent masses, which often flow out through a wound on the skin.
Treatment methods
Having noticed that the cow's joints are swollen, the owner should seek help from a specialist to identify the cause.It is the veterinarian who is able to identify the disease and give recommendations on how to care for the animals.
First of all, the cow is not driven out to pasture, but left in a dry, clean room to reduce the load on sore limbs. Then the joints need to be cooled, then a pressure bandage should be applied if the arthritis is chronic. Veterinarians also recommend alcohol compresses.
Arthrosis
According to statistics, joint diseases in cows are becoming increasingly common. One of them is arthrosis. Failure to treat in a timely manner can lead to serious problems that can lead to the loss of your cow. That is why livestock owners must know about the causes of arthrosis and the symptoms of the disease in order to respond to the problem in a timely manner and begin treatment.
Causes
There are many reasons for the occurrence of arthrosis, but they all come down to improper care of animals.
Most often, cows get sick in the following cases:
- Animals are deprived of walks or walks are short-term; they spend most of their time in stalls.
- Due to problems with the gastrointestinal tract, the metabolism in the cow’s body is disrupted.
- Arthrosis occurs due to low-quality food, which lacks nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
- Arthrosis may appear in cows after calving if they are intensively milked.
It is difficult for a non-specialist to anticipate the disease at the initial stage by the appearance of a cow, since there are no obvious changes in the behavior and well-being of the animal.But you can understand that problems are starting with the joints because the cow gets up with great difficulty and begins to limp.
At the beginning of the disease, the joint does not undergo changes. But due to softening, it begins to collapse. Due to the trapped particles, thickening and ossification occurs, compaction appears in the cup, and flexibility decreases.
Stages of development of arthrosis
Arthrosis is a chronic disease. This is not an infection, but its damaging effect leads to joint deformation. As a result, the mobility of animals decreases, as the internal structure of the joint changes.
The joints are connected by cow bones and are surrounded by elastic cartilage. Since arthrosis does not appear immediately, you need to know how it develops. There are 2 stages of arthrosis development.
Stage 1:
- At first, the cartilage does not retain the amount of joint fluid necessary for lubrication. This leads to loss of elasticity.
- Then the collagen fibers in the cartilage begin to increase, causing dryness to appear in it. And this leads to cracking.
During stage 2:
- There is deformation of the joint.
- The head of the joint is flattened.
- Painful sensations arise in it, the animals begin to noticeably limp.
Stage 3:
- The joint is completely deformed, and it is very difficult to cure sore legs.
- The outcome is most often unfavorable, and the animals are sent to slaughter.
Bursitis
Another disease is bursitis. A closed type formation develops in stretched connective tissue. To notice the problem in a timely manner, you need to know why it occurs, as well as what symptoms you can use to notice bursitis.
There may be several reasons:
- various types of injuries;
- parasite bites;
- getting various infections into open wounds;
- poor quality litter;
- Animals raised in stalls are kept on a short leash.
Symptoms:
- the joint on the cow’s leg swells and swelling appears;
- the cow is in pain and begins to limp;
- In the place of swelling, purulent bags form, and the skin becomes hard.
Treatment of bursitis
Treatment is prescribed by a veterinarian, but before his arrival, the owners of a sick cow can apply contrast compresses, as well as apply alcohol-soaked bandages to the joint for bursitis.
Specialists prescribe treatment of the sore spot with Ichthyol or Chlorcin ointment and conduct physical therapy.
The purulent bags must be opened and the fluid removed from the cavity. Then they begin to treat the disease.
After the pain is relieved, massages can be performed using gels with an anti-inflammatory effect.
Dislocations, sprains and bruises
These types of joint damage can be congenital or acquired during the life of the cow. Animal owners, in order to provide timely assistance, must know how to distinguish between dislocations, sprains or bruises.
Dislocations, causes, symptoms
Unsuccessful falls of cows and calves can lead to dislocation. As a result, the muscles are injured, and in more serious cases, paralysis begins. Sometimes after a fall, ligaments or muscle tissue are torn, joint capsules, blood vessels, and skin are damaged.
A dislocation can be identified by the following symptoms:
- the position of the limbs becomes unnatural;
- the cow stops moving due to lethargy;
- the joints swell, but if the skin has been torn, inflammation may begin.
The damaged limb is fixed with a bandage and left for 14 days.
Sprain, causes, symptoms
The stretch causes the cow's bones to become out of alignment. Most often the problem is observed in the lower part of the leg. If treatment is not started, this can lead to inflammation of the joint.
Stretching can occur:
- with sudden movements and various injuries;
- with insufficient movement and stabling;
- with improper organization of feeding.
You can determine stretching:
- by joint displacement and lameness;
- the cow bends her leg with difficulty and does not want to move;
- Swelling is observed at the site of injury.
Before starting treatment, it is necessary to conduct an x-ray examination. If the sprain is simple, just apply a bandage and a cold compress.
Bruises
After bruises, the cow may experience bruising, swelling, and pain when walking. A cold compress and a pressure bandage will help relieve pain.
If the bruise is severe, then veterinarians inject the inflamed area with a 0.25% solution of novocaine (per 1 kg of live weight - 1 ml).
Prevention measures
One of the preventive measures to help avoid joint disease in cows is proper and balanced nutrition. The food must contain the necessary substances, microelements, and vitamins. The second measure is to ensure movement, especially for those cows that are kept in stalls in winter.
Conclusion
Joint diseases in cows are not uncommon. Cattle can suffer various injuries on the pasture, so animals must be examined in order to provide them with timely assistance.
