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Does anyone know what this is, and what to do for it?

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
I've NEVER EVER seen anything like this. No idea what it is or what caused it. the calf was born May 17. Happy and healthy until today. I was out and checked cows day before yesterday, seen this calf but didnt notice anything unusual about it then, Now today I find him lookin like this? He's also kinda lethargic, but not overly so. Anyone know what this is???

calf-sick.jpg
 

milkmaid

Well-known member
Maybe a reaction to something, Lilly? like he stuck his nose somewhere it didn't belong?

maybe it's just the light, but are his eyes a little crusty too?
 

EastTexasGal

Well-known member
When you rub your hand down the calf, does it feel like crackly? not sure I asked this properly. We had a cow about 20 yrs ago that had something similar, she was a grown cow. But, anyways what the vet called it was "Dew Poisoning" it is a photosynthesis problem I think is how they described it. I did a search and with what I could remember, but basically it was a toxicity poisoning, I thought it was from to much Vitamin C...but?? I cant find anything on it to be honest I have looked. With the weather like it has been it has something to do with the rain, then the sunlight. She was the only one we had do it, she was an Angus/hereford and didnt make it. Someone else might can come up with something.

Also, dad looked and said sometimes if a cow finds an old battery, that they lick it and its a reaction to the battery acid?? There is a couple of ideas to research or ask your vet about.

Big thing would be fever and that feeling you get when you rub your hand across the animal. It is like a crackly feeling...really hard to describe.

Easty
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
This calf doesn't look normal skin wise, anywhere on it's body. It looks like his hair is bumpy, like maybe he has these sores or whatever you'd call em other places under the hair. But not real bad. I haven't got him caught yet, Mr Lilly was cuttin hay when I seen him like this, and the friend that helps us work cows came by to feed his horses, I took him out in the pasture to show him, he had no idea either. But said he'd come by tomorrow mornin and we'd go out and get him to the corrals. To me....the way he stands....I used lethargic as the word, but he just looks like he don't feel good. could have a fever but I don't know. Course if my nose looked like that I don't think I'd be feelin too good either LOL. Just agrivates me that strange things come up that I can't find anything online about. If somethin wierd and unusual is gonna happen, it's gonna happen here LOL

After we get him caught, I thought maybe iodine and water bath might help, along with a dose of ivomec, and penn. or LA 200. I'm just guessin here at what the treatment might be that would help. It's so rare that we hafta Dr somethin other than a wound here n there from dogs. Uhggggg......thanks ya'll, anyone else with any ideas please post them.
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
Thank you Reader, after readin that article it does sound like what's happened here, we had rain several days last week, and the temps have gone back up, After two years of drought, our pastures aren't in the best of shape, but they aren't too bad. But this may well be what's wrong with this calf. I don't know how long you spent searching for this, but thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
We had a horse suffer from photosensitivity in western Montana.
He had a white strip down his face and it just peeled right off. Really,
it peeled off like tape. Looked really weird. Can't remember what we
did for it and he got okay.
It also caused sores on his white socks above his hooves.

Didn't see any bumps like this though. But then again, we
weren't in Texas with that kind of rainfall.
 

cowsense

Well-known member
We had a wreck with some cows with photosensitization several years ago- Get the calf out of the sun and into shade (a dark barn is best).You can give antibiotics to fight off infections and we used a steroid (Predef ?) to help counteract the effects. Looked ugly but they responded fairly fast and there didn't seem to be any lasting effects!
But please consult your local vet first for the official diagnoses.......calves are worth too much to lose!
 

EastTexasGal

Well-known member
Cowsense, that was what we did. The cow was put in the barn and I think it was a type of Steroid we gave or not real sure to be honest. But, I just remember the Vet calling it "Dew Poisoning". But, when you run your hand down the skin you will be able to feel that is just doesnt feel right, sorta crackly. Dew Poisoning if you read...it is a photosynthesis reaction.

It was sooo long ago, 1984 or 85 and geezzz...but I just remember the cow having it go like that, and what vet said was that the blisters formed a crust. This cow also had it on her underline as well. I dont remember so much about legs..but I hope you find out what it is.

Hey it might be something so simple as Milkmaid said, that it put its nose where it didnt belong?;)

Hate to see a critter suffer, and especially when that is dollar on the hoof.

Easty
 

Brad S

Well-known member
some plants like some mustards can cause photosensitivity in softer skin. Usually white, but arround muzzle woul do it. usually in the spring - more common in mountains and younger stock. Jack him up on antihistamines like recover or whatever you have for a snake bite and he needs shade and different feed. Usually the feed will change naturally with the season.
 

Clarence

Well-known member
We had what thought was photoosensitivity in a cow one time. It seems it might be caused by eating a certain plant then a reaction from sunlight.
I suspected that the plant that caused it was Deer vetch (lotus purshianus) Took her from the pasture andinto a shady shed and fed her hay. also put udder balm on the effected areas. She got alright in about 30 days. also had some cows we bought once that had large sunburned areas, they were from poor spring pasture and low feed. I think it was the same thing.
 

Heel Fly

Well-known member
We have had PS before it was caused be eating to much clover. Once we switched pastures they came right out of it. I have several calves with that on their nose. I thought it was like a fungus so I rubbed them with iodine( I had a calf in this spring that had a fungus that took a lot of his hair, I just figured since they were in the same barn it had spread) I't has dried up. However the calves have not been outside the corral, so I don't think ours was PS. I'll go take some pictures of it.
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
This should be real interesting, if part of the cure is puttin em in a dark barn .....we don't have a barn. Very few people down here do. The only thing we have is a goat shed that is right next to our horse pens, I hate to bring anything to the house that's sick for fear of spreadin whatever it might be to the horses. But if this is caused by the sun, and some unknown weed I'd think it's not contagious.
Since our rains last week the weeds have started to really grow fast, (which is somethin the article mentioned) guess instead of waitin for hay to dry, and gettin ready to bale, I will get Mr Lilly to hook up the big shreader for me and start shreadin the whole place.
Heel fly, did the iodine help? Cuz that was my first thought, mix up some iodine and water solution, and put in the pump sprayer, and wet him down good all over with it.
 

HAY MAKER

Well-known member
Lilly if that calf was mine,I would treat him for warts,Warts occur quite commonly on cattle, especially on young cattle. Warts are contagious and can spread rapidly when cattle are in close contact. They are seen on both dairy and beef cattle.
Warts usually occur on the head, neck and shoulders, but can be found anywhere on the animal. They are usually small and cause little trouble. In severe cases, large areas may be involved and animals so affected may not thrive. The warts will bleed if knocked and may become infected or flyblown. Warts may also occur on the udder and vulva of cows, on the penis and prepuce of bulls, and around the anus,also nose and mouth area like yours.......................good luck
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
Well vet confirmed it was the photosensitivity, but told me DO NOT put the Tincture of Iodine 7% on him, not even diluted that it would burn and make the places worse. He said give a shot of LA 200 would be sufficient, and get him to a shaded area. Well he stays in the most shaded areas as it is. So We dr'd him and turned him loose, there's more shade out among the trees in the pasture than there is at the corrals. Friday we'll catch him again, and give another dose of the LA-200.
It's not warts, but that was my first thought too when I seen his nose yesterday, there's places all over him that's peely and bumpy under the hair. I ran my hands over him, and it's just scaley crunchy yuck. The places on his nose, even tho they look like they would readily peel off, don't. They are really stuck on there. So we'll see how it goes. Vet said since there's more shaded areas out than in,and he tends to hang out there, to leave him out.
Here's a few more pics.
2006-06-27-Ropin-calf.jpg


2006-06-28-011.jpg


2006-06-28-010-nose.jpg
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
Good work, Lilly!!

Mr. Lilly's quite a cowboy!!!

I bet he gets to feeling better real soon. I wonder if it bothers
him to suck his momma with all those sore places on his nose?
I didn't think the iodine would be the thing to use in this situation
as iodine burns and can damage tissue.

Keep us updated.
 

the_jersey_lilly_2000

Well-known member
The link that Reader posted the first time was dead on the money. So weird that we've never had this happen before, but who knows when ya have drought for a couple years, which we haven't had since we've had cattle, (not this bad at least) I spose they'll nibble on anything and everything. We are still in fairly good shape grass wise, but the weeds are poppin up everywhere.
Here's basically what the vet said, after a big rain, when these pig/goat weeds start growin fast, they produce some chemical, which in turn, if eaten, affects the calfs liver, which produces a toxin, that goes into their skin........the sun shinin on them with this much heat and intensity has a reaction with that chemical in their skin....which results in these scaley bumpy places on the calf......talk about a chain reaction affect huh?
Basic treatment is to get them out of direct sunlight, which the calf is already doin by stayin in the shade, he said after a couple three days they learn to mill around at night and graze, and mama will come find him, I've seen her do that already, and watched him nurse. So he is gettin fed. Since we have no barn, I asked him if we should pen him, he's been to our place and knows that there's more shade in the pasture than the few trees around our corrals offer. He said leave him out, at least he'll be grazin and suckin his mama. LA-200 again on friday. He said the only thing that we could do that we didnt do is to put some kind of ointment on it that has lanolin in it. I didnt have any on hand, so will get that before we catch again friday.

That's not Mr Lilly in the photo's. Mr Lilly was at work this mornin, friend of ours volunteered to come out and catch the calf for us, knowing Mr Lilly is cuttin hay again this evenin. Sides...it was cooler work in the AM LOL And also this is a new horse he just got, and wanted to see how he worked in the pasture.
Bill's a great guy, anytime we need him for anything, all we gotta do is ask and he'll be there. We in turn do things for him when needed....it's a great system.
 

greg

Well-known member
the_jersey_lilly_2000 said:
Thank you Reader, after readin that article it does sound like what's happened here, we had rain several days last week, and the temps have gone back up, After two years of drought, our pastures aren't in the best of shape, but they aren't too bad. But this may well be what's wrong with this calf. I don't know how long you spent searching for this, but thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
That is what I always liked about this site-always learnin-without talkin'- my specialty,yu may have noticed.Still keep calf out of sun. Good luck Greg
 
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