For the Farmers: Calf with Congenital Flexor Tendon Shortening, Help!?

Question

Have a 4 week old black and white calf with moderate congenital contracture of flexor tendons - falling and walking on its knuckles, can bear weight on them if feet are placed correctly but in general staying off the claws.

Not had any luck with splints, was wondering if anyone has discovered any DIY techniques to improve the condition.

Thanks for your time!

Answer 1

I do not raise cattle, and basically have zero cattle experience.  

I do have a LOT of experience with goats.  I have hundreds of kids born on my farm every year.

I use to splint them, fuss over them, and completely worry when they any kid was born with contracted tendons.

However I found over the years, the very best thing was for me to do nothing.  Every single one of them corrected and straitend out on its own with just normal exersize the kids were able to get not being packed into the womb.

I must say though, in all the years of goat breeding, I've only had one kid with the flexor tendon shortening in the front legs.  Her hooved "knuckled over" when she walked.  

I was a big wuss, and couldn't bring myself to kill a newborn goat.  So I put her mother and twin in a very small stall, with thick straw bedding, so she wouldn't injure herself.  I was waiting for my husband to come back from a business trip and do the dirty deed for me.  

When my husband came home about a week latter, she was very nearly all better.  I was quiet suprised.

Perhaps it makes much more of a difference in the larger/heavier babies, like calves and foals.  I know for a foal, if you do nothing, you will have a crippled horse.  

You state "congenital."  Does that mean the mother, or sire has produced this problem before, for you?  If so, so matter how good the boodlines, temperment, or confromation, I'd send the parent that is producing the problem off to slaughter.

In my goats it has always been an "overcrowding" problem.  Tripplets, quads, or even quints.

Sorry I really couldn't have been more help to you.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Answer 2

From an alternative view point, daily physical therapy, combined with a dose of homeopathic Silica may help.  

From a conventional view point, sometimes tetracycline helps because it helps bind calcium and relax the tendons.