Cow diagnosis

[grassfarmer]

I have a cow that gets strange symptoms when she goes onto grass and I'm wondering if anyone could tell me what it is.
Within a day or two of getting onto foot high meadow brome/ quack/clover pasture in the spring she suffers a reaction. She starts shaking her head and walking with it close to the ground as if it is sore on top. Her eyes are a bit closed (kind of looks like what I used to feel like with a hangover)After a day or two of this her nose goes really purple and the skin peels and then the teats do the same.
She did this two years ago and her ears eventually were tender and the hair peeled off them as well as her udder becoming very red and sore and stopping the calf suckling. She recovered then by being shut in a corral with little grass until we had really knocked the milk off her - then she was fine to go back to grass again.

We don't have any noxious weeds that I'm aware of but it slightly reminds me of the type of reaction caused by a weed affecting their photosensitivity.
Could this cow just be allergic to something in the grass - nitrogen perhaps? not that it was heavily fertilised.

[cowman]

sounds like proto to me, which is more like a reaction to the sunlight.

[grassfarmer]

Thanks for that Emrald, a quick google search brought up some info on the condition Protoporphyria which I hadn't heard of before. They all pointed to a gene flaw in Limousin cattle - mine is a red Angus. Also they talk of carrier parents throwing a susceptable calf - this is a cow I bought in who has had 5 calves, one a daughter retained in the herd none of which suffered the same symptoms. This is the second year out of 5 she has done it. It definately does seem to coincide with her going to lush grass for the first time - unless she is managing to catch a bit more shade in the late spring fields rather than field she is on now.
Strange - but at least now that gives me something to work on. It takes some learning all the different diseases or health problems in a new country!!

[grassfarmer]

grassfarmer, I don't know how grass tetany works but perhaps it may be something to check out as well.
Hopefully she improves, having a problem with a cow once they are out on pasture is a real pain.
Nice to be able to let them take care of themselves for a few months.
Good luck with her.

[grassfarmer]

No I'm familier with grass tetany or "staggers" as we call it and it's nothing like that. Grass is way to advanced to get staggers and the symptoms are nothing like it. Your first idea sounds pretty close but I can't just fit all the pieces together - it's like we are missing one small piece.

[rkaiser]

Alergy sounds likely grassfarmer. Take a herd of 150 grade two kids, as a good friend of mine used to say, and see how many genetic heart problems, alergic situations, etc. etc. could be diagnosed.

We all think that cows are so much differnet than homo sapiens, but they are really not. Environment is affecting cattle all over the world, almost as much as it is affecting humans.

Have a situation come up from time to time where I see a bovine with swollen eyes, and even one once that was swelling so bad her vulva and arswhole where pushing out. By the time I got things prepared to bring her home, the swelling was down, and before very long at all she was normal.

I was watching some medical show with my wife last night. This doctor almost miraculaously saved some guys life after a nurse noticed some early sign of his imminent demise. I related this to the cow biz, and how timing has more to do with most situations than anything else. Knowledge is definately important, and I how you find that knowledge to cure your cow. I guess my point is that nothing is perfect, and death is only one way that things change dramatically.

[kato]

Very interesting. Did a bit of searching on this one. Found this little bit of information.

Photosensitivity:
In older cattle photosensitivity usually occurs if the liver is not functioning properly (e.g. to liver abscesses). Plant pigments are not metabolized and excreted properly, and end up being activated in the skin tissue by sunlight. Certain weeds can also be a primary cause of this condition.
In these cases hair loss is the least of the animal’s worries. This is not just sunburn. Typically the skin is severely blistered particularly around the muzzle and eyes, even to the point of the skin sloughing off of the animal. A high fever and severe pain cause the animal to be anorexic, and without treatment many of the affected animals will die. With treatment (shade, anti-inflammatory/pain relief medication, and antibiotics) the skin can recover, and the hair grows back.


Check out this link.
http://www.ivis.org/special_books/Knight/chap4/chapter_frm.asp?LA=1

It mentions alsike clover as a possible photosensitivity trigger, among a lot of other things. It would also be interesting to see how this cow's liver function would show up on a blood test.

There's always something new to learn eh?

[kato]

spraying the ears with gentian violet spray or painting it on will help with the sensitivity to the sun on their ears.

[grassfarmer]

Thanks for that Kato, most helpful. It certainly seems that this cow gets triggered off by something in the first few days on real lush grass as she has never been any trouble at other times of year. She is not a great cow so I won't be too upset to cull her this Fall as she might well be suffering from poor liver function.
I don't think she is really that ill this year - I walked her in this evening and will give her shade, less grass and some hay which will probably bring her around -it did before.

Thanks for all the help it's a real benefit of our frienships on Agriville to always get advice when ever you need it.

[kato]

How's your cow now?