How to Diagnose Blackleg in Cattle
Blackleg (Clostridial myositis) occurs in young sheep and cattle; however, it occurs more frequently in cattle. Blackleg presents itself as an inflammation in the muscle tissue. The blackleg organism poisons the young calf and can cause rapid death. Some basic information can help you diagnose blackleg in a herd of cattle.
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Instructions
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Keep an eye on a calf that appears depressed. If he's not as active as the rest of the herd, he may be showing early signs of infection whether it's blackleg or not.
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Watch for swelling in the limbs of your cattle. Lameness is another indication that a calf may be fighting a disease. Blackleg often affects the legs first, although there are cases where there's no damage to the legs.
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Get the animal that's ill into a confined space. Examine the swollen leg. If the affected spot appears to be black underneath, you may be dealing with blackleg.
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Touch the leg. If the leg feels leathery and crackles when you touch it, the calf may have blackleg.
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Load the calf into a stock trailer and take her to a veterinary that deals with large animals. It's better to do any testing off your property to keep the bacteria from going into the ground in your pasture and infecting the rest of the herd.
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Have the veterinarian do a post mortem on any dead calves to diagnose blackleg. This is the only way to truly diagnose the disease. Oftentimes a calf is dead from blackleg before you even suspect he has any of the above symptoms. Vaccinations are available to protect your herd, but you need to know what the cause of death is first.
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