GrassFarmerGalloway
Melts for all babies
Wooden Tongue. I've had a lot of experience with this disease, and I figured I'd share it. It's a nasty disease, and not the most common, so when it does it, people don't expect it. I'd very much like to share my knowledge to prevent this happening to anyone else.
Cause: Wooden Tongue is caused by bacteria that are already in the cow's mouth, but in a normal level. Sometimes these levels spin out of control, like during a flood, when there is a LOT in the way of bacteria and diseases floating around. If a cow gets a cut in her mouth during this time, Wooden Tongue can happen.
Symptoms: Cow getting steadily thinner, losing weight rapidly, drooling, stiff, gray-colored tongue. When Wooden Tongue hits, it causes the tongue to get stiff and hard as a board, and very painful to the cow. Some weaker individuals keel over and die in a couple weeks, some maybe even a couple days, if they can't drink. We had a cow who got this THREE TIMES, and went untreated for nearly four months while we figured out the problem. She was both pregnant and nursing at that time. I call her Wonder Girl, but her name was Udderly. (I love that name!)
Treatment: There are antibiotics available, and we did try that, but they stopped working the second time it came around. Wooden Tongue easily develops immunity to antibiotics. We got some Iodine from our vet, which is what was used in the old days. We mixed it with molasses and put it right on her tongue. It worked like a charm. She healed right up.
If you have a vet, use Iodine. Unfortunately, you can only get Iodine through a vet in some places. That was my lovely cow's downfall. Our vet went out of business and we couldn't get Iodine anymore. We had to eat Wonder Girl.
Another thing I noticed about Wooden Tongue is that it is annual. It comes in the spring, goes in the autumn. Some cows get Wooden Tongue easier than others. If you have a cow that gets this awful disease, don't breed her for anything but meat calves, is my advice. It's not a gene that should be passed on.
I hope I helped somebody somewhere!
~GrassFarmerGalloway
Cause: Wooden Tongue is caused by bacteria that are already in the cow's mouth, but in a normal level. Sometimes these levels spin out of control, like during a flood, when there is a LOT in the way of bacteria and diseases floating around. If a cow gets a cut in her mouth during this time, Wooden Tongue can happen.
Symptoms: Cow getting steadily thinner, losing weight rapidly, drooling, stiff, gray-colored tongue. When Wooden Tongue hits, it causes the tongue to get stiff and hard as a board, and very painful to the cow. Some weaker individuals keel over and die in a couple weeks, some maybe even a couple days, if they can't drink. We had a cow who got this THREE TIMES, and went untreated for nearly four months while we figured out the problem. She was both pregnant and nursing at that time. I call her Wonder Girl, but her name was Udderly. (I love that name!)
Treatment: There are antibiotics available, and we did try that, but they stopped working the second time it came around. Wooden Tongue easily develops immunity to antibiotics. We got some Iodine from our vet, which is what was used in the old days. We mixed it with molasses and put it right on her tongue. It worked like a charm. She healed right up.
If you have a vet, use Iodine. Unfortunately, you can only get Iodine through a vet in some places. That was my lovely cow's downfall. Our vet went out of business and we couldn't get Iodine anymore. We had to eat Wonder Girl.
Another thing I noticed about Wooden Tongue is that it is annual. It comes in the spring, goes in the autumn. Some cows get Wooden Tongue easier than others. If you have a cow that gets this awful disease, don't breed her for anything but meat calves, is my advice. It's not a gene that should be passed on.
I hope I helped somebody somewhere!
~GrassFarmerGalloway
