Why Are You So Lame? Analyzing Lameness in Cattle

Cattle get lame for a lot of reasons, including injury, poor conformation, grain overload, mycotoxins (e.g., ergot) and bacterial infection. Different types of lameness need to be treated differently. Antibiotic treatment only helps if a bacterial infection is involved.Lameness is the second leading reason (behind bovine respiratory disease) that feedlot cattle are pulled and given antibiotics. Lame cattle eat less, grow more slowly and less efficiently, may be shipped early and often don’