Tail Necrosis in Bulls – Summer 2007

Tail Necrosis: Tentative Case Description

Pictures: Examples of tail necrosis cases

Samples to Submit

Animal Info worksheet

Pasture Info worksheet

Doctors:

The summer of 2007 has brought a number of calls regarding bulls (and some cows) experiencing tail problems, ranging from hair loss to necrosis of the distal tail. The tentative case description is listed below. While we have received calls about this issue in years past, the calls have been more widespread and numerous this year.

We would like your help in trying to identify possible causes and contributing factors for this condition. Please read the information that follows, and keep your eyes out for cases that may fit the description. We realize that you may not see these cases personally, but as producers pull their bulls off pasture this fall, they may be in a position to notice some of these animals and call them to your attention, if they are aware of problems also.

At this time it is unclear whether these cases have a common component, or whether they are the result of a number of unrelated factors. The goal of this work is to try to get a handle on those questions. We would like to get samples from affected animals (see list below) and information about affected animals as well.

For information-gathering purposes, two questionnaire forms (Excel spreadsheets) have been developed:

Animal Info is for capturing descriptive items about individual animals that are affected

Pasture Info is for describing the environments in which these animals lived during the summer.

Please take a minute to download and print off the forms as you need. Fill out the information when you examine one of these possible cases, or when a client alerts you to the condition in one or more of their animals. Return them to the SDSU ADRDL, attention to Russ Daly, Extension Veterinarian. Please also contact him with any questions about the forms.

As veterinarians who have likely seen some of these cases in the past, we also welcome your observations and ideas about potential causes. While this is maybe not as economically important industry-wide as other issues, it still represents a real and significant event for the animals affected and their owners.

Thank you for your help in this matter, and please contact Dr. Daly (688-6589 or russell.daly@sdstate.edu) if you have questions or comments.

Tail Necrosis Cases

(Tentative) Case Description:

• Adult cattle
• Mostly bulls, but some cows
• Varying degrees of tail problems:
• Mild = Loss of hair at switch
• Moderate = Wound or insult mid-tail region, leading to tissue death distal to the insult and necrosis & sloughing of the distal portion of the tail
• Severe = Ascending infection going up the tail to the tailhead or spinal canal, leading to weakness or recumbency
• Often in conjunction with:
• Loss of body condition
• Lameness
• Sluggishness

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Suggested causes (in no particular order):

• Selenium toxicosis
• Fly strike – leading to dermatitis & infection of deeper tissues
• Ergotism – ergot on pasture grass
• Trauma

Please submit these samples for diagnostics:

• Biopsy—fresh + formalin—of tissue surrounding any wound (if present)
• Serum sample (spun down and poured off of the clot)
• EDTA (purple top) blood sample
• Hair sample -- Clip at least a handful of hair from the flank or paralumbar fossa (don’t take switch hair).
• Optional – Water sample – if single water source
• Optional – Forage sample (especially if supplemental forage is being fed)

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