How to Treat Fescue Foot in Cows

Fescue foot, or fescue toxicity, is a non-contagious condition that develops in cattle eating tall fescue, a cool-season perennial grass. Fescue foot occurs most frequently in cattle in the fall and winter. According to the University of Missouri Extension Service, fescue foot occurs as a result of a fungus that lives on the fescue grass that is toxic to animals, including cattle. When cattle consume too much fescue containing this fungal endophyte, fescue toxicity takes place, resulting in decreased feed consumption and weight loss, as well as a significant drop in milk production. Proper forage management and prompt recognition of symptoms play a key role in identifying and treating this nutrition-related health condition.

Things You'll Need

  • Isolation stall
  • Nontoxic hay/energy supplement
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Instructions

    • 1

      Identify infected animals. Symptoms can occur as soon as eight days or as late as eight months after consumption of fescue, according to Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. Initial symptoms of fescue toxicity include lameness or unusual soreness in the rear feet, loose feces and a rough coat. Symptoms of a more serious case of fescue foot include excessive weight loss, dry gangrene of various body extremities (the tail, the feet or the ears) and loss of hair on the end of the tail.

    • 2

      Remove infected animals from pasture. Put the cattle in a corral or stall where you can observe them regularly and they do not have access to fescue grass at all, including fescue hay. Although fescue foot usually occurs as a result of excessive grazing on fescue grass, a cow can still develop this disorder from consuming infected hay.

    • 3

      Identify the cause of the fescue toxicity. If you've recently put your cattle on a new fescue pasture, that is the most likely source of the problem. However, be sure to evaluate the entire forage (grass-based) ration that you provide to your cattle to further narrow down other possible sources of the fescue toxicity, including hay.

      In addition to pasture, cattle producers typically use fescue for hay and silage. If you provide your own hay or silage, you should know right away if any fescue is contained in the forage. However, if you purchase hay or silage from a forage producer, contact him so he can check his forage analysis report to find out if any fescue is in the purchased forage. Once you have determined the most likely source of the fescue foot, make sure you remove it completely from the diet of affected cattle.

    • 4

      Watch affected cattle for signs of improvement, including weight gain and increased milk production. Removing the source of the fescue toxicity is the primary means of treatment for this disorder; in most instances, your cattle should show signs of improvement within a few days. However, in order to minimize economic losses, you may need to consider culling (selling for slaughter) any cattle that show extremely severe symptoms (excessive emaciation or hooves that are sloughing off) and do not show signs of improvement within a few days.

    • 5

      Prevent further instances of fescue foot. Observe the rest of your herd daily to check for symptoms of fescue foot so you can provide treatment promptly. Oklahoma State Cooperative Service suggests checking the herd in the morning so you can catch mild signs of lameness before the cows are able to walk off the soreness. If you still need to keep the rest of your herd on the fescue grass, consider providing them with additional nutrition in the form of nontoxic hay or an energy supplement to decrease their overall susceptibility to fescue foot.