Hoof Rot still a problem in SW units

[jumpin]

What about blacktail and columbia white tail deer?

[MountainWalk]

Does it make it hard for them to forage or to walk?

[headshot5]

Does it make it hard for them to forage or to walk?

Both.  I have seen quite a few in S.W. Washington.  I have seen a few that have the leg rotted off down to the knuckle above the hoof, with a chunk of bone sticking out.  A few have it in more than one leg forcing them to put weight on at least one damaged foot to walk.  It is really unfortunate.  You can usually pick out the severe cases this time of year because you will see there ribs sticking out.  They also are not able to jump fences etc when they are short a leg or two.  I've seen them pile up jumping a ditch, and I saw a decent bull get caught in a fence, both had bad legs.  It also prevents them from getting away from predators.

[MountainWalk]

What is the main causes? Someone mentioned cattle.  It doesn't go away?

[headshot5]

What is the main causes? Someone mentioned cattle.  It doesn't go away?

Cattle and sheep both get similar forms of hoof rot.  Generally a certain bacteria in cuts etc in hooves.  The WDFW have been unable to trace it to cattle, and I find is strange that unvaccinated cattle have not picked it up in fields with limping elk.  Personally I don't think it is from cattle. 

That said the perfect breeding ground for it is in farmers fields where the elk gather in the winter time.  Lots of mud and large groups of elk cross fences etc in certain spots leaving the bacteria from infected animals in the mud where the next elk steps in it to get through. 

The copper/selenium deficiency just makes an elks hoof thinner and heal slower so it ups there chances of picking up the bacteria.  So the lack of copper selenium is not the root cause, but it makes the problem a little bigger. 

After there foot rots off it won't grow back so i really don't think it goes away.  Regardless they are impaired for life once the hoof is gone, and thus susceptible to predators and other diseases. 

[MountainWalk]

I understand thrush in livestock.  Interesting. Would a large scale kill off help?

[headshot5]

Not in my opinion.  If you look a the vast area it has spread the chances of containing it now are slim.  All you would accomplish is to eradicate it in an area until it spreads back through.  It definitely might slow down the spreading but to get rid of it completely the elk would have to either be dipped, vaccinated, or given some other form of treatment to prevent it.  Vaccinating calf elk to try and prevent it would be the best bet.  Of course the WDFW will have to determine what strain it is, which is proving difficult for them.   
 

[MountainWalk]

That's all too bad. How long has it been really noticed? Seen a pic of it, and it looks kinda like a horse in a very very bad need of a trim.

[headshot5]

First started hearing about it from hunters etc 10 years ago in Boisfort/Vadar area.  Last 5 years it has been spreading like wildfire.  Now it is pretty well everywhere in the SouthWest corner of the state.  Herds that last year had no limping elk now have about 25-50% with limping elk in them in some of the areas I hunt.   

[HntnFsh]

Ya,I started seeing it about 10 years ago. Really took off about 5 or 6 years ago. Its extremely wide spread in some areas now. I bet some herds have better than 50% affected rate.

[skywalker253]

I read the LIKELY cause of hoof rott was a chemical they spray in the clear cuts after they re-plant trees. Either they injest it when feeding or they have open cuts in their hoofs and get it by direct contact.  They were not sure how? At least that was an article I read from the game department a few years ago.

[nontypical176]

I have been hunting away from home (Low land Coweeman area) trying to avoid the hoof rot.  I know they say its safe to eat and all but I really don't think anyone knows anything for sure.  I know that the bulls up higher away from the valleys were able to avoid the problem at least from all I've seen in the Coweeman unit......but this year I shoot me a little raghorn up there and I never saw him limping but he definently had hoof rot.  Talked to another guy that shot a bull up on Baird Mountain and it had hoof rot too.

The typical...only one hoof infected, the right rear which from what I've seen its usually a rear hoof.   It had weird blood masses throughout that hind quarter, not too bad, but worse up next to the hip bone area.  It was only fitting that on the day I shot him, helicopters were out fertilizing the weyerhauser tree farm just up from where he was taken.  Not that I fully believe fertilizer is the problem.  If things don't change soon its going to be hard to find an elk on the west side without hoof rot.  On another note, I saw a collered cow with a calf this year and they were both limping badly near the same area I got my bull.  I am disgusted and sad about the whole situation.  There is not enough being done.

[sirmissalot]

  I know that the bulls up higher away from the valleys were able to avoid the problem at least from all I've seen in the Coweeman unit.

The bull I killed this year around 5,000ft had it, so unfortunately thats not the case. Of the 3 elk killed this year in my family they all had it.

[bowjunkie]

Does hoof rot affect consumption of and elk

[headshot5]

Does hoof rot affect consumption of and elk

Depends on how strong your stomach is.

But seriously it depends on how far along they are.  The bull I killed this year had one bad back foot.  The hoof was gone, but the infection had not spread up the leg and he had not contracted anything esle.  He was in pretty good shape overall.  You could faintly smell the infection in the foot, but the meat was fine.

However, a friend got one that was pretty well rotten and the entire hind quarter had the sweet sick smell to it.  Probably started with hoof rot and got a multitude of other bacterial/viral problems because of weakend immune system.  His body was pretty well shutting down.  Eyes were sunken in (looked like a meth head).  Generally, like mentioned above (earlier post) you can tell by their body.  If ribs are sticking out and they look strung out (eyes sunken) then I would probably pass on eating them.  Sick animals generally look sick.

I grew up on a dairy farm so I can pick out a cow that is off its feed pretty easy by posture, body size and there eyes.  Of course many times hunters don't have the time to judge in the field.