Hoof Rot?

[Button Nubbs]

my buddy shot a cow this year in the winston that had it.

[Encore 280]

Happened to a guy I know with a cow and F & G gave him another tag.

[Goshawk]

The Adna area has it real bad. I've seen small bands in the summer with half the cows limping along. It's become the same problem for lower elevation elk as hair loss has for black tailed deer.

[steen]

I shot a young 4x4 in the Winston unit with no sign it this year (2011).  One of the first things I looked at after i knew he was dead.

[ICEMAN]

My 2yr winston cow did not show any signs...

[Yelm hunter]

Yeah sometimes I think it depends on were the elk are living and how long they have lived in that area IF THEY DON'T MIGRATE..... My cow was in a swampy marsh area. If you stepped in the wrong place you would probably sink in the mud and water. But I guess you never know either. Like I said an a above replay is that my elk had it alittle bit but not that bad. ALL of the meat is perfect. So that's a plus!!

[Encore 280]

Why is it that we're seeing so much of it from just those few GMU's? Can't be any worse than out around the Hoh River area if ya wanna talk swamp. Anyone getting them with the rot from the Forks/Hoh area? Or even down around the Raymond area, that place is really a swamp too.

[Yelm hunter]

Maybe thats why the Game Department gave out so many Cow Tags (200) just for a late hunt!!

[grundy53]

Why is it that we're seeing so much of it from just those few GMU's? Can't be any worse than out around the Hoh River area if ya wanna talk swamp. Anyone getting them with the rot from the Forks/Hoh area? Or even down around the Raymond area, that place is really a swamp too.

It's in the willapa hills and fall river units. Haven't seen it as far west as Menlo yet. So not quite to Raymond but close.

[blacktailcrzy]

my late winston cow had it this year  just one hoof and the meat was fine

[nontypical176]

The Herd near my house early this year had between 90 and 100% hoof rot, up from last year at about 50%.  I actually think some of the animals are healing??Kinda.  I had seen the raghorn I shot this year limping on many occasions.  He wasn't doing too bad by hunting season tho and I lucked out and he is in my freezer.  I noticed that all his hooves looked....Normal....but my buddy (a butcher) was boning him out and says"What the hells that.  Theres a bone growth around his knee and then another on the hip." It was like the lower leg bone was trying to grow over the knee cap.  Seems like the hoof rot caused permanent damage..

One big cow I had been watching had the biggest most gnarly hoof ever.  Had to be 18" long.  Big cow too, she looked miserable.  Couple days go by she had just been lying and eating in a little area, but then she walks buy the house and her hoof is gone....she still looked miserable.  My buddy shot a rag horn in kalama that had a stub hoof also.

Now I don't know why and the elk haven't been around since rifle season, but sure seems to me that the number of elk around these parts had close to 100% hoof rot early this year, but by the time hunting season got here that number was closer to 60% or less its hard to be sure...its rare they walk close enough to see hoofs, or all together at one time....But limping is obvious.  I have been watching these elk for 4years now, they got so bad at one point I thought they all might die, but now they are better.  The Cows are still having babies so its not always fatal but certainly sucks.

[nontypical176]

I see elk with hoof rot all over now.  Once you have seen a herd limping like that, its hard not to look for it in other herds.  Sad.

[Killmore]

It has everything to do with there diet, Owning dairy cow's I see it all the time.It's to much protein or somthing along them lines. The cure is culling or thrimming the feet. Don't think trimming is going to happen.There's nothing wrong with the meat..

[180-GRAIN]

My cow from the margaret had it on one of its back feet. stinky stuff! She didnt seem to be effected by it though.

[grundy53]

The game department say's (Don't laugh, I know better then to trust them) it's a Selenium and copper deficiency...  I don't know why they all the sudden ran out of it