dieselbeef":2uez1avf said:
cpl of em this weekend bled after thier shot/ some did..some didnt. looked like when a blowfly gits em. little drip.
did i not get under the skin into the sub area enough? vaccine went in very easy..wasnt drawing back blood. when pulled the needle out tho a cpl of em dripped one or 2 drops..
amatuer dontcha know ova here
Hi DB,
Some of what I am about to say is known by you but I will expand in event others do not know.
Sounds like you were doing sub Q vaccinations.
So - here is my method - works real good on quiet cattle and I do it for self defence with ours as they are pretty wild - they live on their own in bush and fields year round and are never sheltered, handled or for that matter even see people other than one of us on a 4 wheeler when we check them.
Heck they even calve out on their own in the bush.
Run them in the chute and into the squeeze - do them up tight.
Find the front point of the shoulder where it bumps into the neck.
About one hand width in front of that point on the shoulder and well into the top part of the neck is your (my) target zone for all needles.
For sub Q - hold the needle in your fist like you would hold a knife that you were about to stab something with.
Thumb on the top and needle in the fist. I use my right hand.
Do NOT tent the skin - I repeat do not tent the skin.
With the other hand - slap the target injection site twice - sharp and hard - I use the back of my hand - it deadens the needle entry feeling.
With the needle parallel to the neck and a very slight angle to allow entry into the neck and under the skin - stab down with the needle and then push the vaccine in by depressing the plunger with the thumb.
With a little practise you can do vaccinations in about 5 seconds from the slap to completing your thumb rub (read on).
No fuss, no muss, no jumping around and no bleeding.
On a full grown cow you only need a one inch needle and on a calf you only need a 3/4 inch needle - in fact sometimes I use a 1/2 inch needle on calves.
For intra-muscular injections do the slap and enter straight in with the needle parallel to the ground.
Once again no fuss, no muss, no jumping around and no bleeding.
You can do intra-muscular injections with a one inch needle for most cows - the longer needles can bend if there is movement. On a calf you only need a 3/4 inch needle.
Once you have made the injection take your thumb and give the injection site a good rub and let her out.
You are done.
In all cases - never more than 10cc per injection site on a cow and never more than 5cc per injection site on a calf.
In all cases NEVER inject the animal below the middle of the neck. Always make the injection about the middle of the top half of the neck and you will never run into trouble.
Sub Q shots should never bleed.
I have never had an IM shot bleed.
And the thumb rub will reduce any chance of after injection swelling.
Others may do it differently but this is how we do it and it works very well.
Cheers
Bez__
