Lannie
Well-known member
I'm sorry to be jumping in here with a question rather than an introduction, but I have what I think to be a bad staph infection going on in my cow, and a vet that can't be bothered to come out and look at it (I've never liked this vet anyway - she's always rude and cranky). I've been Googling all afternoon and can't find much, but I saw this forum and decided to join so I could ask someone more experienced than myself for some opinions.
I'm new to cattle, so forgive me if I don't speak all the lingo just yet, OK? I'll just try to explain in plain ol' English.
I have a 2 year old Hereford/Jersey cross heifer that is 5 months pregnant. This will be her first calf (obviously), and one I have been awaiting for years. It's taken us a while to build up to adding a milk cow to our little place. So about 3 or 4 days ago, I noticed she had a rather large, flat, hard swelling on her right cheek, right over the jawbone. It was as large as my hand, fingers extended. I assumed she'd been kicked by our cranky old mare (the heifer tries to steal food from the mare) and didn't think any more about it, but day before yesterday, it had moved farther back, behind her jaw bone, and had formed more of a ball than a flat swelling. I'd say it was about the size of a lemon. Yesterday it was the size of an apple, and today it's about the size of a grapefruit.
We live in ranching country in South Dakota, and I asked one of my neighbors about it today. He said it was probably a bit of chaff or something that got stuck in her gumline and is now infected. But HOLY COW, what an infection that must be. He told me to get hold of the vet, who's retired, but still works part time, so I tried but he's on vacation for a week. The other vet, whom I don't trust as far as I can throw her, told me that normally they give an IV of sodium iodide to get rid of these staph infections (which is what she thinks it is), but that it would cause her to abort the calf, so in this case she wouldn't do that. I guess I should be grateful she was honest about that. I asked what else could be done and she told me to rub Icy/Hot liniment cream on it twice a day. Is that weird or what? But I sent my husband to town to pick some up and we managed to get some rubbed on there. She hates the smell, though, so it was a major trick doing it.
I should also say, although she's tame as a dog, she was traumatized by her halter when we brought her home. Well, we know better, but that's what she thinks, and I can't get near her with it. I have no squeeze chute. The best I can do is a milking stanchion, or a snubbing post. At this point, neither of those options seem viable because the headlock on the milking stanchion will squeeze that lump if she pulls back (and she will if I mess with it), and the same thing with a rope around the neck with the snubbing post. I don't want to hurt her more, or possibly damage her in any way by smashing on that lump. Oh, and it's very hard and no soft spot detectable anywhere on it. I assume one will appear later, as it starts to come to a head?
The vet said the Icy/Hot should help it come to a head, then when it does, we should stab it and let it drain. Not my idea of a fun afternoon, but if that's the thing we need to do, we will. Any suggestions on that part of it?
I'm sorry for being so wordy, but I'm trying to lay out all the facts and not miss something important. If I have missed something, just ask. Oh, duh, what's she been eating? Mostly grass hay right now, and it's some old stuff we had left over from year before last, although it's been kept inside and it's clean. I give her a bit of alfalfa pellets with sunflower seeds on them morning and night, to keep her in the habit of coming in on a regular basis (for when I need to milk her). The grass is just starting to come up, so it's still pretty short and doesn't make up a lot of her diet right at the moment.
Any help or ideas will be appreciated.
~Lannie
I'm new to cattle, so forgive me if I don't speak all the lingo just yet, OK? I'll just try to explain in plain ol' English.
I have a 2 year old Hereford/Jersey cross heifer that is 5 months pregnant. This will be her first calf (obviously), and one I have been awaiting for years. It's taken us a while to build up to adding a milk cow to our little place. So about 3 or 4 days ago, I noticed she had a rather large, flat, hard swelling on her right cheek, right over the jawbone. It was as large as my hand, fingers extended. I assumed she'd been kicked by our cranky old mare (the heifer tries to steal food from the mare) and didn't think any more about it, but day before yesterday, it had moved farther back, behind her jaw bone, and had formed more of a ball than a flat swelling. I'd say it was about the size of a lemon. Yesterday it was the size of an apple, and today it's about the size of a grapefruit.
We live in ranching country in South Dakota, and I asked one of my neighbors about it today. He said it was probably a bit of chaff or something that got stuck in her gumline and is now infected. But HOLY COW, what an infection that must be. He told me to get hold of the vet, who's retired, but still works part time, so I tried but he's on vacation for a week. The other vet, whom I don't trust as far as I can throw her, told me that normally they give an IV of sodium iodide to get rid of these staph infections (which is what she thinks it is), but that it would cause her to abort the calf, so in this case she wouldn't do that. I guess I should be grateful she was honest about that. I asked what else could be done and she told me to rub Icy/Hot liniment cream on it twice a day. Is that weird or what? But I sent my husband to town to pick some up and we managed to get some rubbed on there. She hates the smell, though, so it was a major trick doing it.
I should also say, although she's tame as a dog, she was traumatized by her halter when we brought her home. Well, we know better, but that's what she thinks, and I can't get near her with it. I have no squeeze chute. The best I can do is a milking stanchion, or a snubbing post. At this point, neither of those options seem viable because the headlock on the milking stanchion will squeeze that lump if she pulls back (and she will if I mess with it), and the same thing with a rope around the neck with the snubbing post. I don't want to hurt her more, or possibly damage her in any way by smashing on that lump. Oh, and it's very hard and no soft spot detectable anywhere on it. I assume one will appear later, as it starts to come to a head?
The vet said the Icy/Hot should help it come to a head, then when it does, we should stab it and let it drain. Not my idea of a fun afternoon, but if that's the thing we need to do, we will. Any suggestions on that part of it?
I'm sorry for being so wordy, but I'm trying to lay out all the facts and not miss something important. If I have missed something, just ask. Oh, duh, what's she been eating? Mostly grass hay right now, and it's some old stuff we had left over from year before last, although it's been kept inside and it's clean. I give her a bit of alfalfa pellets with sunflower seeds on them morning and night, to keep her in the habit of coming in on a regular basis (for when I need to milk her). The grass is just starting to come up, so it's still pretty short and doesn't make up a lot of her diet right at the moment.
Any help or ideas will be appreciated.
~Lannie
