crittercrazy
Well-known member
Hey all, I am wondering if this is a hernia on my 2 month old bull calf, or not. Not sure as this is my first calf, if this is normal or a hernia. Thanks for any help.
Is this a Hernia??
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1982vett
Well-known member
Hard to tell, kind of looks like the leftovers of a navel infection from birth.
Maybe, maybe not. It's not an obvious "yes". I'd guess it's not, but I couldn't say for sure without touching it.
Get your hands on him and feel the area... a hernia has a definite hole in the abdominal wall that you can feel the edges of, and generally you can push the intestines back through the hole.
Here's a 2 month old bull calf with a hernia:
Not the best pic, but note the area in front of his sheath -- and how it appears swollen and "full" due to the intestines poking through the abdominal wall.
Get your hands on him and feel the area... a hernia has a definite hole in the abdominal wall that you can feel the edges of, and generally you can push the intestines back through the hole.
Here's a 2 month old bull calf with a hernia:
Not the best pic, but note the area in front of his sheath -- and how it appears swollen and "full" due to the intestines poking through the abdominal wall.
newbie
Active member
Glad to have seen these pictures. My 3 month heifer who finally got over navel and joint ill has been doing great until about 10 days ago when we noticed that her navel was larger than normal and hard. Before you knew it it had swollen up and now it is the size of a softball, very hard and sore to touch. She is still feeling great and eating and drinking. She is actually starting to gain weight. Some say maybe she got bumped there and it might be an abcess then others think maybe a hernia. Is a hernia not soft and pliable and an abcess hard. Her navel is hard and hot. Will try to get my camera finally set up on the computer so I can send some pictures. Cheers.
newbie -- sounds like she never got over that navel infection. "Hot and hard" implies it's infected. Yes, a hernia is soft, pliable, normal temp to the touch, and you can push the intestines easily back inside the abdominal cavity. Pics would be nice. ;-)
newbie
Active member
Tried for hours to post a picture. Never the less, Molly's navel is the size of a softball. The pics posted here looked like the swelling was in front of the navel or penis and is just a little bulge. Molly's entire navel is swollen and looks like a round ball. She is very active and normal. Still drinking and eating. Just wondering what is going to happen next. Will try again tomorrow to post a picture. Milkmaid can add it to her photo gallery. Cheers
Here's the pic ;-)
I think it's infected, given the information (hot, hard, etc), and esp given the fact that it's been infected before... but there's always the possibility it's a hernia. I say take her to your vet and have him look at it. Too risky to say one way or the other. If it's a hernia it really ought to be surgerically fixed as that is HUGE, but if it's an infection it needs to be opened from the outside, drained, and aggressively treated. Navel infections like that always have the chance of opening and draining on the inside, creating an infection within the abdominal cavity... not good.
I think it's infected, given the information (hot, hard, etc), and esp given the fact that it's been infected before... but there's always the possibility it's a hernia. I say take her to your vet and have him look at it. Too risky to say one way or the other. If it's a hernia it really ought to be surgerically fixed as that is HUGE, but if it's an infection it needs to be opened from the outside, drained, and aggressively treated. Navel infections like that always have the chance of opening and draining on the inside, creating an infection within the abdominal cavity... not good.
OP
OP
crittercrazy
Well-known member
Wow!!! That is huge! 
I'm looking at that pic again newbie... is that swelling slightly off center? how long has it looked like this?
If it's infected, it could be that she's walled off the infected area, and so she feels fine, acts fine, etc... the biggest danger is when it decides to open and drain. Outward is good, inward is bad. You want to choose which way it drains to minimize the chance of a life-threatening situation. Wouldn't want to nurse her along all this way only to lose her now. Give your vet a call in the morning and see if you can take her in pronto. An infection of that size is a little scary.
If it's infected, it could be that she's walled off the infected area, and so she feels fine, acts fine, etc... the biggest danger is when it decides to open and drain. Outward is good, inward is bad. You want to choose which way it drains to minimize the chance of a life-threatening situation. Wouldn't want to nurse her along all this way only to lose her now. Give your vet a call in the morning and see if you can take her in pronto. An infection of that size is a little scary.
newbie
Active member
Finally got a chance to get back on here. We were trying to push it up thinking that it was a hernia and my husbands finger poked into the end and he his finger came out wet and smelly. It drained slighlty for a few days. Yesterday I saw 2 inches of whitish cloudy stringy stuff hanging out. Today I do not see anything but looks like the size of the navel has only slightly become smaller. Vet still hasn't called back. She still looks normal. So maybe it must be an infection. Any ideas how to make it drain more easily? Maybe tomorrow we will try to reopen up the hole and squeeze a little and see what happens? Should she be on any medication? :???: Cheers
Texas PaPaw
Well-known member
newbie":3gcjxlj9 said:
From this discription, it sounds like an abcess. To drain an abcess, I make a vertical incision about an inch long in lower part of the area. After making the incision, milk it out the best you can and then flush it with hydrgen peroxide. You can use a syringe without a needle to squirt it into the incision.
I would also give her a couple of rounds of la 200 or la penn, 3 days apart. I have treated several this way and it has always done the job.
TexasBred
Well-known member
No need to cut it....you have a hole already...Infuse it with a mastitis tube, give him a big dose of penn and check on it daily. Best wishes.
TexasBred":2uzsxo29 said:
Big dose (10mL) of penn into the abcess itself, followed by a SC shot of penn at 5mL/100lbs. JMO. I saw a vet treat an abcess like that recently, and was pleased with the results when I tried it later on one of my own cows.
If you do have to make an incision to open it back up, put the calf on her back just incase she has a hernia as well as a navel infection. Safest that way.
