Lump/abscess after vaccinations

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TLM1988

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Hello all! Recently vaccinated 10 feeder bulls with Bovi shield gold one shot and covexin 8. 4 out of 10 have developed a pretty good sized lump around the injection site. 1 of those is starting to limp on his front leg.. all are up and eating drinking. Just curious to see what y'all have experienced in the past. Thanks!!
 
Covexin 8 quite often leaves a lump at the injection site; I even rub the site after administering (because it makes me feel better; dunno whether it actually helps). I doubt the limp is related - unless he was a maniac in the chute and injured himself. Watch him & see if it gets better or worse or get him back in the chute & check for foot rot, an abscess, something stuck/punctured, look for swelling, take a whiff, make sure it's the foot & not a stifle.
 
Covexin 8 quite often leaves a lump at the injection site; I even rub the site after administering (because it makes me feel better; dunno whether it actually helps). I doubt the limp is related - unless he was a maniac in the chute and injured himself. Watch him & see if it gets better or worse or get him back in the chute & check for foot rot, an abscess, something stuck/punctured, look for swelling, take a whiff, make sure it's the foot & not a stifle.
Best I can remember he was the last one to go through and he wasn't happy about it!! I've seen knots on cattle after an LA shot but these are larger in size than what I've ever seen. I questioned foot rot and will check it out this afternoon. Thanks TC
 
How big is the lump at the injection site? I agree with TCRanch, the limp is not related.

Before turn out, I vaccinated spring calves with Piliguard Pinkeye-1 Trivalent. One of them developed a lump the size of a grapefruit. Animals can have allergies like people. Check the product label, there is probably something you can give to help with the reaction. I usually don't give anything.

... I heard on the news that over 700 women aborted pregnancies due to the COVID shot. Pregnant women should put off the shot till after parturition. People with allergies or a compromised immune system should not get the shot. I am none of the above and had the JNJ shot.
 
This is a concern (albeit cosmetic), of mine as some of my cattle could be shown or sold on the halter at some point. The clostridials will leave a long lasting welt. One year I was able to use "Vision", (not sure who makes it now), and it seemed to be considerably less reactive. Oxy LA can as well. Max 10cc, SQ, deep IM, all seem to react. One also has to consider administrator skill. (me?)
 
How big is the lump at the injection site? I agree with TCRanch, the limp is not related.

Before turn out, I vaccinated spring calves with Piliguard Pinkeye-1 Trivalent. One of them developed a lump the size of a grapefruit. Animals can have allergies like people. Check the product label, there is probably something you can give to help with the reaction. I usually don't give anything.

... I heard on the news that over 700 women aborted pregnancies due to the COVID shot. Pregnant women should put off the shot till after parturition. People with allergies or a compromised immune system should not get the shot. I am none of the above and had the JNJ shot.
I'm leaning towards a foot injury of some sort for the limping also. My vet said the 7 and 8 way shots are notorious for lumps larger than usual.. said all animals react different
 
After further review this afternoon I've came to the conclusion along with my cattle buyer that they are abscesses.. not a good situation for the time of year. There doctored and quarantined so time will tell.
 
I try to watch as I'm doing them. If I see it start making a lump I'll press a little with the other hand and slow down a little. It will usually work out.

Vet said if we are worries about lumps just out it right in the meat on the kneck and go on. LoL
 
Iv
Banamine Transdermal will help for pain/swelling & effective 3 days (assuming it doesn't rain).
I've got rain coming today and tomorrow. I have injectable banamine would you recommend that?
 
Iv

I've got rain coming today and tomorrow. I have injectable banamine would you recommend that?
Depends. If he's clearly in pain, it would certainly help. But injectable isn't one 'n done; you'd have to administer daily. As a general rule, the only time I give injectable Banamine is if I have a calf with pneumonia and I'm using something other than Resflor Gold, and then it's just to help bring their temp down.
 
Depends. If he's clearly in pain, it would certainly help. But injectable isn't one 'n done; you'd have to administer daily. As a general rule, the only time I give injectable Banamine is if I have a calf with pneumonia and I'm using something other than Resflor Gold, and then it's just to help bring their temp down.
He's not backing up from feed and water so I'll hold off on banamine. Vet did tell me to go 3 days of dexamethesone for inflammation.
 
Don't give any antibiotics. It will kill the modified live vaccine and you will eliminate the protection. This is part of how MLV work. They replicate at the injection site and create an immune response at the injection site that can create swelling. Most will be reabsorbed but some can create an abscess.

However, a bigger cause of abscesses is technique. Always use sterile needles that are the correct length and pick a clean injection site. Always keep syringes and bottles cool and out of the sun. Be sure to get a dedicated "transfer needle" that is only inserted into the bottles.
 
Don't give any antibiotics. It will kill the modified live vaccine and you will eliminate the protection. This is part of how MLV work. They replicate at the injection site and create an immune response at the injection site that can create swelling. Most will be reabsorbed but some can create an abscess.

However, a bigger cause of abscesses is technique. Always use sterile needles that are the correct length and pick a clean injection site. Always keep syringes and bottles cool and out of the sun. Be sure to get a dedicated "transfer needle" that is only inserted into the bottles.

We find lumps from injections are often associated with injecting the material to fast. It has to have a second to find it's place in the tissue so it should be injected s l o w . If injected fast it will tear subcu tissue and it must heal.
 
Hello all! Recently vaccinated 10 feeder bulls with Bovi shield gold one shot and covexin 8. 4 out of 10 have developed a pretty good sized lump around the injection site. 1 of those is starting to limp on his front leg.. all are up and eating drinking. Just curious to see what y'all have experienced in the past. Thanks!!
We too processed 100 feeder steers and bulls last month and gave them bovi shield gold and 8 way. Last week we lanced probably 15 lumps on the neck (and just looking today i can see there are a few more to do) at the injection site. We vaccinate over 600 feeders a year with this program (plus draxin on bawling calves) and i have never seen lumps at the injection site where they were that noticeable where we run them back in to lance the lumps. Weird how you're having the same problem this year. What were the batch numbers on your bovi shiled one shot?
 
Hello all! Recently vaccinated 10 feeder bulls with Bovi shield gold one shot and covexin 8. 4 out of 10 have developed a pretty good sized lump around the injection site. 1 of those is starting to limp on his front leg.. all are up and eating drinking. Just curious to see what y'all have experienced in the past. Thanks!!
Pretty much all injection site abscesses are due to a dirty or damaged needle . They aren't going to make them sick or limp, it just looks bad and they may not get the medicine you gave them because it is encapsulated in the abscess . You need to start with a new and clean needle and change it every 5-10 head and any time you drop it, knick it, bend it, or touch it on anything besides a clean cow hide. Don't let the needle touch the table when you set it down or touch the chute if it's hanging. Also make sure ur not giving more than one shot in the same spot. Shots need to be 4-6 inches apart. That should fix it but if u still have problems you can give a cheap antibiotic like LA300 with your vaccines.
 
Steve123... antibiotics have no effect whatsoever on viruses, whether MLV vaccines or natural infection with 'field'-strain viruses. So... no contraindication in the face of use of MLV vaccine.

Clostridial bacterin/toxoids are notorious for inducing 'knots' at injection site... whether with a 'contaminated' needle or fresh, sterile, single-use disposable.
Granted, if you're one of those folks who keep (re)using the same needle over and over until it's so dull you can hardly push it through the skin... you're gonna have some abscesses... and if you're also doing the old 'in-and-out' of the vaccine bottle with the same needle you're poking the animals with, you're gonna have wholesale contamination of the stuff in the bottle... potentially upping the likelihood of injection site abscesses.
 

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