Lump/abscess after vaccinations

[kenny thomas]

Never ever put a used needle into a bottle. Its too easy to.put a clean needle in and change on the syringe each shot.

 

[Hpacres440p]

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.

There are some vaccines that just cause lump reactions-covexin 8 is one. New needle every calf, transfer needle bottle to syringe, SQ admin. Still get a decent lump. All SQ so no meat damage

 

[Fire Sweep Ranch]

This cow is 12. She has two lumps from Covaxin 8. One she has had for more than 5 years. Ours blew up this year also, vet said covaxin will do that and suggested we use UltraBac 7 instead, less reactive. We will use that from now on.

 

[TCRanch]

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.

I beg to differ. I use disposable syringes and needles for EVERY cow, calf, bull & retained heifer when I vaccinate. If I vaccinate with a mod live, I will use a repeater syringe but switch to a new disposable needle every time.

Yes, I will quite often get a lump after administering a clostridial vaccine. Most people do. Rarely do they abscess and I see no reason (or could justify the cost) of including administering an antibiotic just in case they abscess. Plus, that's an additional 3-6cc per 100 lbs. with no more than 10cc of injection sites.

 

[TCRanch]

View attachment 5577

This cow is 12. She has two lumps from Covaxin 8. One she has had for more than 5 years. Ours blew up this year also, vet said covaxin will do that and suggested we use UltraBac 7 instead, less reactive. We will use that from now on.

Looks familiar! Some go away, some don't. I did talk to my vet about switching to UltraBac 7 but (as far as I know) Covexin 8 & Calvery 9 are the only ones that also include tetanus. Pick your battles?

 

[Lucky_P]

We got fewer sizeable knots with Cavalry 9 (2ml dose) than we did with any others we'd used in the past... and after losing a nice heifer to tetanus, I vowed to always use one that contained tetanus toxoid. But... we still got some knots; but no abscesses. It's part of the deal.

 

[TCRanch]

We got fewer sizeable knots with Cavalry 9 (2ml dose) than we did with any others we'd used in the past... and after losing a nice heifer to tetanus, I vowed to always use one that contained tetanus toxoid. But... we still got some knots; but no abscesses. It's part of the deal.

Good to know, thanks. I still have leftover (unexpired) Covexin 8 & will finish it up on the calves in Oct but will try the Calvary 9 going forward. It will be an interesting comparison.

 

[BrazosBottomHand]

I beg to differ. I use disposable syringes and needles for EVERY cow, calf, bull & retained heifer when I vaccinate. If I vaccinate with a mod live, I will use a repeater syringe but switch to a new disposable needle every time.

Yes, I will quite often get a lump after administering a clostridial vaccine. Most people do. Rarely do they abscess and I see no reason (or could justify the cost) of including administering an antibiotic just in case they abscess. Plus, that's an additional 3-6cc per 100 lbs. with no more than 10cc of injection sites.

If it's a lump caused by a reaction to the vaccine that's not an abscess then what I said doesn't apply. My statement was about abscesses.

 

[BrazosBottomHand]

There are some vaccines that just cause lump reactions-covexin 8 is one. New needle every calf, transfer needle bottle to syringe, SQ admin. Still get a decent lump. All SQ so no meat damage

10-4. What I am referring to are actual abscesses.

 

[TCRanch]

If it's a lump caused by a reaction to the vaccine that's not an abscess then what I said doesn't apply. My statement was about abscesses.

Gotcha.

 

[TLM1988]

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?

Not sure on the batch number but that is odd to have the same problem. My vet is going to come lance mine. A few have busted open already. I'm not sure if I could lance them myself

 

[TCRanch]

Not sure on the batch number but that is odd to have the same problem. My vet is going to come lance mine. A few have busted open already. I'm not sure if I could lance them myself

It's a little nerve wracking the first time, but relatively simple and a combination of gross, yet fascinating. Make sure the scalpel is sharp! I cut an "X" on the lower part of the abscess so it will continue to drain. Get as much out as possible & flush with diluted iodine or an antibiotic spray. Sometimes I follow up with an antibiotic, sometimes I don't. That said, depending on the severity of the abscess & where it's located, I also sometimes just let it burst & heal itself - benign neglect.

 

[TLM1988]

It's a little nerve wracking the first time, but relatively simple and a combination of gross, yet fascinating. Make sure the scalpel is sharp! I cut an "X" on the lower part of the abscess so it will continue to drain. Get as much out as possible & flush with diluted iodine or an antibiotic spray. Sometimes I follow up with an antibiotic, sometimes I don't. That said, depending on the severity of the abscess & where it's located, I also sometimes just let it burst & heal itself - benign neglect.

These have grew quiet large on just 2 of them.. in the neck region and down onto the shoulder.

 

[Wind and Sage]

I would make sure you find a soft spot on the lump, and do your cut there. If the lump is entirely hard, then there is probably nothing you can do.

 

[tmr222]

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.

We had this situation many years ago. I forget the name of the medication.
Several of our animals developed Huuuge abscesses at the site.
Some we poked and drained, they were about the size of a grapefruit, some absorbed naturally without assistance, and one burst on its own (I don't recommend this, it was a mess, but the calf had had some issues and wasn't where we could easily treat him at the time.) This was the only one which left a nasty scar.
We never used that particular vaccination again. Wish I could remember who made it…

 

[TCRanch]

I would make sure you find a soft spot on the lump, and do your cut there. If the lump is entirely hard, then there is probably nothing you can do.

I had a cow with a golf ball sized abscess on her lower jaw and was going to drain it when we worked the herd in May. Hard as a rock & couldn't find any pus pockets, so we left it because it didn't seem to bother her. Couple days ago, I noticed the area had opened and this hard, nasty core (about the circumference of a dime) is working its way out. I tried to squeeze it a little but she wasn't having it and she's currently at the lake (not even remotely close to either of the chutes), so just watching it for now and will try to get her in when they move south. It's a combination of fascinating and disgusting. Is it weird I want to see that thing come out & try to figure out what caused it in the first place? I will be wearing gloves!!!!