Lump jaw

[Ky cowboy]

I've got a 5 year old cow with lump jaw. I got her up today and tried to drain the abscess, only thing that I could get out was a clear fliud. No puss or anything. Do I need to wait a few days and try it again. This is the 1st time messing with lump jaw.
Thanks

 

[Brute 23]

Need to check the inside for some thing maybe stuck in it. I had one do that and some thing poked her thru to the bone in the jaw. Vet flushed it and gave antibiotics. We tried to kick the infection but couldn't. She died not long after.

 

[gcreekrch]

A long regiment of tetracyclines, flushing and iodine chrystals orally. If she is not pregnant you can iv with sodium iodide. We have stopped several lumpy jaws it their tracks.

 

[wbvs58]

If you fancied your chances of draining it, suggests to me it might be a more superficial abscess rather than lumpy jaw which involves the bone, causing proliferation of the bone.

Ken

 

[SBMF 2015]

Pictures would be a big help. Is it on the out outside of the jaw or underneath? What is the cows overall condition?
Physical injury or parasites come to mind.

 

[bird dog]

can you grab it in your hand and shake it around? If you can, its probably an abscess.

 

[TCRanch]

I'd be inclined to take her in. I've had one case of lump jaw and she was successfully treated with sodium iodide - and she was bred, did not abort. Kept her another 5 years and only sold her because she was 12, losing condition and falling behind breeding back.

 

[Buck Randall]

If you fancied your chances of draining it, suggests to me it might be a more superficial abscess rather than lumpy jaw which involves the bone, causing proliferation of the bone.

Ken

Agree with this. Not all lumps on the jaw are lumpy jaw.

 

[NewMoo]

We have two right now with swollen, squishy masses under their chins— an 11 month old heifer and an older cow. Attaching pics. Is this lumpy jaw or an abscess? I am thinking it may be an abscess, but two in one herd is puzzling. We have dewormed recently. Asking here but going in to show my vet pics and videos tomorrow.

 

[kenny thomas]

Please let us know what your vet says. What kind of wormer did you use because I am thinking it's a very heavy load of worms.

 

[TCRanch]

The first pic doesn't look like lump jaw; more like worms. Is her brisket swollen? I have had cows with hardware that have swelling under the jaw in addition to the brisket. That said, with two of them in question, it could also be an abscess from stemmy hay.

Curious to see what your vet thinks - good luck!

 

[NewMoo]

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The first pic doesn't look like lump jaw; more like worms. Is her brisket swollen? I have had cows with hardware that have swelling under the jaw in addition to the brisket. That said, with two of them in question, it could also be an abscess from stemmy hay.

Curious to see what your vet thinks - good luck!

The vet thinks it is one of two things— worms or acorn poisoning. His recommendation was to give another dose of dewormer and put them up away from access to the acorns. He said the fluid retention in that area is from a lack of protein. He suggested feeding them a high-protein feed and hay.

There are 20+ acres of hardwood forest on this particular property. We do have a small side pasture we can put them in while we are feeding them. It is not feasible to fence off the forested areas. Lots of mature oaks in there provide irresistible acorns to some cattle.

We deal with this every few years when the acorns are plentiful. This year, my brother put out a protein tub to tempt them away from the woods. It helped quite a bit.

I am going to spend tomorrow stalking them for a fecal sample to rule out or confirm worms. Fun!

The cow's swelling was noticeably reduced today. The heifer seemed more herself but didn't care much for the feed (a 14% two-mix). I'll mix in some sweet feed tomorrow to see if she will eat that.

Many thanks for your comments and suggestions.

To answer a couple of questions:

Ivomec dewormer
No swelling in either's brisket area