Lumpy Jaw

[agurney]

I have a cow who appears to have lumpy jaw. I had never heard of lumpy jaw before and happend to come accross this website. For month now she has had swelling in her jaw. I recently noticed when she was eating there is a quarter size spot, on the under part of her jaw, where something is coming out. My family has been raising cattle for decades and have never experienced anything like this.
Is there anything I can do for her at this point. From what I've read, it seems like she is in the advanced stages. She is eating fine which is my main concern. Any advice would be great on what to do for her. Thank you everyone.

 

[chippie]

Ship her.

http://cattletoday.info/lumpy_jaw.htm

 

[rockridgecattle]

agreed. Ship her. Right now she is shedding the bacteria all over the place. What happens is if another cow has a cut or sore in her mouth, and injests some the the bacteria she too will have the same problem. Lumpy jaw can be prevented /reduced by adding a little extra iodine in the free choice mineral. Watch for iodine overload. On of the signs is tearing(watery eyes) up around eyes. Reduce the iodine and add more later on. talk with your vet on the amount to add.
If you catch lumpy jaw in the early stage, your vet can treat with iodine IV one or two times.
Now that we have shipped out all our cases, we have had none, and add iodine every once in a while. We got a few due to keeping them back thinking it's not so bad, they healed up. Only to have them fester again later. The spread the bacteria and a few more got infected, especially the younger ones who were losing their baby teeth.

 

[Toby L.]

My oldest cow, and the first one I had on this place has it pretty bad. Her whole jaw is swollen, it's been that way for over 2 years, she's keeping her weight pretty good. If they get it when their younger, it's pretty much a death sentence, the infection gets into their jaw bone and they can't eat. I had a young bull get it and he slowly starved to the point that I put him down. The vet gave me some anti-biotics for him and told me that if that didn't do it then nothing would. That was a couple of years ago, and nobody else out there has any sings of it.

 

[dun]

Could it be somehting as simple as an abscess from a thorn/stick/etc.?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Or an absessed tooth?

 

[3rdgeneration farmer]

Doesnt sound like advanced stage to me. A quarter size is not very advanced. You should talk to a vet who has treated this before. I had a lumpy jaw who was very advanced. It was size of a softball!!! My vet treated it with a medicine that had an iodine base that had to be administered IV. I dont know his phone number off hand, but his name is Darrell Coffey, Russell Springs, KY. Good luck! Mine had one more calf, raised it and died. She only raised 2 calves in her life. If she is approximately 2-5 years old, chances are it very well could be lumpy jaw because they are getting new teeth at 2 or 3 and it gives the fungus an entry point. Maybe youll be lucky and it will be an abcess, but if youve used the proper antibiotic and it didnt work, you need to treat for lumpy quick. Quicker the better.