Strange lump

[MeboysMom]

I bought a calf from the sale yard last week. He was raised out in the deserts of Eastern Oregon/north Nevada. He has a very large lump on his lower left side the size of a basketball, (facing him) which at first looked like a bunch of extra hair. We checked to see if it was a hernia and it is very solid and won't move, doesn't feel soft like an abscess. He eats constantly, bowels moving perfect, seems bright and happy and it doesn't hurt if you touch it. Just wondering if anyone has seen anything like this... wondering if it could be a birth defect. I am thinking it may have showed up later as he has been cut, branded and tagged. We gave him an antibiotic shot in case it was infection but nothing is changing. It is just odd and wondering if anyone had ever experienced something like this. Thanks BC

 

[Howdyjabo]

He may have gotten kicked at the sale.

 

[inyati13]

Hematoma. I had one. They get head butted in the flank area during establishment of pecking order or when they are stressed from new surroundings or crowding. They are exactly as you describe. It will go away. I had one in the fall. Big as a basketball. There is a thread on here about it. I finally got worried and had the vet look. It was a hematoma (broken arteries that bleed out into the tissue under the skin until the pressure builds and stops the bleeding). The blood will be reabsorbed and it will recontour. I cannot tell where my heifer had hers. It is gone. Not need for anymore antibiotic.

 

[MeboysMom]

Oh my yes I didn't consider that. Thank you so much. He is doing so good -he is really enjoying being hand fed!!