Abscess in one month old calf

[NH homesteader]

Unfortunately prices are all over the place... And mostly you find pet vets or big dairy vets. Not a lot of in between.

 

[cjc]

That is outrageous!

One thing I didn't mention is that Actinomyces bovis is horrid smelling! You would want to vomit!
If you ever have a lump that starts draining and smells like that then you know.

That's actually really good to know! This doesn't have a smell I don't think. But I once had a cat get a bad abscess and ya...I had to leave the room at the vet the smell was sooooo bad! I just put a hot compress on it as @Mini Horses had suggested. He did like it I think. I gave it a fair bit of pressure and not much came out of it. Just a little bit of blood so I think that's probably a good sign. It's gone down probably another 10% from where it was at yesterday. I gave him another dose of the antibiotics and a big bottle of electrolytes. His diarrhea is almost better. I think ill give him two more days of electrolytes just to make sure. I brought a bucket out of hot water to clean the abscess and before I could even grab the cloth he was drinking the water! I think I will offer him some warm water for the next few days. Help keep him hydrated well he fights the infection.

 

[babsbag]

@Green Acres Farm My vet charged 37.00 to drain the abscess plus the cost of the syringe, some gauze, the antibiotics, and shipping for the culture. It was less than 100.00 total. The culture was done at UC Davis and that was about 50.00. The follow up visit when she drained it again was free. I took my goat to her clinic. I love my vet.

 

[Green Acres Farm]

@Green Acres Farm My vet charged 37.00 to drain the abscess plus the cost of the syringe, some gauze, the antibiotics, and shipping for the culture. It was less than 100.00 total. The culture was done at UC Davis and that was about 50.00. The follow up visit when she drained it again was free. I took my goat to her clinic. I love my vet.

The vet we have used is very nice, just pricy.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

I agree with the others,I really don't think its lumpy jaw.

If you are having issues with the iodine flush you can switch to chlorhexidine. Chlorhexidine works well one gram positive AND gram negative bacteria (& Fungi), doesn't become inert when it comes into contact with organic matter (such as poop, pus) where most disinfectants like bleach or iodine do become inert.
It is also gentle on newly forming tissue, more so then iodine.
I've used it on myself and one livestock. I really like it.

A good plus is that it doesn't hurt if you accidentally get in your eyes- after its been diluted to the proper concentration

 

[greybeard]

Good to hear the calf is improving, but like Southern By Choice, I am very surprised the vet did not culture it to find out which bacterias(s) were present.
Some antibiotics work well on some strains and don't on others. As owners of livestock, we are primarily only interested in positive results, but the other side of the coin, is throwing antibiotics at unknown strains of infectious agents is one of the reasons we now have resistant strains of bacteria and ever increasing 'oversight' by govt entities.
There are 2 types of lumpy jaw.
Soft tissue lumpy jaw.
Bone related lumpy jaw.
The one your calf has is classic soft tissue lumpy jaw. Almost all cattle soft tissue LJ is caused by Actinobacillus bacteria, but not all. There doesn't have to be a specific puncture wound or bruise for a bovine to get soft tissue abscesses (ST lumpy jaw). The bacteria is normally present in soil and also normally present in the mouth of cattle. A very minor laceration or scratch is all that is needed inside the mouth or outside the jaw, tho the usual path for entry in both kinds is internal to the mouth and jaw areas. One of the problems with the infection, is that there is a connective tissue wall around the infected site. Early on, this wall prevents spread into the bloodstream, but it also prevents antibiotics in the blood stream from reaching the bacteria, which is the reason for lancing and specifically, for flushing out the abscess with iodine. It usually takes more than one flushing--several days apart.

This picture:

Appears that some fluid has oozed out of the abscess on to your clothing, and you are not wearing skin protection (disposable gloves). I urge you to reconsider this practice, especially regarding an infection that is being caused by an unknown antigen. Altho of the many strains of Actinobacillus,
few are zoonotic between cattle and humans, but I always tend to be careful none-the-less.

 

[cjc]

Thanks for the advice, I will be more careful. The vet said the abscess just wasn't bad enough to be of major concern. He said he sees this all the time on bottle calves. He said if it was that bacteria he would be acting different and he said all in all he is a very healthy calf. I did not separate him from the others so hopefully he isn't carrying anything, they all suck on the same grain bottle each day. He just seems to get better each day. Hopefully this will resolve entirely. I may give him another round of drugs. I tend to always double up the drugs on these guys. The vet doesn't always agree but ever since I started doing that I haven't lost one.

 

[Southern by choice]

How is the abscess looking? Has it gone down considerably? Still draining?

BTW- you know we love pictures!

 

[cjc]

I do! I will get some more this weekend. I tried to get some this morning but it's so dark and gloomy here in the morning! Sun isn't coming up until around 7:30am and by that time I am driving to my day job.

It's not really draining no. I think ill get some gloves on and give it a more forceful squeeze just to make sure. Nothing really seems to come but its firm. Is definitely getting smaller though and his runs are gone, fever is down and he's a crazy calf again

 

[TAH]

How's he doing @cjc?