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CloversMum
3486 Posts
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 Posted - Oct 23 2014 : 09:18:33 AM
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My Clover had a reaction to her vaccines. She had a lump just like MaryJane's cow did and the WSU vets saw it, examined it, and said that is was fine. So we went ahead with Clover's AI procedure. However, the end of last week Clover was acting very protective of her neck where that lump was located. The next day I was petting her and felt her neck...the lump looked like it had burst and had a scab on it. I realized then that it was an abscess (one of my goats had one three years ago). In order for it to heal, one has to keep the scab opened up (read "pick the scab off!" So, I put on latex gloves...the pus is not something you want to contaminate anything, picked off the scab and squeezed as much of the pus out as I could. Following that, I flushed it out with iodine. Every day I have been putting my gloves on,removing the scab so the site can drain and flushing it with iodine. WSU called me Saturday to check up on Clover and Dr. Barrington told me that I was doing everything exactly right but to let them know if the abscess got worse. Dr. Pearson (another WSU vet) had told me that cows are similar to goats in that they are able to "wall off" an infection or abscess quite successfully. Also, the vaccines are designed to create a bit of a reaction at the site in order for the vaccines to be successful. No need for any antibiotics at this point. I am also giving Clover some of the Vitamin C that MaryJane recommends in her book. So that and a jug of iodine is always in my vet medicine cabinet!
So, I am including some photos. But this is after a few days so it doesn't show the worst of it. Clover's abscess started out the size of a half dollar and is now healed down to about the size of a dime.
But all of the cleaning (by the third day!) really didn't bother Clover...she just kept eating her alfalfa pellets!
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Loving life and family on our Idaho farm, Meadowlark Heritage Farm; A few Jersey cows; a few alpacas; a few more goats, and even more ducks and chickens |
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Ron
4666 Posts
Ronnie
Peever
SD
USA
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Posted - Oct 23 2014 : 10:14:15 AM
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| Wow Charlene, nice catch. I sure don't like open wounds on my animals either. |
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo. |
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NellieBelle
11217 Posts
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Posted - Oct 23 2014 : 12:10:13 PM
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| Nice job Charlene. Wish are animals didn't have to go through any of these things but inevitably it seems to happen regardless of what we want. I'm sure it helps that Clover is such a sweetheart. She probably didn't mind you helping her at all. I just got in a new shipment of Betadine and Betadine surgical scrub. I keep it on hand all the time too. |
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![[flourish]](/images/flourish-txt_mobius.png)
Abscess from Vaccine Reaction
![Heritage Jersey Organization [logo]](/images/HJO-logo.png){kind=logo}
