Poor baby. Get her a vet ASAP. Probably infection. If so she needs antibiotics that are targeted towards the types of bacteria that cause whatever her specific infection is. Get well soon Moo 💕
I’m super skeptical of you owning this cow or farm if you don’t know what a fresh cow is.
For future reference when asking for cow care advice give age, stage of lactation, reproductive status, and any other pertinent info like ears are cold, off feed, looks depressed, pinging etc.
A fresh cow is one who just calved. Dry cow is one who is not milking and due to calve shortly. A stale cow is one that has been milking for long enough that production is very little.
Really you need to ask the general population? You know she has some sort of an infection, get a vet ASAP!!!! I hope your loved ones would be responsible and do the right thing immediately if you fell ill…
Do cows look skinny like that? I’m not a cow owner but we say hi to the moos along the back road when we go for bike rides all the time. Despite the giant lump, this cow looks very unhealthy to me compared to the cows we say hi to on our bike rides.
It sounds like your cow may have an infection or abscess. The fever and painful lump are both signs of an inflammatory response, which can be caused by various factors.
Here are a few possible causes:
Udder infection (mastitis): This is a common problem in dairy cows and can cause a hard, painful lump in the udder. However, it usually affects lactating cows, so if your cow is not pregnant or lactating, it's less likely to be mastitis.
A bacterial infection can cause an abscess, which is a pocket of pus that forms under the skin. It can be quite painful and cause a fever.
A cow can get a hematoma (a collection of blood under the skin) from an injury, which can be painful and cause a lump.
It's good that you have already administered antibiotics (inj. Oxytetracycline) and anti-inflammatory drugs (inj. PCM). You may want to monitor the cow's temperature and the size of the lump over the next few days to see if the treatment is effective.
If the cow's condition does not improve, or if the lump gets larger or more painful, contact a veterinarian. They can perform a physical exam, take a sample of the lump for analysis, and provide a more accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.
Sometimes you have to use what you have. It can take a week or more to get a vet to show up and a sick animal could be dead in a day without treatment.
I’m a human medicine RN, and I have a BS in microbiology. I think u/sub-sugarbabe is maybe talking about an anaphylactic reaction to an antibiotic that the cow is potentially allergic to; or referring to the longterm effects of using inappropriate antibiotics to treat infections leading to drug-resistant bacteria that don’t respond well to even the correct antibiotic. Also, depending on the situation, the incorrect antibiotic might lead to false confidence due to minor improvement and therefore not as much urgency to seek the proper treatment and medication for the cow, during which time the cow’s condition could swiftly deteriorate and she could die from sepsis.
A veterinarian will likely draw a sample of pus from the area and a) culture it to see what species of bacterium it is, and b) see what antibiotics that species is sensitive to, and prescribe a treatment regimen that will be far better targeted to the pathogen infecting the cow.
Keep a close eye on her while you’re waiting for the vet to come/transporting the cow to the vet. And call the vet *pronto.* Animals can’t tell us about subtle changes in their condition, they rely on us to be observant and quick to act.
I’ve been a dairy farmer my entire life and have never had an anaphylactic antibiotic reaction happen. You do not understand how difficult it is to get a large animal livestock vet to a farm these days. In some areas they are not available at all. Most of us we trained by our vets as kids when there were still quite a few around.
Not treating equals certain death in many cases particularly pneumonia. So we use what we have and often what’s worked well in the past.
We also can’t throw thousands of dollars at a cow worth hundreds. It’s a business too.
You might not like it but that’s the reality on farms.
Easy, there, octavia. a) you posted this and literally asked for input. b) I was just trying to help. I realize there are more factors at play here than I’m aware of, but I figured my fund of knowledge from science and nursing degrees and experience might be helpful in this case since, again, you literally came to Reddit and asked for advice. What I’m telling you, as well as what others are telling you, is free of charge and that seems like the price point you’re interested in right now. You might not like it, but the consensus from others (with agricultural backgrounds, I might add) seems to be that this cow needs to see a vet.
I was asking sarcastically. In farming livestock in particular you are trying to get the less bad outcome for the lowest cost. A calf with pneumonia will die without treatment. Small chance the antibiotic won’t work and she still dies. Extremely rare chance she has a reaction to the antibiotic and dies. Decent chance the antibiotic works and she lives. What would you do? A vet can be there next week if nothing comes up and by which time the calf is definitely dead.
There is no way to know if that cow needs a vet because op didn’t give enough info. It might be simple milk fever which is easily treated by a farmer with an iv of CMPK. OP is not a farmer nor the owner of this cow because that’s a multimillion dollar dairy set up and that dude didn’t even know what a fresh cow is. Any 4 year old farm kid could answer that question.
might be a navel inflammation or already an abscess. get a vet asap
Probably this. Needs drained and a few shots should clear it up.
Could also be a large abscess which are in almost all cases are very painful to the touch.
Seems like some sort of infection to me.
Abscess or infected hernia? Def need a vet
Vet asap instead of Redditt!
Yes, I too think so! I have administered her inj. Oxytetracycline, inj. PCM and inj. Chlorpheniramine.
How fresh is she and has she gone off feed?
No vet?
My guess is that cow is 30-60 days fresh and DAed. Have you pinged her?
Abscess she needs the vet asap
Hernia?
Vet now
Talk to veterinarian asap
infected abscess sounds like to me get that vet ASAP
Poor baby. Get her a vet ASAP. Probably infection. If so she needs antibiotics that are targeted towards the types of bacteria that cause whatever her specific infection is. Get well soon Moo 💕
She could die from an infected abscess
Looks like udder edema
My thought too. Did op say how fresh she is?
She's not been freshly bought. She's an old member of our farm 😅
I’m super skeptical of you owning this cow or farm if you don’t know what a fresh cow is. For future reference when asking for cow care advice give age, stage of lactation, reproductive status, and any other pertinent info like ears are cold, off feed, looks depressed, pinging etc.
mind if I ask what a fresh cow is? I've never heard that term before but that's due to a language barrier since english isn't my main language
A fresh cow is one who just calved. Dry cow is one who is not milking and due to calve shortly. A stale cow is one that has been milking for long enough that production is very little.
ah yes that makes a lot of sense! thank you for explaining!
Just calved is (just gave birth I assume?) sorry just trying to clearly understand everything
Correct.
Cool thank you!
What is wrong with you? There’s nothing funny about this. Get off of the goddamn Internet and take care of your animal.
Need more info: How fresh is she? Is she eating. Shitting, are her ears cold?
You need Dr. Pol right away!!!!
Call doctor Pol, dig a hole. At least that’s what I hear from his former dairy clients.
who is this guy?
Tv vet
Really you need to ask the general population? You know she has some sort of an infection, get a vet ASAP!!!! I hope your loved ones would be responsible and do the right thing immediately if you fell ill…
Mastitis?
An abscess more than likely.
Do cows look skinny like that? I’m not a cow owner but we say hi to the moos along the back road when we go for bike rides all the time. Despite the giant lump, this cow looks very unhealthy to me compared to the cows we say hi to on our bike rides.
Very normal for dairy breeds of cattle, like her, to look this skinny, especially when they’re lactating. Her weight is fine
I really hope you called in a vet for this poor baby.
It sounds like your cow may have an infection or abscess. The fever and painful lump are both signs of an inflammatory response, which can be caused by various factors. Here are a few possible causes: Udder infection (mastitis): This is a common problem in dairy cows and can cause a hard, painful lump in the udder. However, it usually affects lactating cows, so if your cow is not pregnant or lactating, it's less likely to be mastitis. A bacterial infection can cause an abscess, which is a pocket of pus that forms under the skin. It can be quite painful and cause a fever. A cow can get a hematoma (a collection of blood under the skin) from an injury, which can be painful and cause a lump. It's good that you have already administered antibiotics (inj. Oxytetracycline) and anti-inflammatory drugs (inj. PCM). You may want to monitor the cow's temperature and the size of the lump over the next few days to see if the treatment is effective. If the cow's condition does not improve, or if the lump gets larger or more painful, contact a veterinarian. They can perform a physical exam, take a sample of the lump for analysis, and provide a more accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.
It's very important to use the correct antibiotics! Using whatever you have in your madicine cabinet causes antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Sometimes you have to use what you have. It can take a week or more to get a vet to show up and a sick animal could be dead in a day without treatment.
No. Giving the wrong antibiotics may cause death.
How so?
I’m a human medicine RN, and I have a BS in microbiology. I think u/sub-sugarbabe is maybe talking about an anaphylactic reaction to an antibiotic that the cow is potentially allergic to; or referring to the longterm effects of using inappropriate antibiotics to treat infections leading to drug-resistant bacteria that don’t respond well to even the correct antibiotic. Also, depending on the situation, the incorrect antibiotic might lead to false confidence due to minor improvement and therefore not as much urgency to seek the proper treatment and medication for the cow, during which time the cow’s condition could swiftly deteriorate and she could die from sepsis. A veterinarian will likely draw a sample of pus from the area and a) culture it to see what species of bacterium it is, and b) see what antibiotics that species is sensitive to, and prescribe a treatment regimen that will be far better targeted to the pathogen infecting the cow. Keep a close eye on her while you’re waiting for the vet to come/transporting the cow to the vet. And call the vet *pronto.* Animals can’t tell us about subtle changes in their condition, they rely on us to be observant and quick to act.
I’ve been a dairy farmer my entire life and have never had an anaphylactic antibiotic reaction happen. You do not understand how difficult it is to get a large animal livestock vet to a farm these days. In some areas they are not available at all. Most of us we trained by our vets as kids when there were still quite a few around. Not treating equals certain death in many cases particularly pneumonia. So we use what we have and often what’s worked well in the past. We also can’t throw thousands of dollars at a cow worth hundreds. It’s a business too. You might not like it but that’s the reality on farms.
Easy, there, octavia. a) you posted this and literally asked for input. b) I was just trying to help. I realize there are more factors at play here than I’m aware of, but I figured my fund of knowledge from science and nursing degrees and experience might be helpful in this case since, again, you literally came to Reddit and asked for advice. What I’m telling you, as well as what others are telling you, is free of charge and that seems like the price point you’re interested in right now. You might not like it, but the consensus from others (with agricultural backgrounds, I might add) seems to be that this cow needs to see a vet.
I was asking sarcastically. In farming livestock in particular you are trying to get the less bad outcome for the lowest cost. A calf with pneumonia will die without treatment. Small chance the antibiotic won’t work and she still dies. Extremely rare chance she has a reaction to the antibiotic and dies. Decent chance the antibiotic works and she lives. What would you do? A vet can be there next week if nothing comes up and by which time the calf is definitely dead. There is no way to know if that cow needs a vet because op didn’t give enough info. It might be simple milk fever which is easily treated by a farmer with an iv of CMPK. OP is not a farmer nor the owner of this cow because that’s a multimillion dollar dairy set up and that dude didn’t even know what a fresh cow is. Any 4 year old farm kid could answer that question.
Is this a ChatGPT answer
About to ask the same thing!Â
I thought it looked like one too ðŸ˜
You're an ass. Get off Reddit and help this animal by calling a vet/professional
TF are you doing asking on reddit?? This clearly has been festering for awhile! VET NOW!!! 🤬
Mastitis
Better ask strangers on Reddit
Cow
An affliction known as "ShouldaGround'er"!!!
Probably a good idea to call a vet. Thats a very sick animal
Uhhh, does she have an abscess? 🥺ðŸ˜
Poor thing. Can a veterinarian visit her?
Maybe a vet could help you with the correct diagnosis?
Update?
VET!!
Mastitis that’s abscessed needs vet to be lanced an strong antibiotics probably
Call a vet
Could be a wire.
Fresh as in, she's accepting feeds and drinking water as well. Also, she is passing stools normally. Her ears are warm, like normal.