Lumps after antibiotic injections

[SteepedInSheep]

I don’t have any hooved animals so I don’t know much. But is it possible you have some kind of weed that has put on a lot of thorns lately?

There is a decent amount of horsenettle in the sheep pasture, but they don't eat it. In the last month I have gone through each of their grazing paddocks and manually pulled all of the nettle that I have found.
Not my photo, but it's this stupid stuff

The sheep started getting absesses before we had the grass in.... So I was thinking either excessive hay injuries from the round bale feeder or CL.

 

[SageHill]

I was thinking along the lines of @fuzzi -- since you're having a rash (no pun intended) of abscesses. Out here in the southwest we have foxtails -- known for causing abscesses and worse (not the foxtails we played with as kids). Those little seed awns are like little arrowheads, sharp as the dickens and barbed so it's one way in and not out.

 

[farmerjan]

If the hay you are offering the calf is the same hay the sheep are eating, I would suspect something in the hay. I have no idea what to tell you to look for in the hay... anything with "prickers".
It could be a reaction to something the hay may have been sprayed with to kill weeds...

I would get some hay from someone/somewhere else... try a a few bales... might cost you some more money than you want... but that would be the first thing I would try differently.

You need a 2nd or 3rd cutting orchard grass .... a "soft" bladey hay.... not alfalfa... too stemmy unless it is one of the "grazing type" alfalfa's that is more blades than stems...
Can you please put a state in your profile... top right go to your name, down to account details, down to location... it helps to make suggestions of types of hay... I have no experience with Bahia or Bermuda grass/hay that is popular in the deep south... and cannot suggest anything if we don't know the general area you are.
2nd cutting timothy would be nutritious, but it does not grow good in VA... it is a colder weather type of grass.
Horse nettle is common here too. We spray the hayfields for it... and it is a constant battle...

Sadly, breeding problems are common with Guernsey's... My very favorite dairy cow and they have been ruined with the direction breeding went to try to make them more competitive. Best dispositioned of the dairy cows I have had... but getting the calves "going" is no fun. I can sympathize with you on that.

One other question... what kind of milk replacer are you using??? ALL MILK... NO SOY??? Or are you using whole milk from the cow? Some people do not understand the problems with soy milk replacer. If she is drinking a gallon a day and manure is good, then that is fine... try putting a little calf grain in her mouth when she gets done with her bottle... for her to roll around in her mouth, get the texture and taste.. Can't make them eat it... but better to not increase her milk as she will go to the grain if she is hungry.... if she is too full from the milk she will not go looking for anything else.

Do not microwave the milk to get it warm if you are feeding real milk. It kills the good stuff..

 

[SteepedInSheep]

I was thinking along the lines of @fuzzi -- since you're having a rash (no pun intended) of abscesses. Out here in the southwest we have foxtails -- known for causing abscesses and worse (not the foxtails we played with as kids). Those little seed awns are like little arrowheads, sharp as the dickens and barbed so it's one way in and not out.

We have plenty of those, and definitely in the hay we buy.

 

[SteepedInSheep]

If the hay you are offering the calf is the same hay the sheep are eating, I would suspect something in the hay. I have no idea what to tell you to look for in the hay... anything with "prickers".
It could be a reaction to something the hay may have been sprayed with to kill weeds...

I would get some hay from someone/somewhere else... try a a few bales... might cost you some more money than you want... but that would be the first thing I would try differently.

You need a 2nd or 3rd cutting orchard grass .... a "soft" bladey hay.... not alfalfa... too stemmy unless it is one of the "grazing type" alfalfa's that is more blades than stems...
Can you please put a state in your profile... top right go to your name, down to account details, down to location... it helps to make suggestions of types of hay... I have no experience with Bahia or Bermuda grass/hay that is popular in the deep south... and cannot suggest anything if we don't know the general area you are.
2nd cutting timothy would be nutritious, but it does not grow good in VA... it is a colder weather type of grass.
Horse nettle is common here too. We spray the hayfields for it... and it is a constant battle...

Yes, the animals all get the same hay, and we usually buy it from the same guy. Hmmm, I'll have to consider this. We just spent a couple thousand on round bales a month or so ago do we will have to use that up first. I'll talk to my husband about getting it elsewhere next time.

Sadly, breeding problems are common with Guernsey's... My very favorite dairy cow and they have been ruined with the direction breeding went to try to make them more competitive. Best dispositioned of the dairy cows I have had... but getting the calves "going" is no fun. I can sympathize with you on that.

It's awfully sad. She's the sweetest cow and I would hate to make burger out of her but she's just not working out. Husband is thinking right now to try for one more calf and see how she does, but it's absolutely her last chance.

One other question... what kind of milk replacer are you using??? ALL MILK... NO SOY??? Or are you using whole milk from the cow? Some people do not understand the problems with soy milk replacer. If she is drinking a gallon a day and manure is good, then that is fine... try putting a little calf grain in her mouth when she gets done with her bottle... for her to roll around in her mouth, get the texture and taste.. Can't make them eat it... but better to not increase her milk as she will go to the grain if she is hungry.... if she is too full from the milk she will not go looking for anything else.

Do not microwave the milk to get it warm if you are feeding real milk. It kills the good stuff..

We have fed her both but its all replacer right now. It hadn't crossed my mind that they would use soy to make the replacer but it makes sense, seeing as they also do that to humans. Her poop has been normal looking.
Thanks for all the insight!

 

[farmerjan]

If it is all the same hay being fed, then my money is on the hay being the common denominator and the cause. Something in the hay, some weed, small stickers, something...
Try pulling the hay apart and fluffing what you are feeding... gives them a chance to "eat around" some possible irritants that they might get in a mouthful if they just pull it out.

Is the hay tested for protein or anything? Is it first cutting? If you just got it, then I would imagine it is first cutting. That is always coarser stemmed hay... grasses grow fast early on, nature tells it to grow fast, make a seed head, "reproduce" as it is.... It also has less protein than later cut (2nd and 3rd cutting) hay... and the stems are not near as coarse, "stalky" as 1st cutting. I would not feed 1st cutting to young growing animals... Their bodies will tell them they need more to eat because they are not getting enough nutrition, and especially in calves, they will get a "pot belly".... see it all the time in holstein and dairy calves here, if they are not fed the right nutrition... they just eat and eat and are not really getting enough quality nutrition to grow.

Quantity does not cut it with dairy breeds especially... Because they are weaned off milk at 6-12 weeks, and then fed and too many times they do not get the supplementation that they need. Beef calves stay on momma for 5-9 months, so constantly get the added nutrition of the milk components as well as learning to eat hay and grass... "balanced" diet so to speak. That is why feeding grain is so important to bottle babies after they are weaned because they are weaned much earlier than they would be in nature off their momma's.

Are you feeding any other animals besides some sheep, the milk cow and this calf? Beef cattle? Their nutritional needs are not near as demanding as dairy animals and small ruminants, and calves and other "babies" not nursing their momma's.

If you are going to try the guernsey again, use a jersey sire if breeding AI...don't breed her guernsey... it's a recipe for problems... or go with something like a beef breed like a norwegian Red or sweedish red or a Montebeliarde... all have more milk than most beef breed and will give you some beefier calves... heifers will make a decent milk cow and bulls/steers will make good beef in the freezer...Several of the dairies that I milk test for have used the montbeilarde and they make awesome cows and stay good and fat. I would use a Limousin or something if you are going just beef... Do NOT use an easy calving bull on her unless she is extremely narrow in the hindquarters.. "heifer bulls" ie. easy calving bulls, will throw a small calf... and you need a calf that has some "moxie" to want to live... if she has had several calves, she does not need an easy calving bull unless she is real small... Limi beef calves are more long than wide and many jersey dairies are using them to produce calves that have "added value" as beef calves....
I like the montebeliardes real well... sometimes hard to find the semen. They are popular on grazing dairies...

If she is getting bred to "a bull".... then obviously you use what is available... No offense, but dexter is NOT my choice...but sometimes pregnant with anything, is better than not... and you try again the next lactation.... BTDT....

I bred several of my guernseys and guernsey crosses to either jersey or one of our angus bulls.... have even used holstein... use a red holstein if you have a choice... give you a red calf... and you can pick holsteins with A2 milk... not sure if they are A2A2 or A1A2..... and high butterfat... if you have a tech come breed them AI then you have choices and they carry a certain number of bulls... ASK.....ahead of time, and technicians can get semen to put in their tank to use...

Also, when breeding her, give her a shot of GNRH... helps her to settle and retain the breeding early on...

Check the label on the milk replacer... ALL MILK ... milk replacer is not cheap... I spend $80-100 a 50 lb bag... and most calves take 2 bags to get to weaning... I used to raise alot of calves... right now they are so high priced, I am not sure what I am going to do when my jersey calves... she will need at least 1 more calf... probably 2 more... we will see... and at $5-900 a head at 3 days old.. that is pretty way out there... Plus I have a set of twin holstein heifers that I raised that are being bred now... due to calve in Mar-April ... may wind up selling them as bred heifers.. they will get preg checked with the group of beef heifers they are running with... all being bred for spring...

Sorry, wrote a book....

Thanks for putting in your area...

 

[fuzzi]

@farmerjan you are a treasure trove of knowledge!

 

[SteepedInSheep]

One of our round bales. Lots of foxtail in it, right?

 

[farmerjan]

It's hard to tell, but it does look like foxtail, which is actually a BIG problem for animals. We do not seem to have much of it here. Our nemesis is Johnson Grass... and it is a fast growing "weed grass" that the cattle love but can be toxic if drought stressed and then has a growth spurt...
Timothy and foxtail have similiar type seed heads but foxtail will bend over more often... it it gets to the point where they are "opening" then the hay is over mature..
That said, we have had a B%@#H of a time getting first cutting made due to the constant threats and showers that have prevented us from cutting when it should be, and it is over mature... but we can feed it to mature, dry beef cows, and get by with it... the calves get the better 2nd cutting. And we will supplement them to off set the lower protein in the mature/over mature hay.

The foxtail has little barbs on the seed heads and I suspect that is the problem with the sheep and calf.

The hay is also very coarse looking; meaning first cutting and not very nutritious for the young animals...

You are fighting an uphill battle with that hay. You would be better with a plain pasture grass hay that is finer bladed and not so much "maturity"... as in the seed heads. I am not sure what else to suggest, except they need a less coarse, finer bladed hay from 2nd cutting or 3rd cutting.

 

[SageHill]

Definitely looks foxtail-ish. My first thought was wheat??? But you're in a different area than I am. There are different types of foxtails that I've noticed out here in the southwest. Some are worse than others. The drier they are the worse they are. I'm guessing that's your problem.