Yellow / Green Puss coming out of cows neck

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F5CHASER

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Oct 22, 2008
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Anyone ever seen yellow / greenish puss come out of the side of a cows neck?  I went down to check one a while ago and this icky stuff was oozing out of her neck and was wondering what it was.
 

bcosu

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did you give her a shot recently? we have had a calf get an abcesses (sp) after shots and develop then when it was popped there was green puss that came out.
 

F5CHASER

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last week i gave her some ivomec plus under the skin but that was back behind her front leg in the rib cage area.  i wonder if the ivomec plus is getting rid of some worms or something.  that is why i gave the the ivomec because she looked real wormy.
 

Wiley

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Ive had this happen before on a steer i showed turned out it was a snake bite, had to go to the vet and get it lanced and later have it removed because it wouldn't heal if you can get ahold of it see if it has a hard core thats what mine had anyway i waited a lil long to have a vet take a look at it, if i would have to go threw it again it would save alot of stress and cash just to run her by the vets office, thats what i would do anyway
 

OH Breeder

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Typically yellow and green drainage is a sure sign of infection. Unless you have bot flies most worms do not exit the neck via drainage. You need to have a vet take a look. There might be something lodged in there or an abscess. I would do it pretty soon if you haven't already.
 

6M Ranch

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She might have had an abscess that you didn't notice earlier, and it popped open.  We've had cattle in pens get splinters from rubbing on wooden posts.
 

dori36

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F5CHASER said:
Anyone ever seen yellow / greenish puss come out of the side of a cows neck?  I went down to check one a while ago and this icky stuff was oozing out of her neck and was wondering what it was.

Sounds like she has an abscess that has broken through the skin and is draining.  "Colorful" thick discharge indicates infection.  If you don't want to get a Vet out right away, shave up the area, thoroughly wash it up, try to determine if there's still "stuff" yet to come out.  It may need to be flushed out with an antibiotic.  Even after they break through, it doesn't take much for them to seal over before they're healed.  Then, you start all over.  Have your Vet or someone show you how to flush it out and keep it open and draining.
 

F5CHASER

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UPDATE.................................Today I got her up and did a closer inspection.  It turns out that that about 3-4 inches below her ear and just behind her jaw bone there is an opening about 3 inches long.  You can see right down in there.  Plus there are about a half a dozen "boil like" sores around her jaws on both sides.  There is also sump lumps that are hard as concrete.  I gave here about 50 cc of LA-200 and will check her again tomorrow.  I sprayed some anti-biotic spray there and put some wound dressing over the sore but it sounds like from reading above that I should have left it open.  I was just worried about the flies laying eggs in there.
 

OH Breeder

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F5CHASER said:
UPDATE.................................Today I got her up and did a closer inspection.  It turns out that that about 3-4 inches below her ear and just behind her jaw bone there is an opening about 3 inches long.  You can see right down in there.  Plus there are about a half a dozen "boil like" sores around her jaws on both sides.  There is also sump lumps that are hard as concrete.  I gave here about 50 cc of LA-200 and will check her again tomorrow.  I sprayed some anti-biotic spray there and put some wound dressing over the sore but it sounds like from reading above that I should have left it open.  I was just worried about the flies laying eggs in there.

if she has multiple spots then you are looking at something that could be systemic and it could kill her in a matter of days as she can go septic. Call a vet.
 

frostback

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Not sure what part of the country you are from but sounds like you have cheat grass or foxtail to deal with. We deal with it too. Keep her on the antibiotics and the open one should heal. You may want to puncture the other soft ones, but the hard lumps may be there always. I have a few with lumps that will not go away. Frosty
 

dori36

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F5CHASER said:
UPDATE.................................Today I got her up and did a closer inspection.  It turns out that that about 3-4 inches below her ear and just behind her jaw bone there is an opening about 3 inches long.  You can see right down in there.  Plus there are about a half a dozen "boil like" sores around her jaws on both sides.  There is also sump lumps that are hard as concrete.  I gave here about 50 cc of LA-200 and will check her again tomorrow.  I sprayed some anti-biotic spray there and put some wound dressing over the sore but it sounds like from reading above that I should have left it open.  I was just worried about the flies laying eggs in there.

I see on the map on your profile that you're from OK.  What kind of toxic/irritating weeds do you have down there?  Sounds like that's a possibility especially due to the location of sores around her jaws.  Keep the sores/holes clean so the flies don't get in there.  I can't remember the name of the product, but there is a fly repellent, made for cattle, that can be sprayed right on the sores and will keep the flies away.  I'd still consider having a Vet take a look.
 

VJ

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Sounds like a case of lumpy jaw. If the sores/bumps are hard like bone and don't wiggle when you try to move them, it's probably lumpy jaw. Infuse her with sodium iodide now then in two weeks again. She may abort her calf so beware if she's bred. I just sold a really good cow that got into an advanced stage before I realized it and treated it. Couldn't stop it so she went to town as soon as she calved.
 

F5CHASER

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You know I never thought about having some sort of toxic grass around here but that is a good point.  Looking back I have taken off 3-4 cows in the past year that had a lumpy jaw and were doing poorly.  I blamed it on some kind of cancer or something.  I am in Muskogee Co., Oklahoma but I will do some scouting around about our grasses.  I know we have to supplement the cows for the fescue grass we have in places but that generally causes their hoofs to grow long if they get infected.

I will contact my vet tomorrow and see if I can get some sodium iodide.  Thanks for the help.
 

F5CHASER

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Oct 22, 2008
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I did some reading on cattle.com and I guarantee you this is lumpy jaw. 

Common Symptoms

  1. Lumps are formed on the joints inside the mouth
  2. The tissues inside the mouth become sift and swollen
  3. There might be a presence of yellow pus in the swollen areas
  4. Nearby areas of the mouth might be affected which may cause chewing to become very difficult and painful for the animal
  5. Cattle may lose teeth irregularly
  6. A gradual weakness can be seen in the affected cattle as they avoid eating
  7. Difficulty in breathing
 
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