abcess/wound on belly??

gwithrow · #1 10/06/14, 06:02 AM

we have a nice big healthy cow, maybe 6 years old, who has a wound or abscess on her belly, right in her umbilical area...it is a round hole with tissue protruding out not too far...red but not bleeding...about the size of a silver dollar....what in the world could this be? it is not a wart

she is due to calve soon so I don't want to mess with her much, but I have never seen anything like this before....I will try today to spray the area with some betadine solution using a garden sprayer....

it is not easy to get up under a big cow by the way, to really see the issue....but I am wondering if it could be a tumor?...I got fairly close yesterday when she was eating on the other side of the fence, but she did look at me funny as I was lying there....

once she calves, we can put her in the head gate and maybe get a good look, but since I have no idea what to look for I thought I would ask here first....she is a nice cow and I can get the vet out, but I hate to pay for that if it is a simple thing....this has been there for at least a month or more....and it does seem a bit bigger now....of course she is bigger as well with a calf inside...

does anyone have any suggestions here????

gwithrow · #2 10/06/14, 06:19 AM

could this be a hernia, she is a big cow not a calf

CowPoke · #3 10/06/14, 07:19 AM

Can be various things such as a worm too. We used to take coke bottles and put the hole over the top and hit the bottom of it to expel the worm if superficial like you're describing. But who knows. Hard to know what it is but we can all guess

G. Seddon · #4 10/06/14, 08:13 AM

gwithrow, sounds like an umbilical hernia to me and perhaps it has become noticeable due to her pregnancy; can you call your vet and describe it, or take photos, and see what he suggests? Maybe you can wait until she calves, but I wouldn't ignore it.

CowPoke, I think you are confusing this with warbles (cattle grubs) which usually appear on the back or side of the cow; I think they are treated more with chemicals than coke bottles these days.

http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/inte...derma_spp.html

CowPoke · #5 10/06/14, 09:39 PM

Didn't see location... But never seen a hernia open up as an abscess. I worm on occasion but only if I buy a sale barn goodie. I still use a coke bottle (sometimes a Dr Pepper) if the larva has surfaced and superficial, as it states in the last paragraph of your link. "Tractable animals". Im not much on putting poison in my ladies, unless a rare case of parasite overload, which Ive avoided all but once. Anyways.... Yes, It could be a worm too, Or simply an abscessed area from some sort of trauma. Hard to ascertain without photos. Hope you find resolution and its nothing serious.

fitz · #6 10/09/14, 08:09 PM

Flies can give you problems in that area also.

fitz

idigbeets · #7 10/10/14, 05:42 AM

got a photo?

gwithrow · #8 10/10/14, 06:08 AM

the area is not red and 'open, raw' looking right now...I talked to the vet and his recommendation was to wait until she calves, then if it is still not right he will come and evaluate...since pushing a calf out will no doubt aggravate any bulging area...she still has a bulge...but it is now gray and more like scar tissue looking....

If I see anything like this again I will try to get a picture...