Watch: know where to inject cattle

Intramuscular or subcutaneous

There are several reasons for administering injections to cattle, according to veterinary surgeon Donal Lynch: “Some dosing products will be administered by injection, generally vaccinations will be administered by an injection and we also have certain times where we have to get anti-inflammatory injections and antibiotics into an animal.

There are two types of injections that we are going to be doing – intramuscular or subcutaneous, otherwise known as under the skin, injections. If we are giving an intramuscular injection then we are going to be always giving this in the neck of the animal,” he said. The green area marked on the neck of the animal above shows where farmers should inject into. “When injecting cattle into the neck it will generally be an intramuscular injection,” Donal said. “Go the width of a hand down from the top of the neck and the width of a hand forward from the line of the shoulder.” With an intramuscular injection inject straight into the animal at a 90° angle using a clean syringe and a clean needle.

According to Donal the aim is to inject about 4in forward from the shoulder of the animal and 4in down from the top of the animal’s neck.

Many farmers will still inject into the rump of the animal. The green circle denotes where some people would inject either an antibiotic or an anti-inflammatory. Any time you give an injection either under the skin or into the muscle there is always the risk of an abscess. If you get an abscess in the rump of the animal it is a very significant issue.

“My advice would be that you never give any injection into the rump of the animal,” said Donal. “When that animal gets slaughtered it could result in a large loss in meat yield due to the meat being unsuitable for consumption.”

Under the skin

“There are two options for giving a subcutaneous injection. You can give it in the triangle marked on the neck of the animal or you can also give it behind the shoulder over the rib cage, marked by the green oval on the side of the animal. Behind the shoulder and into the neck are the good places to give the injections to an animal, not the rump,” Donal said.

“When injecting under the skin we are going to be going in sideways. Some people will catch a fold of skin and hold it out to inject while other people will just angle the needle sideways and you will still get in under the skin.”

Fear of the neck

Many farmers may be afraid to inject into the neck as they have never done it before. However, once you know where to go with the needle there is no need to worry according to Donal. “If you look at the neck a lot of people will think that the widest piece of the neck is the best place to inject but that is not correct.

“A lot of people think that the animal’s spine runs along the top of the neck but it actually doesn’t. The animal’s spine actually runs half way down the animal’s neck (as shown in the diagram). The spine is lower down in the neck, with muscle above it. People have injected lower down in the neck thinking that they are doing right where in fact they are injecting into a bony area. It tends to be sore on the animal and as there is less muscle mass there for the volume of the injection that you are putting in. This leads to a higher risk of an abscess developing,” Donal said.

“It is very unlikely that you are going to inject into the spine itself as it is a big thick bony structure. However, there is a good chance that you will in fact hit bone. Injecting into the lower part of the neck won’t be as effective, it won’t be as easy to do and it will be more painful for the animal.”

Points to remember

When injecting animals with an antibiotic or anti-inflammatory a new needle and syringe should always be used.When using an automatic injector, there is no exact figure, but a new needle every 10 animals is good practice. If needles are overused, they can become blunt and increase the chances of infection and abscesses.

A clean site on the animal should always be chosen when injecting. If there is an area of the neck or side of the animal that is contaminated with faeces then it is best to try and avoid this area and pick a clean spot to inject. It is vital to ensure cattle are properly restrained in a head-scoop if possible when injecting in the neck.