Injections:
How to give them and where to
give them
Chris Ellason
Two Most Common Types of
Injections
 Subcutaneous (SC)
 Intramuscular (IM)
 Intravenous
Subcutaneous Injections
 Beneath the skin, on top of the muscle layer
SC Injection Information
 Ideal site for cattle and horses is side of
the neck. With needles being 16-18 ga
and 1”-1½”
 Swine, sheep and goats-flank and
abdomen are common injection sites.
Needles used should be 16-20 ga and
¾”-1”
How to administer SC
 Lift the skin away from the underlying tissue
 Insert the needle into the raised skin
How to administer SC cont.
 Lightly pull out on the plunger, observe for
blood. If blood appears withdraw the syringe
slightly before making the injection
 Administer the injection
 Massage the area to aid in dispersing the
drug
SC Injection Facts
 Active agent is absorbed more slowly when
administered SC than IV
 Drugs used in SC injections are available
over a longer period of time
Intramuscular Injections
 Made directly into a major muscle mass with 18-
20 ga needle that is 1”-1½” long
Equine Injection Sites
Goat Injection Site
Reasons for Injection Sites
 Giving injections in other areas will result in
damage to valuable cuts of meat
 Any damaged piece of meat must be cut out
and discarded before sale or consumption
Facts about IM Injections
 Absorption is usually rapid due to the blood
supply to muscle tissue
 Do not administer more than 10-15cc per
injection site
 Too much drug in one area may result in
muscle necrosis
Deworming
 Trying to prevent internal parasites
 Different dewormers



Ivomec
Cydectin
Safeguard
 How do we check for worms
Preventative Injections
 7 way vaccine

Preventative vaccine for clostridiums

Clostridium is a spore that comes from the
ground
 Lepto (Pomona: main strain for cattle)



Ingested organism
Spread primarily in the urine
Can cause abortions
Contagious Diseases
 IBR: Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis
 PI3: Parainfluenza
 BVD: Bovine Virus Diarreha
 BRSV: Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus
 All are respiratory problems
IBR
 Bovine Herpes Virus 1
 Infects and damages the lining cells of the
respiratory tract

Causes flagella in trachea to lay over and not
able to stop bacteria from entering the lungs
 Nasal and ocular discharge
 Can cause abortions
PI3 and BRSV
 Exposure common when cattle are mixed
 Infection causes damage to the surface cells
of the lungs


PI3 is easily resolved with a vaccine
BRSV can be a real problem, especially if
there is concurrent BVD in herd
BVD
 RNA virus
 Associated with multiple viral infections of the
respiratory tract of calves
Other problems
 Bangs (Brucellosis)

Transferred from cows to heifer calves


Get through the reproductive tract or from milk
Can cause abortions in cattle
 Foot Rot: Seen more in dry weather when
foot is dry


Catch it early give sulphur pills and LA 200
Also doctor with kopertox
Other problems
 Pinkeye


Has to be an abrasion on the eye for the
organism to do harm
#1 cause for pinkeye is cattle eating hay from
a round bale

Put bales on their ends to help prevent
Conclusion
 Read the label
 Know your injection site
 Know the proper way of giving the injection