Instructions
Load the barrel with medication. Use a new, sterile needle to load the first time, and leave this needle sticking in the medication vial to use for refills. Cover the needle with the vial cap to maintain product cleanliness.
Insert the barrel into the frame, and set the correct dose per animal, according to product instructions.
Attach a new, sterile needle to the barrel. Select a needle size and length appropriate to the product, the animal and the type of injection. Short needles are best for subcutaneous injections and longer ones for intramuscular injections. Needle gauge (size) should be as small as practical for the medication to reduce leakage of medication from the site. The higher the number, the smaller the diameter of the needle (24-gauge is smaller than 14-gauge).
Select and clean an injection site. Cleaning is important, as it reduces the chances of site infection. Site selection should be in a part of the animal that does not affect the better cuts of meat, such as the large muscles of the hindquarters, as injections there can cause scar tissue. Neck sites are better in general.
Insert the needle quickly and firmly, and pull the trigger to inject the medication. Needles may be used multiple times in rapid succession if kept clean, but change needles if they become contaminated. If a needle is hard to insert or resists, it may have become dull or burred (roughened). Count the number of animals that have already been injected with it and decide if a new needle is appropriate. For cattle, change needles after every 10 to 15 animals.
Clean the empty by flushing it with distilled water heated to 180 degrees or hotter. Do this three to five times. Clean the outside of the syringe with a warm soap-and-water solution and a brush. Let the syringe cool to room temperature before using it again, as heat can affect some medications.
Refill the syringe using the needle left in the medication bottle and continue injecting until all animals have been treated.
How to Use a Hauptner Syringe
The Hauptner syringe is a multi-dose syringe enclosed in an aluminum frame that has a pistol-grip handle. The syringe is operated by a trigger and delivers a pre-set dose of 1 to 5 cc with each pull of the trigger. This makes it ideal for administering vaccines and other medications to large groups of animals, such as cattle and swine. Because of the needle's many moving parts, constant maintenance is necessary, but the convenience of being able to vaccinate several animals accurately in rapid succession is a great advantage.