3.5 month calf stretched neck

[Moomummy]

We have a 3.5 month old bull calf, that overnight a couple of weeks ago, presented with a stretched neck.

He is fully weaned and was out on grass.
When it first presented he also had a cough, so we done a Albex Drench on advice from the vet - cough now gone

He had no temperature, no scour, and no other signs of sickness

Since then, his weight gains have been very low, but he is doing all the right things eating, drinking, pooing et cetera

His eyes are bright, he isn’t” stargazing”, but he is slow to move and his coat seems a little duller than normal and isn’t his normal bubbly self

I have been rubbing/massaging his neck gently for the last week to see if that will help loosen the muscles in case he has just pulled a muscle, but yesterday we noticed two lumps on either side of his neck behind his ears.

Will be seeing the vet again today, just wondered if anyone’s come across this before?

 

[Blaithin]

Stretched out neck - like trouble breathing?

Diptheria is one you see here sometimes. Takes a long time to heal even once the infection has been treated. Not sure how prevalent it is in the UK.

Two lumps behind the ears sounds like swollen lymph nodes which indicates an infection somewhere.

 

[Moomummy]

He has no trouble breathing - his neck is literally stretched out as though he were craning forward to see something in the distance……..

The gentle massage does seem to be helping so we think maybe he took a knock or pulled it whilst coughing

The vet thinks could be lymph nodes- but he’s no sign of any infection and no temperature

He’s had a shot of low level pain relief this evening to see if that helps ease him at all - and we will see how he does tomorrow