calf with breathing issues and no temp

[dburkhart]

We have a little bull calf -- 3 months old-- that is breathing hard to the point of panting. When he runs a little, his tongue hangs out and he is struggling to breathe. We took his temp and he is normal. Not sure what the next step is.

 

[dun]

What comes to mind is an early stage of pneumonia, a summer cold or allergys. If you can or find someone that can, listen to his lungs with a stethoscope. How long has he been like this, could it just be a poor adaption to extreme heat/humidity?

 

[dburkhart]

He's been that way for a month. We treated with Draxxine at first. He seemed to improve slightly but still seems to struggle with breathing. He seems to be taking deep breathes like he just can't quite get his lungs filled. He is full of piss and vinegar when I rope him. But the panting, tongue hanging out, and hard breathing is a concern. We are at higher altitude (5900 feet); could that be an issue? He was born on the property and mom is well adapted. It has been fairly good weather, we had a little bit of rain -- 3" worth--a couple of weeks ago but he was in the pasture most of time.

 

[dun]

He's been that way for a month. We treated with Draxxine at first. He seemed to improve slightly but still seems to struggle with breathing. He seems to be taking deep breathes like he just can't quite get his lungs filled. He is full of be nice and vinegar when I rope him. But the panting, tongue hanging out, and hard breathing is a concern. We are at higher altitude (5900 feet); could that be an issue? He was born on the property and mom is well adapted. It has been fairly good weather, we had a little bit of rain -- 3" worth--a couple of weeks ago but he was in the pasture most of time.

I don;t know about brisket disease, if 5900 is high enough to be an issue. We have a calf that has sounded that way since birth, he's now 10 months old. The vet looked down his throat/windpipe and he has a flap of weird skin by his larynx. Doesn;t bother him as much as it does me listening to him breathe. The vet basicly had just gotten a new toy (the scope for looking down their throat/windpipe and wanted to see how it worked.

 

[dburkhart]

Thanks; I guess we'll just take him into the vet and see if there is a similar issue. Thanks again.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

The calf may have had respiratory illness after birth and you were unaware of it. This can cause permanent damage to the lungs. Calf can be healthy, no fever, but doesn't have the lung capacity to handle exersion. Referred to as "a lunger".