YOUNG CALVE WITH NAVAL PROBLEMS

[herfordsrus]

We have a week old bull calf, seemed fine when he was born, a couple of days later, the navel seemed enlarged,
Put him on Excenel for 5 days, there is no oozing our redness, and doesn't appear sore,
his Temp is normal , still a bit lethargic, and when you touch his navel, don't laugh, but it feels like a hard penis.
Could this be something else???

 

[randiliana]

How big is it now? Sounds like he may have some scar tissue. I think most calves have that "hard" thing there, just that it is pretty small on a healthy calf, and must dry up and go away. Most likely residual from the infection. May never go completely away. You might want to keep him on antibiotics a bit longer, or at least keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't relapse. Navel infections are hard to treat.

 

[herfordsrus]

There is no swelling now, just the hardness you feel, I would think the hardness feels lik it is a couple inches long

 

[Hunny Do Ranch]

We had a heifer like that and it doesn't bother her and has been getting smaller as it dries out. It was never infected.

 

[herfordsrus]

We had a heifer like that and it doesn't bother her and has been getting smaller as it dries out. It was never infected.

If it isn't an infection what was it?

 

[Hunny Do Ranch]

I am not sure what it was but she is healthy. I compared the feeling to another heifer and the one was just a bit bigger but was also a bigger calf. I am not concerned about it. It wasn't leaking anything, hot or swollen. So I just left it alone. That was 3 weeks ago and I haven't felt it since but she is perfectly fine. I don't think I would worry about it.

 

[milkmaid]

There can be several different kinds of navel swellings...

-the soft protrusion indicative of a hernia, that goes back into the abdominal cavity when manipulated,
-the hot hard circular lump that means an infection, sometimes with a scab or drainage,
-the hard lump left after a navel infection is eliminated; it's just scar tissue and there's no heat in the area,
-the strange bit of extra skin in the navel area that feels completely empty, but sometimes has a 'something' inside - perhaps left over from the umbilical cord? I don't know what it is and I only remember encountering it in a couple heifer calves. Perhaps it's quite common in bull calves, but I don't usually examine their navels unless something looks abnormal. It disappears on its own over time.