Former Emmerdale actor Kelvin Fletcher dealt with an unexpected diagnosis when his bull calf Ray was set to appear at the Royal Cheshire Show
Kelvin Fletcher has revealed his shock after one of his calves received an unexpected health diagnosis in the most recent instalment of Fletcher’s Family Farm.
The former Emmerdale actor and his wife Liz Marsland have been documenting their agricultural adventure on ITV since 2022.
Now in their fourth year of farming, the family and their four youngsters head back to the Royal Cheshire Show to enter their bull calf Ray into competition.
However, the evening before his scheduled appearance, Kelvin discloses that Ray has “taken a turn” and summons on-site veterinarian Matt for an examination.
After confessing he was in “two minds” about whether to exhibit him, Kelvin describes how Ray is struggling to settle in the exhibitors’ marquee, reports the Express.
Matt checks Ray’s temperature and finds he’s running at 103 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly above the optimal average of 101.5 degrees.
“Quite often we’ll see it,” Matt explains. “He’s had quite a bit of stress with that, he’s had a journey.
“It’s the stress of transport, it’s the stress of show. That higher level of stress knocks through immunity a little bit and he’s just started with a bit of pneumonia.”
Whilst Ray’s diagnosis sounds alarming, Matt reassured Kelvin that pneumonia in cattle is far less worrying than it can be in people.
“Farmers will hear the term pneumonia and it feels a bit alarmist, because we wouldn’t describe something as pneumonia in humans unless it was, sort of, on death’s door,” Matt went on. “But we refer to pneumonia quite commonly in cattle.”
Matt informs Kelvin that Ray will receive an anti-inflammatory medication to reduce both his temperature and the swelling in his chest, alongside a single dose of antibiotic.
He then recommends Kelvin to “leave him be” for a period to help lower his stress levels.
“Poor Ray,” Kelvin says. “It’s an incredibly rough start to this year’s show. I’m just hoping the medicine takes effect soon and the vet will be back first thing to see how he’s faring.”
Whilst comforting Ray following his consultation with Matt, Kelvin acknowledges: “Well, that’s a bit of a turn of events, really.
“That shows what the experienced farmers [know]. It’s a good job that they alerted me to that because I would have absolutely missed that, I would not have known to look for that.
“So, looks like we’ve got in just in time there. I’m feeling, yeah, a bit surprised. I was not expecting this. You’ve just got to roll with the punches, haven’t you?”
Kelvin revealed to viewers that he would decide the following morning whether Ray would be shown, as ensuring the calf’s health was restored remained the top priority.
Watch the most recent episode of Kelvin and Liz’s farming journey to find out whether Ray was well enough to make his first appearance.
