Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Bloat. The worst kind of Stomach Ache

When a calf acts like a pig, it can mean real trouble.

Last evening, just as the sun was setting, Keith noticed one of our calves reclining on its side. This is often a bad sign. Occasionally a calf will lay flat out in the sunshine, basking, but when the sun is down a calf on its side...not good.

Upon closer inspection it was obvious to Keith that the little guys belly was far too big, and he was bloating up with gas. Cause? He most likely was a real pig during the last hay feeding and dove deep down in the wheelbarrow full of hay flakes hogging all the very fine, very tender hay leaves. Yummy stuff. Or the bigger calves ate first and he got what fell to the bottom, the tastier finer leaves.

However his "reward" was not so sweet.



Seems that these smaller leaves with fine particle matter will float up on top of the stomach fluid , specifically in the rumen, and this fluid ferments too fast developing large amounts of gas. If the calf is able to eructate (belch) or expel the gas rectally (the nerves that cause these reflexes are impaired with the increases pressure) he might correct the problem himself but if the pressure gets too great too fast, belching stops and the animal gets in trouble.

If untreated the distended rumen will press up against the diaphragm, preventing inhalation and the animal will suffocate and die.

Fortunately, we did catch it before we lost him. We tried walking the little guy first, he did get up easy enough. I prodded him from the back with a small stick and the occasional WHUMP on his back side while Keith went out to pasture to bring the cows in for milking But 25 minutes later he was worse. No gas, no manure expelled, no belching and his left side (where the rumen in located ) was growing before my eyes.

And his gait was staggering. In addition his side made that tell tale tight drum noise when I flicked it with my fingers. Keith came back and agreed with the retired nurses assessment, so he brought out the big guns, a puncture trochar and a cannula.



He showed me the best spot to puncture the upper abd. on the left flack about 8 inches below the spine and after tying the calf to a post he jabbed him firmly. Pulling out the trochar but leaving in the metal cannula we were able to immediately hear air escaping.




Within just 2-3 minutes, the calf's belly was markedly improved and back to near normal size. The cannula was removed and the wound watched.

The calf , you could tell, felt immediately better and walked away normally. Keith checked on him several times before going to bed and again early this am.



 This morning I did some more research about cattle bloat and read that pasture raised animals (like ours) who are fed alfalfa in the fall, especially when the nights are cool and the dew is heavy in the am (he was, and  it was)  will bloat twice as often as in summer. The month of October is the worst. Bingo!

Now, almost 24 hours later and the little steer calf is doing well. I wonder what we'll do for excitement THIS evening?




21 comments:

  1. You guys are far more experienced than I in the dairy world, but I am curious... with our dairy goats, when we lived in CO and the goats had to live year round on almost entirely alfalfa, I quickly learned to feed baking soda for both prevention and treatment of bloat. As long as I fed it periodically, most never had a problem. I had one doe, however, that was sensitive to pure alfalfa and would randomly bloat up pretty significantly. As long as I caught it early enough, I would just dump a few tsps of baking soda powder down the hatch, and within the hour, the bloat would be gone. Is this something you have tried? We have our first cows this year, and I haven't experienced bloat yet, so am curious if this baking soda treatment would work on them.

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    1. Red Gate...that is amazing and makes absolute common sense. I am certainly going to research that on the Bovine end. THANKS!

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  2. We had a calf bloat once earlier this spring. We had fed them some rich alfalfa and that must have caused it. We didn't have a puncture trochar and cannula. Fortunately my wife's father was here and said he had heard it was recommended to shove a raw egg down their throat. Their throat muscles crush the shell and by that time it is far enough down they have to swallow it. I also did some quick research online and found recommendations to mix mineral oil and baking soda. Each time we would give an egg and use a syringe to force some mineral oil/baking soda mixture down the throat the calf would perk up, but then after 20-30 minutes would start getting worse again. After 3-4 times administering the egg and oil/soda mixture he perked up and remained active and alert. Never had a problem again. Our method was definitely a bit more work but didn't require us newbies to attempt to puncture the correct place without the correct tools.....and it avoided costs of having a vet come out.

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    1. Often, when the bloat is not as advanced as ours was, a large boar feeding tube can be threaded into the rumen via the use of a hollow metal or PVC pipe (rounded edges) to keep the animal from chewing on the softer garden hose or feeding tube. Then a gallon or two (large cow) of warm water with mineral oil is pumped into the stomach for laxative effects. In our little guy who was not belching or passing gas we needed to do something a little more faster acting. It is best to have a vet or experienced cow man do the actual trochar puncture.. I looked on you-tube to see if any good videos about the procedure because sometimes if a vet is an hour away your animal is excuse the expression "dead meat" so the ability to do the puncture may save their life. Sadly though I did not find a GOOD you tube video on this method. Yet. The egg trick is new to me too and I wonder what its' effect is on the gas? More research for me!

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    2. I'm not entirely sure that the egg had any effect. We put the eggs down him along with the mineral oil/baking soda mixture so it may not have been the egg at all. He was to the point where he wasn't belching or gassing either and we could barely get him up, and even then his front legs would stay stiff/straight and we couldn't get him to move around at all. Eventually he would simply sink back down to the ground. If I had to do it all over again I think I would give him larger amounts of the oil/soda mixture right up front as it took multiple doses of the 6-8 ounces we were giving him at a time to where he finally started acting more normal.

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  3. Wow, I'm happy this had a positive ending! Lucky little calf. :)

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    1. Laura, because we were just starting chores and outside at the time we caught this guy in time. We were lucky too!

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  4. Poor boy. I've seen this with sheep, where the same treatment was employed.

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    1. Sheep. I want some but hubbie says no. Which means I just have to ask again tomorrow.

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  5. Oh you crazy, crazy kids! Miss you guys!

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  6. Wow. We've had to treat bloat in our goats three times (hmmmmm....and always the same goat. Glutton she is.) and did the walking around, massaging the belly, drenching with oil & baking soda and luckily everything came out fine (pun intended). I don't think I'd be confident enough to puncture into a goat's stomach, glad you & your man's experience helped in solving this not-so-little guys potentially fatal belly ache.

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    1. What is it with these animals and their complex stomach issues? Just one more reason we tell our visitors "Do Not Feed". And another reason why I personally get worked up angry when someone tells us they are raising their animals on garbage they get from restaurants/grocery store dumpsters etc. Garbage in is garbage out and often results in dead farm animals

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  7. I have two goats (pets) and the lady I got them from recommended putting out a small feeder filled with baking soda. They eat it themselves when they need it. Amazes me.

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    1. I'm seeing a real baking soda trend her...and I love the self serve idea too!

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  8. I have two goats (pets) and the lady I got them from recommended putting out a small feeder filled with baking soda. They eat it themselves when they need it. Amazes me.

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  9. I have heard about horses (on MASH) with the same problem. They had to give it a massive enema. Well, it was on MASH.

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    1. Susan, I remember that episode. Yes I do. And now you've made me miss MASH. Nice going!

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  10. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is like Tums (calcium carbonate) for rumenants. We are in the central Illinois farm beginnings class and I am excited that I may get to use my vet tech training on our farm!

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  12. Thanks for the reminder of where to puncture! I googled it and your blog popped up. We didn't have trochar but my husband thought of a syringe with the plunger taken out. Lamb deflated like a balloon. Works like a charm and doesn't leave a hole. And while it's apparently better to try releasing gas other ways first, it was such quick relief for the little guy that we'll likely go straight to poking bloated lambs with a syringe from now on. Glad your post was here to make sure we poked the right spot though! Thanks.

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