Cause of bloat in animals?

OriginV

What is the cause of bloat in animals and what is the treatment used?

Markcheese

Have heard of it caused by clover, in saying that the guy telling me said cows would have to be going from a field with almost none to fields with nothing but clover... He used to jog the cows up and down the hill to get them farting ...no word of a lie...
You can buy bloat oil to feed the cows, or in extreme cases use a bloat knife (and know where you're stabbing)
Pretty sure it's feed related ...

crackcrack30

Change of diet.
Meal.... (too much of it).

Sam Kade

Trocar and cannula

You pierce the animals stomach with it then remove the needle and it will keep releasing gas every time it builds up in its stomach.

bbam

Particularly in smaller stock we find that if you take the animal in off grass and feed hay and water for a day or two it will pass quickly (no pun intended).. It usually doesn't come back but sometimes does...

Lastin

An old farmer told me a cure for bloat in calves was to give the calf a jar of honey

Milked out

Liquid paraffin I think helps to clear it

Sam Kade

Linseed oil in a drench or mixed with feed also helps. If a calf is under pressure with bloat you need to puncture it's stomach or use a stomach tube to release gas.

F.D

Lost a weanling to it recently, all fine that morning dead that afternoon
had to take all the young stock off freshly receeded ground, had a good bit of clover in it, funny thing is they have been on it from the first grazing onwards but i reckon it must have been the burst of growth recently that made it richer or something... have seen it relieved with a heavy guage syringe needle to let off the gas, but you could see a noticable difference in them from walking them from one field to another it must have made things move along

bbam

Sam Kade wrote: »

Linseed oil in a drench or mixed with feed also helps. If a calf is under pressure with bloat you need to puncture it's stomach or use a stomach tube to release gas.

Or if your feeling brave and the calf is managable you could roll it onto its back, twist the body by moving front and rear legs sideways but opposite ways.. has worked in the past when it was bad, but your risking a kick in the face !!

blue5000

OP if you have a lot of clover to graze give the cattle hay or straw to prevent the bloat. Easiest way is a ring feeder or feeder trailer in with them. Trailer is probably better so you can move it if they haven't eaten all the hay/straw when the grass is finished.

mikeoh

We were tortured with few years ago in a reseeded field full of clover...for a finish we had to strip graze it very tight so they would have it ate in about 2-3 hours and then coming back to an old field ......if anyone had it bad they had to get a pint of treacle and go into yard for 24 hours to fart it off!!!

nashmach

blue5000 wrote: »

OP if you have a lot of clover to graze give the cattle hay or straw to prevent the bloat. Easiest way is a ring feeder or feeder trailer in with them. Trailer is probably better so you can move it if they haven't eaten all the hay/straw when the grass is finished.

As blue says straw will help.

Also if you are meal feeding, some bread soda in the meal is also a good preventative measure.

Sam Kade

F.D wrote: »

Lost a weanling to it recently, all fine that morning dead that afternoon
had to take all the young stock off freshly receeded ground, had a good bit of clover in it, funny thing is they have been on it from the first grazing onwards but i reckon it must have been the burst of growth recently that made it richer or something... have seen it relieved with a heavy guage syringe needle to let off the gas, but you could see a noticable difference in them from walking them from one field to another it must have made things move along

Are you sure it wasn't blackleg as they will swell up the same as bloat. I got caught out with that a few times as I only vaccinated them as calves with 1 injection. Now I always give a booster shot 6 weeks after the first and another the following year. If it is bloat you can get a dispenser to put an additive in the water trough.