It's that time of year when many farmers will look at some 3rd or second crop hayfields and ascertain that there just isn't enough there to pencil out machine harvesting.(Especially given the droughty conditions in many areas).
So they may elect to harvest it using cattle. A sound strategy mind you, but one that is ripe with the possibility of BLOAT. You take cattle who have been grubbing down a pasture and move them into rich, legumous alfalfa or clover, and they tend to gorge themselves and BLOAT.
Firstoff, I want to clearly state that Bloat, like milk fever, MUST be treated as an acute emergency. If you go and post a question about it, then 2-4 hours pass while you receive advice and decide what to do, your cow will be dead.
Even calling a vet in may not be quick enough if you live any distance from one. If you call a vet, and he/she is in the middle of a surgery, or on a farm call working a group of livestock, they will arrive to late to help you.
That said, this post is to help you with preventative strategies, education about it, and possibly a plan to deal with it.
PREVENTION - Best I know is two things: Limit grazing time to 2 hours first day, then 3 hours second day and then remove cattle from rich feed pasture. Observe for symptoms. Secondly, before moving cattle to new pasture, stuff them full of dry hay. Quality is not so important here, just get them to eat enough where they are partially full and can only eat so much rich stuff .
There is a product called BloatBlockers..which I understand is blocks similar to salt blocks that lessen effects of bloat. I have no experience with them.
Anybody use them? Do they work? Experiences?
Symptoms: General swelling up of body cavity, especially noted in the normally sunken triangle area along upper rear side of cow below the shortribs. If this area is taut like a snare drum, you've got bloat.
Advanced cases- If cow is kicking at side of her stomach repeatedly showing discomfort, ,and/or labored breathing, at this stage you must intervene and treat cow. The next stage is where the swelling of gas forming inside body cavity actually crushes lungs and animal suffocates and dies. As this process evolves, animal will drop to it's knees, stagger, or fall down. They might still be saved at that stage with quick, decisive action, if you can release that gas and let respiratory organs resume normal function.
SOME TOOLS: At your local vet office, a vet supply catalogue, or a fleet farm there are different solutions, pastes, gels which can be administered orally at onset of bloat. These products all work to chemically reverse or dissapate chemical reaction which is causing the bloat.
Readers please post your preferred products and which have worked best for you. I will only say this - if you own cattle- BUY SOME!!! Have these products on farm and where you and anyone there knows where they are and how to administer them.
Failing to have these on hand, or an advanced case where animal is going to die, your LAST RESORT is to make a surgical incision in the middle of the gas bulge. Generally if you span your hand from the haunch bone to the last rib, your index finger will point to the correct spot.
Using a CLEAN knife with a blade from 4-8 inches long, pierce right thru the skin and underlying tissues, then immediately twist knife at right angle to the cut, producing a passage way for gas to escape. You should hear gas escaping, and it will have a sweet rich smell like acetylene welding gas.
You may actually observe cow's body cavity deflate at this time.
Here's the problem now - If you remove knife now, the fermentation of gas may not have completed it's cycle, so you have to insert an airway( like a small diameter piece of garden hose or milker claw hose, and then tape it to cow's side with duct tape, to have a passage for gas to escape. You may have to leave in cow;s side for as much as 24 hours to be completely safe.
Now, clearly, these are crude materials, but they work. A vet would have a special Trocar and Canula for this purpose, but your cow may be dead by the time he gets there with them.
If you have to employ this last procedure, treat cow with antibiotics immediately, as an infection is probable. Have vet follow up, cleanse incision area, stitch it shut again as appropriate. If you can get the gas released from the animal, you will have the luxury of doing this follow up.
I cannot stress enough, treat bloat as an acute emergency and take action.
Employ whatever you have at your disposal to get gas off animal's organs, and monitor to be sure bloat does not continue if chemical reaction proceeds after releasing gas via incision method.
Apologize in advance for such a lengthy post, LOL. Please feel free to discuss strategies and knowledge you folks have so others can avoid loss of stock from bloat. Sincerely, UpNorth
.cheers.
