Steer BloatingBy Kylie Aguilar
What is Bloating
A form of indigestion marked by excessive accumulation of gas in the rumen. Distension of the left side of animal as the primary sign.
Causes
- The amount of intake of feed. (grasses, hay, etc.)
- Rate of digestion of cattle. (Depending on their digestive system)
- An inherited tendency for bloating. (could be brought down from cattle ancestry)
How to Fix
Cattle Trocar
- Last Rib
- Tips of transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae
- Paralumbar fossa
- Cord of the flank
Sum it all
Immediately after cattle consume a meal, the digestive process creates gases in the rumen.
Most of the gases are eliminated by eructation (belching). Any interruption of this normal gas accumulation or bloat.
In more severe bloat, the cattle's rumen is swollen (especially on the left side), it urinates and defecates frequently, bellows and staggers.
If the condition continues death is likely caused by suffocation, when swollen rumen pushes against the diaphragm and prevents inhalation.
In a few cases a trochar and cannula punched through the side into the rumen will relieve gassy bloat when stomach tube has not worked.