7 month old calf legume bloat

[Skiesblue]

He got into alfalfa cubes. I went for cooking oil, baking soda then bloat medicine. He’s on his feet, expelling gas at both ends but still distended. Anything else I can do? No vet available yet.

 

[Latestarter]

Do you have a large animal vet that can put one of those "screw in" bloat trocars?
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/the-incredible-dr-pol/videos/a-bloated-calf/
http://www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra/2012/07jul12/0712hn_pasture_bloat.html

 

[Skiesblue]

Thanks. I’ll check out your link. He’s much improved today. What a shock to find him looking like he’d swallowed a couple of beach balls. I found out what I didn’t know, didn’t have and didn’t have access to. He still has some left side bloat but is eating hay and trotted out smartly to greet my husband this a.m. Should we try to tube out any remaining gas? He’s grazing some short grass also. Will he need anything else for his digestion? There doesn’t seem to be much about recovery.

 

[Latestarter]

I'm not a cattle person... Let me tag a couple. @farmerjan @greybeard @jhm47 @Wehner Homestead @WildRoseBeef (in alphabetical order) & I know there are others.

 

[Skiesblue]

He continues to improve. I on the other hand have a few new grey hairs. The Dr. Pol vid made it look so easy. Bloat then presto! That looks like something I should learn more about.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

So...a couple things. Did he have just gas or frothy bloat? It seems like you might’ve treated for both.

Keep a tube on hand! We do. There’s also a pocket knife kept in the barn for cutting bale strings that can be used as a last resort if they stop breathing. You’d just stab a hole at the highest point in the side and twist once. The hole will need addressed by a vet but when it’s that or a dead bovine, I’ll deal with the hole. As far as the tube, some kind of flexible plastic that doesn’t have a sharp end (going in) can be sanded to smooth any sharp or rough edges. About 3/4” in diameter is fine for anything over 500#. You’ll want about a 4-5 foot piece just to have plenty of length. If it’s gas bloat, you’ll hear the gas exiting the “stomach.”

Exercise is encouraged to keep the gas moving through the system.

Frothy bloat is a whole other bear. My grandpa stabbed a cow that he was watching lose her ability to breathe. Some foam came out of the hole but it happened so fast and she was too far from the barn to save her. She suffocated! Anyway, our experience was a weaned bull calf about 700# that bloated, I tubed him 3-4 x’s but never got that “woosh” sound. I found some foamy bubbles on the end of the tube I was putting in him and knew I was fighting a losing battle. Vet was out of town for the weekend and of course it was a Sat evening so I decided I was going to try something. I got a balling (bolus) gun and filled it with Tums. I put THREE sets of however many fit in him and walked him around the pasture slowly for about 30 min. He had free access to water, no feed or hay at that time. He was left in a paddock with only water for two hours. I checked him again and the bloat was coming down but still there. I gave him two more sets of Tums and some dry hay, along with plenty of fresh water. He was fine the next morning. We don’t know what caused his frothy bloat as nothing had changed but we reintroduced feed slowly. Like one pound only for three days and increased by a pound or half pound every three or so days as he tolerated it. (We watched for bloat and diarrhea.) We also made sure he got plenty of exercise and was restricted to dry hay after that. That was probably five years ago. We sold him after he was back to normal with a warning. Haven’t had any issues with him or any of our stock since.

Always withhold feed in bloat and reintroduce slowly once bloat is completely gone! Water is fine at all times. Dry hay (not in excess) after bloat is markedly reduced and improving.

 

[Skiesblue]

Gassy bloat and it came back yesterday evening but not as badly. It subsided overnight. He did get access before bloat to some allstock for the sheep but didn’t gorge on it. My pasture is just greening up with very short rye and assorted legumes all very sheep grazed. He is grazing but I can’t imagine he’s getting enough legume to blow up. He has hay free access and water of course. He’s been weaned about 3 weeks and was getting small cattle cubes and corn and was doing ok. Alfalfa cubes were added and l think that started something.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

They can bloat on corn...it just depends on how well his body is digesting it. I’d cut everything but grass hay out (and your grazing situation sounds like nothing to contribute.) Avoid alfalfa. Give his gut several days to settle! Probios won’t hurt anything.

 

[Skiesblue]

He’s nosing his empty trough and giving me the eye. His manure has firmed back up and no bloating. I thought I’d restart him on the 13% range cubes and some good quality yogurt in amounts suggested for his size. I think he was getting over fed.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Keep in mind that cattle will founder themselves. (Overeat.) They don’t always know what is best for themselves with changes humans have made to their diet.