Alkalosis in animals. Acid-base balance in animals. Self-help ambulance

It happens that a seemingly healthy cow loses its appetite, loses weight and “melts” before our very eyes. Did you know that the cause of this condition is the usual lactic acid, which causes the disease - acidosis.

Cicatricial acidosis (Acidosis ruminis) - metabolic, i.e. metabolic-related disease of cattle. It is also called lactic acidosis because of the cause of the disease, which is the formation of excess lactic acid, which leads to various disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

Why is acidosis dangerous?

Cicatricial acidosis is associated with indigestion in the proventriculus. Acidosis begins when the pH (acid-base balance) in the rumen falls below the 5.5 limit (normal level is 6.5 - 7.0). Over time, pH can drop even lower, causing poor health.

Acidification has two consequences:

The contents in the scar stop moving, the organ becomes atonic (weak). In this state, appetite is suppressed and, consequently, the development of the animal slows down.
The change in acidity affects the bacterial flora in the rumen. The composition of bacteria changes in favor of producing acid, thereby it becomes more and more, as a result of which the condition of the animal worsens. Excess acid is absorbed through the rumen wall and metabolic acidosis becomes the most dangerous acute form for the animal, in severe cases this condition can lead to shock and death.

Alas, this condition occurs quite often, and the owners are always guilty of this.

Cause of rumen acidosis

Reason 1 . The main cause of acidosis is an improperly balanced diet, which is dominated by a high level of rapidly digestible carbohydrates (sugar and starch), this group includes barley and other grains, beets, concentrates, immature corn (grain and cobs), potatoes, apples, silage .
As you can see, standard and healthy feeds for cattle are listed here, naturally, you have a question, why suddenly healthy foods become the cause of the disease? The answer is an illiterate change in the diet, which does not take into account the period of restructuring of the cicatricial flora for a new diet.
Such feeding is especially dangerous for animals accustomed to standard dietary norms - uncontrolled access to feed becomes fatal for them, acute acidosis often leads to death.
In dairy cattle, a milder form, subacute acidosis, may occur, a condition that can cause a change in nutrition after calving.

Reason 2 . Another reason is the lack of feed containing coarse fibers.
Acute acidosis can occur if a cow is fed 50-55 kg of sugar beet, chronic acidosis will begin if more than 5 g per kg of animal weight of sugars are in the daily diet. In other words, if your cow weighs 400 kg, then 2 kg of carbohydrates daily will lead her to exhaustion. In bulls from six months, with irregular meals (1-2 times a day, which is not uncommon in farms), acidosis begins if barley is present in the diet from 25 g / kg of weight, in sheep up to 8 months this condition will begin when added to the diet only 900 gr of barley.

Reason 3 . In the villages, it is customary to cook food for animals, adding all the waste there - vegetables, bard, sour pulp. Such a diet, including acidic foods (pH 3.5-4.5), and even supplemented with silage, is a direct path to acidosis.

Acidosis symptoms

Unfortunately, the symptoms of acidosis are very similar to other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, so it is difficult to diagnose it for a non-specialist. Cattle look depressed, refuse to feed or consume it very slowly, the animals have an increased heart rate, diarrhea.
The subacute form of acidosis includes the following symptoms:

reduced feed intake;
poor body condition and weight loss;
diarrhea for no reason;
elevated temperature;
rapid pulse and breathing;
lethargy.

In the chronic stage, the signs of cicatricial acidosis are blurred. In cows, lethargy is noticeable, a weak reaction to light and noise, variable appetite, weakening of the scar, mucous membranes turn pale or turn blue. Possible diarrhea (diarrhea). The fat content of milk and milk yield are reduced.
The acute form, in comparison with the chronic one, develops very quickly and has vivid signs. Symptoms of the disease can be noticed approximately 3-12 hours after ingestion of hazardous food:

the animal does not eat, does not get up, muscles tremble;
very depressed, even to the point of coma;
the scar is swollen and does not work;
rapid breathing, supplemented by tachycardia (strong heartbeat);
nose dry, tongue coated, intense thirst, but temperature may be normal;
teeth grinding is observed - this is a very important sign!

If we consider the internal processes and make a complete diagnosis, the veterinarian will find the following deviations from the norm:

cicatricial contents smell very strongly and unpleasantly, have an unusual color. This is due to the fact that the concentration of lactic acid in the rumen rises to global limits, due to which the pH drops to 5-4;
in the rumen, the bacterial composition of the flora changes: the number of useful ciliates decreases beyond 62.5 thousand / ml, they freeze and die. In their place come harmful bacteria that multiply rapidly;
the composition of the blood also changes: the level of lactic acid can reach 40 mg and above, at a rate of 9-13 mg%, as a result of which reserve alkalinity and hemoglobin levels fall. The concentration of sugars increases (up to 3.46 mmol / l);
urinalysis shows a decrease in pH to 5.6, protein may also appear.

Acidosis can also threaten sheep, in this case, in an acute condition, the pH in the rumen drops to 4.4, at a rate of 6.2-7.3.

The chronic stage of rumen acidosis can cause complications: laminitis (hoof rheumatism), liver abscess, ruminitis (inflammation of the mucous membranes in the rumen), kidney problems, myocardial dystrophy, etc. A severe form causes the death of an animal in a day or two. Moderate rumen acidosis can be treated.

Attention! Rumen acidosis is often confused with hypotension of the proventriculus and others. Distinctive features: With acidosis, blood sugar does not decrease, there is no ketonemia (increase in ketone agents in the blood) and ketonuria (increase in ketone agents in the urine). Hypotension and atony of the scar are much easier than acidosis, in these cases there is no tachycardia, breathing is normal, the hooves are not damaged.

Treatment of ruminal acidosis in cattle

The first thing to do immediately is to eliminate the cause, that is, change the diet! In the acute form, it is necessary to wash the scar by opening it with the ruminotomy method.

Attention! This should be done by a veterinarian, since you need to have certain skills and a special tool - gastric tubes, a scalpel. In cases where measures are taken on the first day after the onset of the disease, the prognosis for a cure is favorable.

The specialist will also introduce 3 liters of rumen content from healthy cows into the animal's rumen - this will speed up the restoration of the flora. Normalization of pH should be carried out by introducing inside and intravenously a solution of baking soda and special isotonic solutions.

Sodium bicarbonate (soda) is given orally at 100 g per 1 liter of water daily 6-8 times.
Soda is administered intravenously in a 4% solution of 800-900 ml.

There are also recommendations to inject through the trocar sleeve (special funnel) 3 l of a 1% solution of potassium permanganate and 2 l of an 8% soda solution every 3-4 hours. After the procedure, the trocar sleeve is removed by sprinkling the wound with antibiotic tricillin.

Inside it is necessary to give macerobacillin (enzyme) 10-12 g per day, at least 3 days. You can replace macerobacillin with protosubtilin or amylosubtilin. Additionally, you can give aciprogentin, which activates the motility of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiac, laxatives and emetics, which normalize the work of the pancreas.

What if the cow dies and there is no veterinarian?

When reading this section, you should understand that by taking independent measures without a specialist, you assume all responsibility. This means that if the animal dies, there will be no one to blame. This advice is based on practical experience and applied in villages, but no one kept records of its results, but for lack of a better option, if necessary, try to take these measures:

immediately dilute half a pack of soda in 3 liters of water and pour the solution into the animal's mouth, holding the muzzle up to force the cow to swallow;
after that, in the same way, pour in half a liter, and if it is not zhelko, a liter of warm sunflower oil;
immediately begin to massage the scar, as intensely as possible. Alternately press on the soft part of the abdomen with your hands, and then with your knees.

In theory, if measures are taken on time, the cow will start the digestive tract, you will hear gurgling, vomiting may begin (this is excellent). If it doesn’t help, repeat the procedure again, soldering a solution of soda and oil. Some add soda directly to the oil, this option is also good.

Prevention

Prevention of rumen acidosis will be a competent development of the diet, as well as an attentive attitude to the grazing of animals. You must strictly observe the balance of protein and carbohydrates. Too much concentrate and too little fiber will sooner or later cause subacute acidosis. Up to 25 kg of fodder beets can be included in the daily diet of an adult cattle population, and it is impossible to give the entire norm at a time!

Feeding long-fiber feeds reduces the risk of subacute rumen acidosis by several times. This is due to the ability of these foods to increase saliva production during chewing and increase chewing intensity after feeding. However, long-fibre foods should not be given separately from the rest of the diet - this cannot delay the underfeeding of them or the complete rejection of "unpalatable" foods by the animal.

Also, ruminant reflexes can be stimulated by the addition of sodium bicarbonate or potassium carbonate to the feed. They suppress the development of yeast-like flora, lactobacilli, enterococci and other microflora dangerous for animals. Macerobacillin supplements (0.3 g per 100 kg) are recommended, it can be used continuously for up to 2 months daily. Also, if possible, you can feed enzymes - amylosubtilin, pectofoetidin or protosubtilin (0.3-0.5 g per 1 feed unit). You can give these drugs continuously for up to a month. Amylosubtilin (0.05 g per 1 kg) is suitable for ewes.

Rumen alkalosis is caused by bacteria of the coliproteus group, which crowd out the normal flora of the rumen, or occurs when animals are fed a large amount of concentrated feed rich in proteins, which causes increased ammonia formation in the rumen.

Alkalosis is also observed when animals eat excessive feed containing non-protein nitrogen compounds (ammonium bicarbonate or urea). Coliproteus bacteria are found in large quantities in autumn in contaminated feed (in the tops of root crops, root crops and silage) or in putrefactive, musty feed (beets, potatoes, silage, hay).

It is especially dangerous to give animals large amounts of urea in addition to silage of reduced quality, but still rich in proteins. In this case, the rapid release of NH3 in the rumen leads to accelerated growth of the coliproteus.

Symptoms. First of all, indigestion, a violation of the general condition and diarrhea are noted. The course of the disease can be hyperacute, acute or subacute-chronic. The cicatricial juice has a gray-brown or dark gray color, a putrid odor and a pH over 7.5. 80-90% of dead ciliates are found in it.

Therapy. The treatment is aimed at restoring the physiological balance in the rumen and intestines. To do this, appoint 3-5 g of streptomycin, 1/2 l of 40% vinegar or 50-70 ml of lactic acid per 8-10 l of water or 7-8 l of linseed mucous decoction and 3-5 l of fresh cicatricial juice from a healthy animal. Cicatricial juice is injected using a nasopharyngeal probe.

It is very effective to introduce 100 g of agramin ("new") or glutamic acid granulate into the rumen and 400-500 g of Glauber's salt, soluble in 10 liters of water, into the abomasum. Intravenously, 500-1000 ml of a 5% glucose solution, 2 ml of strophanthin and 100 ml of methionine are used. In subacute and chronic forms of the disease, easily digestible carbohydrates (sugar beet pulp, molasses or sucrose; maximum giving 4 g / kg of body weight per day) can be temporarily fed in large quantities.

In severe and subacute forms of the disease, rumenotomy can be resorted to in order to remove the entire contents of the scar. After the operation, 8-10 liters of fresh rumen juice from a healthy animal, 500 g of glucose are injected into the scar. The animal is given some hay.

Prevention.
Keep in mind the following:
- if the diet contains more than 13% crude protein, animals should not be fed urea as a supplement;
- protein-rich silage should be given in combination with a feed that is low in protein and high in energy;
- should be excluded from the diet rich in nitrates, if the animals have insufficient energy metabolism (subclinical ketosis).

Igor Nikolaev

Reading time: 5 minutes

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In a cow, the disease often occurs without visible external manifestations. She may not have injuries, bruises, lameness, rashes, or lesions. But gradually she stops taking food, the volume of milk yield decreases and the animal loses weight. Most likely, the digestive system failed and the cow had rumen acidosis. How does this disorder manifest itself in the body of cattle and is this disease treated?

Digestive system of a cow

The first and largest section of the cow's stomach is the rumen. It can hold up to 200 liters of feed. The microorganisms that exist in it break down fiber and other substances with the help of enzymes. Its location and structure is as follows:

located on the left side of the abdominal cavity;
divided into two bags;
it contains papillae ten centimeters long;
the presence of longitudinal and circular muscle layers.

More than half of the food received, up to seventy percent, is digested in the rumen. Sometimes a metabolic disorder occurs in it due to poor nutrition of cattle, the transition from roughage to concentrates, the lack of necessary vitamins and other reasons.

Lowering the pH level causes excessive lactic acidity. Rumen acidosis in cows leads to weakened immunity due to increased acidity. Cattle cannot digest lactic acid.

The disease is often found in farms where there is an excess of concentrated feed and carbohydrates in the feed. If a cow feeds too many apples, grains, beets, silage at a time, acute lactic acidosis occurs. The same reaction can be observed with an excess of starch - the absorption of large volumes of potatoes and molasses. If there is little fiber in the body, then this will adversely affect the work of the stomach due to the activity of pathogenic microbes.
Lack of coarse fibres. For example, the weight of a cow is approximately four hundred kilograms. She was given about fifty kilograms of sugar beets at a time. And then the daily two kilograms of carbohydrates were added to the diet. She will rapidly lose weight.
If you mix all kinds of waste (pulp, vegetables, bard and others) and serve it to the cow in a rolled form, then, in combination with silage, this leads to a violation of acidity.

In the first case, the owners of the animal did not take into account the moment of restructuring of the rumen microflora for the changed nutrition. This transition should always be gradual, starting with small volumes. It is very important to follow this rule for cows who know certain nutritional standards.

If cattle have free access to food, then this will be tantamount to death for them.

Dairy cows produce almost two hundred liters of saliva per day. In cattle, chewing gum lasts a total of up to nine hours during the same time. Saliva components dampen acid reactions by controlling the amount of acid in the rumen. Abundance of saliva causes rough food. And finely chopped, raw food leads to a failure of the natural separation of saliva and violations of the chewing process. With a lack of these components, the food in the rumen turns sour. As a result, the main symptom will be diarrhea, indigestion.

Acute acidosis in cows differs from chronic in course and symptoms. In the first form, they are more explicit. The latent view also has less obvious signs.

Acute course

The disease will manifest itself in a matter of hours after eating the wrong food. The animal's mood changes dramatically:

there is lethargy, weakness, lack of appetite;
the heartbeat may be rapid, confused;
breathing becomes heavy and unstable;
noticeable desire to drink a lot;
milk yields are significantly reduced;
the cow prefers to lie down, but gets up with difficulty;
the stomach becomes large, the tongue acquires a plaque;
the temperature does not rise, but there is a fever.

Symptoms of acute acidosis in cows are often accompanied by dysfunction of other organs. Treatment must follow immediately. Laminitis (hoof disease) and severe lameness occur. Increased gas formation in the stomach can sometimes crush the lungs and cause asphyxia.

Inflammatory processes in the liver are expressed in an increase in the abdomen and overall weight loss. The meat of such an animal after slaughter is not suitable for consumption.

If you take tests from a cow, then there will be pronounced changes in the blood and urine. Firstly, the color of the scar will be different, and an unpleasant odor will come from it. The pH level in it will be four, instead of the norm of six and a half. And in the blood, the content of lactic acid is five times higher. Protein is often found in the urine.

chronic course

The cow refuses to eat sugary crops or grains. She also eats very little food or ignores food altogether. The scar ceases to contract normally, diarrhea occurs. In general, the reactions of the animal are indifferent. These symptoms indicate the presence of chronic acidosis in cows.

During this period, the fat content of cow's milk and its volumes significantly decrease. This form of acidosis is followed by the same complications of organs as acute.

In pregnant females, acidosis leads to loss of calves or premature birth. Often, in sick animals, newborn cubs die immediately after calving.

In some cases, the chronic course is not expressed by obvious signs. Only a slight lethargy and a decrease in milk yield are noticeable. It is not easy for a cattle owner to determine the presence of such a serious disease by such indicators.

Therefore, it either passes by itself, or flows into a more severe form. In especially severe cases, the animal cannot be saved.

Diagnosis of the disease

An approximate diagnosis can be established before the appearance of a veterinarian by the chewing gum of a cow. For one feed, she needs about seventy jaw movements. A smaller number indicates the development of a pathological process.

A general inspection of the livestock should say that among the resting cows, more than half chew. In this case, there is no acidosis.

The specialist describes the signs that the farmer was able to observe. After that, a thorough examination is carried out and the contents of the scar are studied. Most often, in the acute form, the diagnosis is accurate. Especially after a laboratory study of lactic acid in the rumen.

Acidosis is often confused with ketosis. Then a blood and urine test will help. In the first case, there will be no ketones in the urine. And with ketosis, ketone bodies will be found just in the blood.

Attentiveness to animals will play a good service for a zealous farm owner. If he notices the symptoms of acidosis in a cow at the very beginning, the first twelve hours, then the hope for a speedy recovery increases. A veterinarian must be involved in helping a cow with acute acidosis:

first you need to wash the scar with a food probe. After this, the introduction of alkaline solutions begins. This is about 750 grams of soda mixed in five liters of water. You can add five hundred grams of yeast and cicatricial juice from healthy relatives. The volume of the latter does not exceed four liters;
when the remnants of grain and other food do not come out, an incision will have to be made on the abdominal wall. The operation is carried out by a specialist. Do not hesitate, because a fatal outcome is very likely. When the scar is released through the incision, they also start washing with soda;
after manipulations, the water balance in the animal's body should be maintained. To do this, the cow is poured in water with salt. It is also recommended to inject a solution of sodium bicarbonate into the vein. This can be repeated eight times in twenty-four hours;
if there is a strong twitching of the muscles, a feverish state, vitamins of group B and the drug prednisolone are administered;
at the first sign of improvement in the condition, you need to give the cow as much warm alkaline solutions as possible. It is given up to five times a day at the rate of one hundred grams of soda per liter of water.

During the course of the chronic form, the death of a cow is unlikely. Accordingly, the methods of treatment are chosen not so operative:

studying animal food. It is supplemented with fiber. It is necessary to remove rotten silage and other spoiled feed, if any;
drugs are selected to combat chronic acidosis;
enzyme preparations are selected to better digest food and restore normal acid levels. This must be done for at least two months;
bred mineral-yeast drink. This supplement is mixed with feed in the amount of one hundred grams per individual per day.