The calf is swollen what to do. Tympany of the rumen in cattle

Planning to engage in breeding large cattle, farmers must understand that young farm animals are susceptible to diseases, infections, and pathologies of various etiologies and genesis. However, some diseases are mortal danger for the life of small calves. Therefore, it is necessary to know how infection occurs, symptoms, clinical manifestations various diseases to start treatment as quickly as possible. For example, veterinarians very often diagnose bloating in calves. What causes tympany? Why is the calf's tummy swollen? How can you cure tympany in cattle?

Causes of rumen tympany in calves and cows

Abdominal bloating, or tympany - quite common occurrence in small calves, adult cows. In some cases, the disease develops at lightning speed, and if appropriate measures are not taken in a timely manner, it can cause the death of young and adult animals.

Bloating in a cow - pathological condition, in which there is an expansion of various /veterinariya/krs/zheludok parts of the stomach (rumen, abomasum, book, mesh) under the influence of accumulated gases. If a large amount of gases accumulates in the rumen and they are not removed from the animal’s body, overstretching of the walls of the forestomach occurs. The scar puts pressure on other abdominal organs.

Important! Rumen tympany is most often diagnosed in calves at 1.5–2 months of age, that is, when animals begin to eat rough, concentrated feed. Moreover, this pathology also occurs in adult cows.

As a rule, tympany in calves and cows occurs due to excessive accumulation of gases, due to disruption of the digestive processes in the body of cattle. In dairy calves, bloating develops from gas formation in the abomasum and forestomach.

The risk of developing tympania in calves increases after eating wet green feed, for example, plants (clover, alfalfa) after rain, as well as after eating large quantities of young corn cobs, beet leaves, and cabbage.

Abdominal bloating in cows is most often noted after feeding fresh grass, especially wet, easily fermentable, low-quality concentrated feed, and also if legumes (vetch, clover, alfalfa) are present in excess in the diet. Rotten, moldy, fermented food, food covered with frost and mold pose a danger to cows.

This pathology Cattle are diagnosed after eating buttermilk or skim milk. In calves, the development of tympania is possible when artificial feeding.

It is worth noting that bloating in calves can occur with paratyphoid fever, dysentery, intestinal infections, against the background of poisoning. Chronic gastritis, exacerbation of pathologies, traumatic radiculitis can also provoke rumen tympania in cattle.

Symptoms of tympany in cows

Tympany of the rumen in a cow occurs in acute, subacute, and less often chronic forms. The most commonly diagnosed foamy acute form This pathology, in which clinical manifestations increase instantly, and if treatment is not carried out, the death of animals occurs within a few hours. You can tell if a cow has a swollen belly by characteristic symptoms, changes in the cow's behavior.

Symptoms of abdominal bloating in cattle during the acute course of the disease:

sharp deterioration general physiological state;
lack of chewing gum, appetite;
gradual cessation of rumen activity;
superficial, difficult rapid breathing, shortness of breath, periodic cough;
complete refusal of feed;
foamy discharge from the mouth;
increase in frequency heart rate;
pallor, cyanosis of mucous membranes;
nausea, foamy vomiting;
anxiety, giving way to depression, apathy;
alignment, swelling of the hungry fossa;
swollen, enlarged abdomen, especially on the left side.

From the moment the pathology develops, within 25–60 minutes the left hungry fossa rises so that its surface protrudes beyond the level of the transverse costal processes of the lumbar vertebrae. Cows stand with their limbs widely spaced, hunch their backs, look to their sides, react inadequately to external stimuli, constantly moo, and stretch their necks forward. Movements chest tense. The stomach gradually swells. Animals feel severe painful spasms in the sternum and stomach area. The temperature is normal or may be slightly lower.

Important! With foamy tympany and bloating, the calf is less restless than with the acute course of the pathology.

For the chronic form of the disease, which lasts from 1 week to 2 months, all of the above symptoms appear less pronounced. As a rule, they are noted after eating. At the same time, the animal quickly loses weight, calves lag behind in growth and development. If treatment is not started, the animal will die.

Treatment methods

Having noticed the first signs of scar tympania clinical signs, it is necessary to provide qualified emergency assistance sick animal. If you do not treat the cow, delay may cost the life of your nurse.

IN therapeutic therapy veterinary specialists use complex techniques that are aimed at stopping fermentation processes in the stomach. It is very important to restore normal peristalsis in the gastrointestinal tract, remove gases accumulated in the rumen and forestomach, and normalize digestive processes, general condition calf, cow.

It is necessary to position the cow so that the front of the body is located slightly higher than the back. In this position, gases will escape faster and easier through oral cavity.

The left side of the cow needs to be shed cold water, then perform a light circular massage using a bunch of straw. Place the mouths on the cow to prevent the animal from closing its mouth, or secure the mouth.

Advice! You can provoke a burp by rhythmically sticking out the cow's tongue. Using a rope liberally lubricated with odorous substances to provoke the release of gases, irritate the cow's palate.

If the above procedures do not give the desired result, the animal’s condition worsens, and a metal probe is inserted into its stomach. The cow's mouth is secured with a cord and, having previously lubricated the probe with oil, it is slowly inserted through the oral cavity. When you hit an obstacle, pull the probe back a little, and then insert it into the cow’s throat again. A correctly carried out procedure promotes the release of gases from the rumen. To prevent the probe from becoming clogged with food particles, clean it periodically.

When most of the gases have been removed, a liter of a mixture of water and vodka in equal proportions (50/50) is poured into the probe. You can also pour in a liter of water, dissolving in it a tablespoon of table vinegar and a spoonful of ammonia or soap.

Depending on their weight, sick animals are prescribed ichthyol in a dosage of 10–20 g, formalin 10–15 ml or Lysol 5–10 ml mixed with 1–2 liters of water.

If the therapy turned out to be ineffective, it was not possible to cure the cow or calf, it is necessary to urgently call a veterinarian who will puncture the scar with a special tube - a trocar. The operation is performed in the area of the left hungry fossa. Without experience, entrust this procedure to specialists.

After the gases are released, the trocar will remain in the cow’s body for some time. After removing it, you need to thoroughly wash the wound. antiseptic solution, warm boiled water. Alcohol can be used for disinfection. The puncture site must be treated several times a day until the wound is completely healed to prevent infection.

To normalize motility and digestive processes, calves and adult cows are prescribed ruminators, probiotics (Emprobio), enzyme preparations. In the first days after surgery, the feeding regimen should be gentle. Cows are given easily digestible light food. The stomach of bulls and adult cows should not be overfilled with food. After treatment, carefully monitor the health of the animals.

Prevention of rumen tympania

To prevent bloating in ruminants, it is necessary to consider the diet of cows. Limit consumption of succulent, easily fermented feed. Follow nutritional value, balanced diet. Food should be fresh and nutritious.

It is strictly forbidden to feed wet cattle fresh herbs, poisonous plants, moldy food, low-quality feed. New feeds should be introduced into the diet of calves gradually, in small portions. If the calf is bottle-fed, choose quality substitutes dry cow's milk.

Before being put out on a pasture, especially with abundant grass, and also after rain, cows are first grazed on a pasture poor in vegetation or given hay. After winter period Animals must gradually get used to green food.

If you notice certain symptoms that indicate the development of tympany, immediately call a veterinarian or provide emergency assistance to the animal yourself at home.

Periodic tympany of calves - a disease of calves 2-3 one month old, accompanied by swelling of the forestomach and indigestion.

This disease occurs in calves when they begin to be transferred from milk feeding to a regular diet (2-3 months).

Etiology. If the owners of animals and service personnel did not accustom them to eating hay in the first months of life good quality, as well as succulent feeds, then when introducing these feeds into the diet in more late dates causes, as a result of unpreparedness gastrointestinal tract to the use of roughage, disruption of rumen digestion. Under such conditions, the existing composition of the rumen microflora and existing motor functions cannot ensure normal digestion of the incoming feed. It can lead to rumen tympany abrupt change diet or feeding feed that has lost its good quality (moldy, rotten, etc.), as well as giving mealy mash. The occurrence of the disease is predisposed by the animal's lack of exercise and unsanitary living conditions.

Pathogenesis. Due to disturbances in the feeding of calves, there is no normal development fermentation processes, which, with motility not yet established and the process of regurgitation of cud being undeveloped, leads to the retention of incoming feed masses in the rumen, and accumulation occurs in it large quantity gases As a result of the low concentration of free hydrochloric acid, weakening of pepsin activity, a decrease in overall acidity occurs, all this leads to depression secretory function scar; gastric juice in sick animals the consistency becomes mucous. There is a violation of the digestive and absorption abilities of the intestine. The proventriculus, stretched by gases, puts pressure on the lungs and heart, disrupting their activity.

Pathological changes. When opening calves that died from rumen tympania, the calves are usually emaciated, the abdomen is greatly enlarged in volume. The calf's tail and crotch are stained with feces. Peripheral veins filled with blood. When opening the scar - a large amount of gases and contents; any pathological changes in the rumen wall veterinarian doesn't find it. In the intestines, the mucous membrane is catarrhally inflamed. Some dead calves may have ruptures of the diaphragm and rumen.

Clinical picture. At clinical examination The veterinarian observes periodic swelling of the forestomach 40-60 minutes after feeding and an enlarged abdomen. When auscultating the intestine, its peristalsis is increased at the beginning of the disease, then peristalsis weakens to the point that it may be completely absent. In sick calves, owners of private farms and calves in agricultural enterprises note constipation. Sick calves stand hunched over, with their necks stretched out, stop taking food, the area of the left hungry hole quickly fills with gases, and soon its surface reaches above the lines of the lumbar vertebrae. When percussing the scar area, we get a tympanic sound. With palpation, it is possible to feel a doughy, mushy mass in the lower layers of the scar; palpation in some cases can be painful. Breathing in sick calves is heavy (as a result of compression of the lungs), cardiac activity during auscultation of the heart is weakened, visible mucous membranes have a bluish tint. In some sick calves, during an attack of tympany, we observe diarrhea with liquid, watery feces in which gas bubbles are mixed. Body temperature is normal. Sometimes calves with tympany experience a perversion of appetite (calves eat rags, bedding, paper and other inedible objects).

Flow. Tympany in calves can last for several weeks. Sometimes self-healing occurs, but often calves die from suffocation or rumen rupture.

Diagnosis. The diagnosis of periodic tympany in calves is made based on clinical symptoms diseases that occur periodically in calves.

Differential diagnosis. Periodic tympany in calves must be differentiated from and.

Treatment. WITH therapeutic purpose The scar is probed and washed with a 1-2% sodium bicarbonate solution. Instead of giving skim milk during feeding hours, calves are given warm 3-6 liters of a 1% solution table salt. Once a day, such calves are recommended to drink 5-15 ml of hydrochloric acid in 500 ml of water. In order to empty the intestines, laxative salts are used, and anti-fermentation agents are also given (ichthyol 1.0 -2.0; formalin 2-5 ml in 500 ml of fresh milk). To bind gases in the rumen, calves are given activated carbon, charcoal powder, lycopodium, carbolene 5.0-8.0g; tympanol 0.4-0.5 ml per 1 kg of live body weight, previously diluted drinking water in a ratio of 1:10, if necessary, can be reused, but in a dilution of 1:5, etc. In critical cases, when the calf is in danger of death from suffocation, rumen puncture can be used.

Prevention. In order to prevent tympany, animal owners and service personnel should accustom calves to regular food gradually, starting from the period of milk feeding. Starting from 15 days of age, calves are hung in cages with bunches of green, well-leafed hay; from the 25-30th day, good quality root crops (carrots, etc.) are given in the feeders; from the 35-45th day, excellent quality silage. There is no need to rush into introducing specialized feed.

Igor Nikolaev

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The largest of the four sections of the stomach is the rumen. He performs important functions implementation of the chewing gum process. Thanks to it, food is crushed and subsequently digested. Chewing begins forty minutes after finishing the feed, when it liquefies in the rumen.

The microflora of the first of the forestomachs should be favorable. But certain factors affect it negatively. As a result, cattle are diagnosed with rumen tympania.

The rumen holds from one hundred to three hundred liters of food. It is located on the left and occupies a huge part of the abdominal cavity. Her inner side without glands, the surface is rough due to small papillae.

Tympany of the rumen in a cow is non-communicable disease. It is characterized by rapid gas formation or disruption of the proventriculus. The scar increases in size and puts pressure on other organs, interfering with normal blood flow.

The cow's digestive system allows for the fermentation of the food it eats. It's natural physiological phenomenon. During regurgitation of food from the rumen into the oral cavity for grinding, gases partially escape. Their volume is also large - about one hundred liters. Most of them are removed during the chewing process.

When there is an excess of mushy contents in the stomach, gas bubbles foam the food. The medical history begins with the fact that gases stop coming out because belching disappears. The scar seems to close.

There are a number of reasons for scar swelling:

long breaks between meals. A hungry animal does not chew food well, especially heavy or too juicy food;
eating food that is prone to fermentation. These are beets, corn and cabbage leaves. Wet alfalfa, clover and other legumes, winter crops, frozen root vegetables;
eating spoiled foods, such as rotten silage or hay;
lack of exercise. Weak physical activity contributes to disturbances in the digestive process and retention of gases in the rumen;
walking on a pasture where the grass is covered with moisture, especially when it is young and cold after a light frost.

Experts cite the preconditions that, when occurring simultaneously, lead to tympany in cows. Among them are an excess of gases, the appearance of acute atony (weakening of rumen contractions) and too much mushy mass in the forestomach.

Why shouldn't an animal eat raw food? The fact is that they lead to the rapid entry of food into the book and abomasum (two sections of the stomach). Then they end up in the intestines, irritating its receptors. The forestomachs stop contracting and working normally. The muscles and bridge of the book are attacked by a spasm.

Due to the blockage of the hole with food, gases cannot be eliminated from the rumen. Mixing with the content occurs. The scar swells, the pressure in it increases.

In addition to the fact that the largest section of the stomach increases, carbohydrate-fat metabolism changes in it:

the content of sugar, ketone bodies and reserve alkalinity in the blood is significantly reduced;
blood enters chest cavity very bad;
the ventricles of the heart do not relax well;
the lungs do not expand enough when inhaling;
oxygen starvation occurs.

Symptoms of tympany in cattle

The pathology can be determined by the attentive owner of the animal already at the first symptoms with which the medical history begins:

excited and restless state;
refusal of any food;
stomping on the spot, fanning the tail;
salivation increases;
the animal looks back at its stomach, hunches its back and moos;
if he lies down, he tries to get up faster;
with the cessation of contraction of the rumen, the chewing gum also disappears;
bloating becomes visually noticeable.

To these signs you can add several more that may not appear. Body temperature sometimes rises above normal. The cow breathes quickly and heavily, her chest heaves. In severe cases, she opens her mouth and coughs. Saliva flows from the mouth with foam, the tongue hangs out. The mucous membranes become bluish. Blood rushes to the veins in the head, neck and udder.

The left hungry fossa of the animal protrudes and is compared with the level of the lumbar vertebrae. When palpated, its wall is too tense. The volume of the abdomen becomes abnormally large. The cow gets into a urinating position, but a little bit of it is released, as is feces. Sometimes she falls and dies in convulsions.

According to the course of the disease, the following courses are distinguished: acute, secondary and chronic:

the acute form comes from the food eaten. Young plants, particularly wet ones, legumes, rotten apples or other foods cause acute course diseases. The process will start even faster if you drink a lot of water after eating such a meal;
the secondary form is characteristic of animals that have eaten poisonous herbs. These can be aconite, colchicum, poisonous wech, hemlock and a number of others. They lead to paralysis of the walls of the scar. This also includes blockage of the esophagus or pharynx, problems with chewing gum and lack of belching. Before this, the cow could have eaten whole potato tubers, root vegetables, or accidentally swallowed a foreign inedible object. In rare cases, the cause is a tumor;
The chronic form occurs when tympany progresses slowly, the signs are not clearly expressed. More often, the prerequisites for it are gastritis, traumatic radiculitis or intestinal pathologies. This can be any disease in which the motor function of the rumen is impaired. The animal begins to lose weight due to lack of appetite and the ability to eat. This phenomenon often occurs in calves during the transition from milk to other feeds.

In the first scenario, the medical history will be short if treatment does not occur. In some cases, the cow dies within hours. Chronic form can last up to two months.

It is important for a specialist to take into account all clinical picture, having studied the medical history, so as not to confuse tympany with another pathology. In particular, the symptoms are similar to esophageal obstruction, when the swelling of the scar is secondary. Ignore fever as main feature because it could be anthrax and other infections.

Treatment of disease in cows

If acute tympany occurs in a herd with a large number of cattle, it becomes more difficult to cope with the problem. The rapid course of the disease can overtake several individuals at once, and help will come too late. However, it is necessary for a cattle owner to know about treatment methods because tympany occurs frequently.

Primary methods

When the animal is not yet too weak and can stand in a standing position, you can try the following available methods:

These simple techniques allow the scar to stop putting pressure on the organs; they move away from the diaphragm. The cow can breathe more freely after this. Gas exchange in the lungs becomes better. In a non-critical situation, belching will appear and gases will escape.

Drug therapy

But sometimes the farmer does not have the opportunity to perform these manipulations; he needs to act immediately on the spot:

the cow must be positioned so that rear end the body was lower than the front;
it is necessary to eliminate gases in the rumen and do everything possible to prevent them from continuing to accumulate. A probe is placed into the stomach; it can be an ordinary thin, clean hose;
the probe should be installed at the level of the narrowing of the esophagus - gases are collected here;
the hose is moved back and forth to eliminate blockage of the lumen;
They try to pull the cow by the tongue, insert a strong rope or a stick with a scarf soaked in kerosene into its mouth. So there is a high probability of causing a burp.

Gas formation affects physical and chemical changes in the organs of the cow, effective drugs There is no treatment for tympany. Because the primary task is to get rid of gases. The turn of the medicine comes when it is necessary to start the forestomach and intestines.

Besides, medicines help stimulate the process of chewing gum, the formation of belching, force the intestines to empty and remove fermentation in the rumen:

They resort to giving milk as an auxiliary technique. The animal is given about three liters of fresh product to drink;
Vegetable charcoal powder and burnt magnesia are recommended;
a liter of ichthyol solution or one hundred milliliters of kerosene mixed with water stops fermentation, the formation of gases and helps reduce the rumen;
use special drugs, destroying foam.

Traditional methods

Known and traditional methods treatment of rumen tympania in a cow when there are no available medications:

Four hundred milliliters of vodka, diluted in half with water, is poured inside:
use hellebore tincture, a maximum of twenty milliliters.
One hundred milliliters of turpentine is used along with vodka.
The cow is given infusions of cumin, dill, and valerian to drink.
The liquid is made from half a glass of kerosene, fifty grams of alcohol and four hundred water.

Of all these options, the most accessible one is chosen so that the animal can drink any of these mixtures and tinctures.

Surgical intervention

When the animal’s condition does not improve, but on the contrary, it becomes increasingly difficult for him to breathe, even to the point of suffocation, a rumen puncture is prescribed. It should be done by a specialist or an experienced farmer.

Scar puncture

To carry out the procedure, a special surgical instrument, a trocar, is taken.
The cow must be placed on its feet and restrained so that it does not shake its tail or kick.
The puncture is made in the left hungry fossa. The instrument should be inserted sharply towards the right elbow.
After this, gases will gradually begin to escape, otherwise their rapid release can lead to the animal losing consciousness.
It is necessary to ensure that food particles do not stick to the trocar and that food waste does not get into the abdominal cavity.
After eliminating the gases, pour through the tool sleeve disinfectants and take it out. The sleeve can remain there for about six hours, but ten is enough, otherwise there may be inflammation of the peritoneum.
The puncture site is smeared with iodine and a swab soaked in collodion is left.

If the operation is successful, the cow will need time to recover. It is advisable that she be kept separate from other individuals. In the first hours, up to 24 hours, the cow should be kept hungry.

After this period has expired, you can start giving light foods: silage, sugar beets, hay. Volumes should be small, but eat up to six times a day. Only after a few days is it possible to consume concentrated feed.

Prevention of tympany

The owner of a cattle breeding farm and all his employees must take care proper feeding animals. First of all, the onset of scar tympany depends on this factor. In addition to quality feeding, you need to change food on time and notice rotten silage.

You should not graze your flock for a long time in clover meadows, or drive it out into such fields in frost and excessive humidity. Because of early morning dew, cows should graze on mown meadows or areas poor in grass. At later hours, the livestock can be moved to areas “richer” in vegetation. But not for long, about an hour or an hour and a half.

It's better to walk around at this time. Before leaving the pen, you can feed the cow hay so that she does not eat grass greedily.

At the end of the stall period and with the beginning of grazing, the animal should gradually get used to the new, fresh and succulent feed. For this the first grazing lasts no more than five hours. Every day you can add minutes and bring the time up to fourteen or sixteen hours in the summer.

Rumen tympany in a cow is an excessive accumulation of gases in the rumen. This disease is considered very serious; if its symptoms are detected, treatment must be started immediately. The acute form of tympany can be fatal. In this article we will talk about the symptoms of bloat in ruminants and explain the etiology of this disease. We will also describe in detail the methods of treating this disease.

Causes of the disease

The digestive system of ruminants is designed in a special way. The stomach of a cow consists of four parts (chambers) - the rumen, the mesh, the book and the abomasum; each of them performs specific functions in digestive system. The rumen is the largest chamber of the cow's stomach; it fills the entire left side abdominal cavity.

Ruminants grind and digest food differently than other animals. After passing through the esophagus, parts of the food first enter the rumen. When the cow eats a certain amount of feed and partially fills the rumen, she stops eating and begins to chew the mass “spitted out” from the rumen. That is, the animal, as it were, accumulates food in the rumen and then chews it.

Structure of the cow's stomach

Thoroughly soaked and mixed food from the rumen is returned in small portions back to the oral cavity, where it is re-ground and processed by saliva. The food then falls into a mesh that controls only small particles of food from flowing into the next layer. Next, in the abomasum, the main stages of digestion occur.

One of the functions of the rumen is fermentation. This part of the stomach releases a large amount of gases, more than 100 liters per day. These gases aid in the digestion process. If the system for releasing gases is disrupted and the cow cannot belch them, rumen tympany occurs.

Bloat in ruminants is provoked by the consumption of large amounts of highly concentrated fermenting feed: clover, cabbage leaves, alfalfa, turnips, potatoes, soybeans. When a lot of gases accumulate in the rumen and they are not removed from the animal’s body, the walls of the proventriculus expand. The scar pushes against other organs located in the abdominal cavity. This results in the cow being unable to eat, and if the bloat is not treated, she may die.

The pathogenesis of tympania can be dangerous food or mold, which affects the flora of the stomach. Rotten silage or hay, frozen root vegetables, grazing on pasture after rain or frost, eating young clover or overeating are the main prerequisites for the occurrence of bloat in cows.

There are three forms of tympany:

acute;
foamy - mixing gases with food;
chronic.

Symptoms

In acute form:

the abdomen is growing rapidly, namely its left part (the area where the scar is located);
when palpated, this area is tight (hard);
initially strengthening, and then stopping the movement of the scar;
refusal of food;
difficulty breathing;
animal anxiety;
vomit.

With foamy tympany, the cow's anxiety is less pronounced than with acute tympany. All of the above symptoms are observed. Chronic bloating is more common mild symptoms, which are expressed after eating. A cow with this form gradually loses weight. At acute bloating If treatment is not started in time, the animal may die within 2-3 hours. Chronic tympany can last from 1 week to 2 months; if the disease is not treated, the cow also dies.

Treatment

If symptoms of bloating are detected, it is necessary to immediately begin rescuing the animal. The animal is positioned so that the front of the body is higher than the back; in this position, gases will be easier to escape through the mouth. The left side is watered with cold water and then massaged with a bunch of straw. It is also necessary to put the mouths on the cow so that the animal cannot close its mouth.

If the above procedures do not help, then a metal probe is inserted through the mouth into the cow's esophagus. To do this, a plug with a hole is installed in the cow's oral cavity and secured with a cord. And then a probe lubricated with oil is slowly inserted through the hole. If you feel an obstacle when inserting the tube, the probe must be pulled back a little and slowly inserted into the cow's throat again.

After inserting the tube into the stomach, gases should freely exit the cow's rumen. Periodically, you need to clean the probe cover, because food particles can get into it along with gases and clog it. When most of the gases have come out, 1 liter of a mixture of water and vodka (50/50) or 1 liter of water with a tablespoon of vinegar dissolved in it is poured into the probe. This solution can be improved by adding a spoonful of ammonia or soap. Also, sick cattle are prescribed ichthyol 10-20 grams (depending on the weight of the animal), formaldehyde 10-15 ml or Lysol 5-10 ml mixed with 1-2 liters of water.

If the above methods do not help, then the veterinarian punctures the scar. The hair on the most protruding part of the cow's left side is cut off and the site of the intended puncture is thoroughly disinfected. The removal of gases from the rumen is done using a special tube. The veterinarian should monitor the release of gases and, if they are released quickly, close the hole in the tube with a finger. After the gases leave the stomach, the tube remains in it for several more hours and only then is removed. After removing the tube, the wound must be thoroughly washed with warm boiled water, then disinfected with alcohol. You need to treat the puncture site until it is completely healed.

During the recovery period it is prescribed special diet for a cow. To restore motor function, ruminators are prescribed. It is very important to closely monitor the animal until it recovers completely. If gases were removed through a puncture, then it is better to separate the cow from the herd while the wound heals.

Prevention

In order to avoid the development of bloat in ruminants, it is necessary to limit or exclude from the diet the percentage of fermenting feed, such as: cabbage leaves, alfalfa, turnips, potatoes, soybeans. And also monitor the condition of the food that the livestock takes. It should not be damp or moldy. Before being put out on pasture, especially with abundant grass and after rain, cows are first fed on a pasture that is poor in vegetation or given hay. After the winter period, it is necessary for the animal to gradually get used to green food.

Controlling the diet and proper selection of pasture will prevent disease in cattle. At the slightest symptoms It is necessary to begin treatment of the animal, since this disease progresses very quickly and often ends in death. Only a veterinarian should treat acute tympany. Proper care and keeping the animal in favorable conditions, control of diet contributes to his health.

Video “How a cow’s rumen works”

The video explains how a cow's rumen works and what the diet should be like to avoid diseases of this organ.

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About calf rumen

There are diseases that are associated with calf rumen. Animals require urgent help. How to act in this situation and what kind of diseases are these? Let's talk about this.

If a calf's rumen is not working well, it needs immediate medical care

What is a scar

One of the forestomachs

Before discussing rumen-related diseases in calves, it is important to understand what they are and how the rumen works. All ruminants, including cows, have 4 stomachs, one of which is called the rumen. The book, scar and mesh also have another name - proventriculus. When the calf is small, its proventriculuses are not yet developed, milk is digested in the abomasum. But it grows, and with it the size of the forestomach increases, which gradually become involved in the digestion of food. The rumen of an adult cow is 80% of the volume of the animal’s entire stomach; it holds 100-200 liters.

How it works

In it, the feed is moistened and then filtered. The scar is constantly shrinking. Every minute there are movements in it: fine food is filtered through coarse food. Therefore, a cow’s diet must include roughage (hay, silage). The scar is on the left side when looking at the abdominal cavity. It regularly produces a lot of gases (30-50 liters per hour), but they are removed through belching.

Important digestive processes take place in the calf's rumen

How does a scar work? The feed is broken down in the rumen, and microorganisms participate in this, most of which are bacteria. They are also a protein mass. 60-80% of the protein is formed precisely from rumen microbes. They can also produce the vitamins B and K that animals need.

Substances, breaking down in the rumen, either immediately enter the blood, or first go into small intestine, and are already absorbed there.

Scar related diseases

Atony of the rumen

Atony is a disease when contractions of the rumen stop. There is also hypotension, when the number of contractions decreases. The disease can be acute or chronic.

Why does it occur

Atony can be primary or secondary. Primary atony appears when calves are abruptly transferred from succulent to roughage, or from rough to succulent. It occurs more often if it is given in large quantities on the first day. Atony also occurs after consuming large quantities of humic feed: husks of various cereals (oatmeal, millet), chaff, poor-quality grain, etc. Sometimes atony appears like side effect various diseases. Due to the fact that mixing of the feed stops, it becomes stale and the process of rotting begins. Beneficial microflora dies.

Symptoms and treatment

Cows and calves have decreased appetite or refuse to eat. They have limp gum constant belching, noticeable bloating. Animals rarely go to the toilet. Atony is treated quickly, in 3-5 days.

Atony affects cows and calves regardless of age

To do this, feed that caused the disease is removed from the diet. They are replaced with good hay or root crops. But for the first 1-2 days, calves should not be fed, remembering to give them unlimited amounts of water. Animals are also prescribed medications:

White hellebore tincture: 2-3 days, 2 times a day, 10-15 ml.
5-10% sodium chloride solution: intravenously, up to 500 ml.
0.1% carbacholine solution – 1-3 ml.
Wormwood tincture (to improve appetite) – 10-30 ml.
Drugs against fermentation processes: amylosubtilin, macerobacillin, etc.
If the pH of the ruminal contents is increased, give milk (25-75 ml per 0.5 -1 liter of water), salt (1-2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water) and acetic acid(20-40 ml per 1-2 liters of water), diluted in water. Treat for 2-3 days, giving the mixture 1-2 times.

Rumen acidosis

Ruminal acidosis in cows is a common disease that occurs when the pH of the liquid contents of the rumen shifts to the acidic side.