The age of animals can be determined by examination of the front teeth. Unit 9: How to age sheep, goats, cattle and buffalo If this happens try to massage the neck to remove the blockage. Sometimes tympany occurs because large pieces of feed block the gullet (oesophagus). In such cases puncturing the left flank with a sharp knife or trocar and cannula to release the gas is necessary, it will be necessary for you to act quickly as any hesitation could lead to the death of the animal. In severe cases the animal may not belch and it will die. Use a commercially, available medicine (see R20, Annex 1).A very small amount of turpentine in either linseed oil, soya oil or peanut oil.A small bottle of peanut, soya or linseed oil.A small amount of kerosene (paraffin) in warm milk.A solution of sodium bicarbonate (cooking or baking soda) and water.Two large spoons of washing up liquid, e.g.The drench used can be one of the following: If these methods fail then give a drench (drink) to the animal (see Drenching Annex 3). Make the animal walk around for about half an hour.Tying a stick in the mouth, crosswise like a horse's bit.Massaging the distended rumen through the abdominal wall.Making the animal belch is one way of treating bloat. Offer dry, cut grass first before turning out to graze. Do not allow very hungry animals to graze a pasture.Avoid moving animals to wet pasture, especially first thing in the morning.Sometimes ruminants kept by the household and fed only feed such as dry bread can develop bloat. clover, lucerne and alfalfa are especially dangerous in causing bloat but any fast growing plants can cause it. The animal may be in distress for several hours but in bad cases of bloat the animal will be found lying on its side and death can occur in a few hours.īloat can occur when the animal grazes on lush young pasture, particularly if the pasture is wet. The pain from this causes the animal to try to kick its belly or it stands with its back legs wide apart. Occasionally belching stops and gas builds up in the rumen to cause bloat.Īs the gas builds up the left flank balloons out. The animals continually belch, once each minute, to get rid of the gas. In Unit 7 you learned that the stomach of ruminant animals produces a lot of gas. This may happen suddenly, especially when the animal is grazing on wet pasture in the morning. The left flank becomes distended and breathing becomes difficult. Unit 8: Bloat (tympany)īloat occurs when too much gas is produced in the rumen. You should tell your community to keep nails, wires and similar objects away from animal feed and pasture. These objects can damage the rumen and can pass through the wall of the rumen into the heart and kill the animal. Regular contractions are a sign of good health.īecause ruminants eat quickly they can swallow objects like nails and wires with their feed. By putting your fist on the left flank (in the hollow behind the ribs) you will be able to detect the contractions. The rumen moves regularly and contracts about once every minute. If the belching stops the stomach swells with gas. Ruminants make a lot of gas in their stomachs and belch once every minute, (unlike people they belch silently). If the animal stops ruminating this is a sign of ill health. This is called chewing the cud or rumination. When the ruminant has finished eating, the food is brought back up and rechewed. The ruminant chews grass and swallows and it goes into the rumen. The third is the omasum (book) and the fourth is the abomasum (the true stomach). The second chamber is the reticulum (honeycomb). The first chamber is very large and is called the rumen. The stomach of a ruminant has four chambers.
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