bloat

[farm princess]

First of all, I had a calf die from bloat several weeks ago, and then after finding him in the morning I found another one starting to bloat that evening so the vet was called in. After taking care of him the vet said it shouldn't be a problem but then he bloated again the next week and then again today. Put him in the gate and fed him some bloat release this morning and he is still bloated a good bit. Should I go ahead and stick him or wait it out. His breathing is sorta fast but then that could be the weather being hot and all. These are fed lot cattle if that has anything to do with it. Also when or should I try the bloat release again? I am pretty sure he will be going to the "big farm" real soon since he keeps bloating. All help will be greatful ;-) :lol:

 

[dun]

No reecommendation on what you should do now, but chronic bloaters aare chronic bloaters. They need to find another home, i.e. the big white cold stable.

dun

 

[Alice]

Does your calf have access to hay? If not, make sure he has lots of hay.

I don't think I'd stick him just yet. I'd wait until he was down before I did that. Have you tried running a long, hose/tube down his throat? I'd at least do that before I stuck him. And yeah, I'd go ahead and give him another bloat release treatment.

Chances are, all he really needs is to eat a lot of hay to keep from bloating anymore.

Alice

 

[msscamp]

Does your calf have access to hay? If not, make sure he has lots of hay.

Alice

Alice, you probably should qualify what kind of hay - feeding lots of straight alfalfa, alfalfa/clover, or any type of legume will probably make a bloat situation worse. If she is feeding to rich of a feed that the calf isn't used to, all the hay in the world may not make that big of a difference.

 

[farm princess]

Hehas free acess to hay and he is a fed lot calf and has had grain the whole time and it hasn't changed. The hay is an alfalfa mix.

 

[msscamp]

By 'feed lot calf' I'm assuming he's past being weaned. If that is the case - I would reduce his grain gradually until he gets over the bloat and then ship him. I would not pull his grain totally, as that will likely cause a case of acidosis. I figured this was a bucket calf that had just been fed too much grain initially. Sounds like Dun was right on the money!

 

[farm princess]

How does one know when the bloat is gone? I am afraid that he is going to get bigger over night and end up dying before we can take him in. What, if anything, should be done in the meantime-- should I just bloat release him again?

 

[msscamp]

How does one know when the bloat is gone? I am afraid that he is going to get bigger over night and end up dying before we can take him in. What, if anything, should be done in the meantime-- should I just bloat release him again?

If you've got it, then bloat release him again. I don't know when your sales are, so come morning (I'm assuming you've already fed tonight) cut his grain back by about 1/4 and give him straight grass hay - no alfalfa. Keep him on that ration for a couple of days, then reduce grain by another 1/4. Keep doing that until sale arrives.

I don't know how much experience with cattle you have, so please forgive me if I sound like I'm patronizing you - it is not my intent. The problem with grain and cattle is that it takes a certain type of microorganism to digest the grain, and that microorganism builds up over time in response to how much grain is fed in increasing increments - start a new calf out at more than 1-2% of his body weight and there are not enough microorganisms to digest the grain which results in acidosis - a systemic problem where the body becomes to acidic - bloat, diarrhea (sp?), and death results if not caught and treated. Pulling a calf used to a good bit of grain (again, more than 1-2% of his body weight) off that grain suddenly will cause the same thing. I hope this helps.

 

[Ryder]

I don't think I'd stick him just yet. I'd wait until he was down before I did that. Have you tried running a long, hose/tube down his throat? I'd at least do that before I stuck him. And yeah, I'd go ahead and give him another bloat release treatment.
Alice

I would agree with Alice. Don't stick him until he goes down or it is obvious he will go down without help. But if and when you have to stick him, do it fast.

 

[Alice]

Does your calf have access to hay? If not, make sure he has lots of hay.

Alice

Alice, you probably should qualify what kind of hay - feeding lots of straight alfalfa, alfalfa/clover, or any type of legume will probably make a bloat situation worse. If she is feeding to rich of a feed that the calf isn't used to, all the hay in the world may not make that big of a difference.

You are right, msscamp...I should have qualified that...no alfalfa anything...coastal hay is what I feed mine. I don't have alfalfa hay on the place.

If he looks "High" on the left side, he's bloated. If he's still walking around, it's not that serious...but it's a big indicator that he needs coarse hay...such as coastal.

Alice

 

[msscamp]

You are right, msscamp...I should have qualified that...no alfalfa anything...coastal hay is what I feed mine. I don't have alfalfa hay on the place.

If he looks "High" on the left side, he's bloated. If he's still walking around, it's not that serious...but it's a big indicator that he needs coarse hay...such as coastal.

Alice

It's beginning to look like I'm singling you out, but I'm not - I swear I'm not! :lol: :lol: Most calves will bloat 'high' on the left side, like you said, but some will also bloat on both sides. They just look abnormally full, and the only way I know of to tell if they are bloating or not is to be familiar with the calf and what he usually looks like. Not real technical, I know, and it leaves a lot of room for error - but that has been my experience with some of them.

 

[Alice]

You are right, msscamp...I should have qualified that...no alfalfa anything...coastal hay is what I feed mine. I don't have alfalfa hay on the place.

If he looks "High" on the left side, he's bloated. If he's still walking around, it's not that serious...but it's a big indicator that he needs coarse hay...such as coastal.

Alice

It's beginning to look like I'm singling you out, but I'm not - I swear I'm not! :lol: :lol: Most calves will bloat 'high' on the left side, like you said, but some will also bloat on both sides. They just look abnormally full, and the only way I know of to tell if they are bloating or not is to be familiar with the calf and what he usually looks like. Not real technical, I know, and it leaves a lot of room for error - but that has been my experience with some of them.

You are quite right...but, for me, with my calf that tends to bloat...since he's a fat little bugger anyway, high on the left side is what I look for.

Farm princess, if this calf you are referring to isn't a fatty, and all of a sudden looks like a balloon, you can be pretty sure of bloat. Like Msscamp said, ya' gotta know your animals...I hate to say this...but ya' gotta know them like you would your kids.

Alice
Alice

 

[msscamp]

You are right, msscamp...I should have qualified that...no alfalfa anything...coastal hay is what I feed mine. I don't have alfalfa hay on the place.

If he looks "High" on the left side, he's bloated. If he's still walking around, it's not that serious...but it's a big indicator that he needs coarse hay...such as coastal.

Alice

It's beginning to look like I'm singling you out, but I'm not - I swear I'm not! :lol: :lol: Most calves will bloat 'high' on the left side, like you said, but some will also bloat on both sides. They just look abnormally full, and the only way I know of to tell if they are bloating or not is to be familiar with the calf and what he usually looks like. Not real technical, I know, and it leaves a lot of room for error - but that has been my experience with some of them.

...I hate to say this...but ya' gotta know them like you would your kids.

Alice
Alice

I fully understand your reluctance to make that statement, but it's a very accurate statement.

 

[Susie David]

Two bloaters....hummmm, if I had one I would sure have a look at the feed. Two and I would definately go over the groceries that these calves have been getting. I would take a walk around my place (we're a small operation) and see if I could find anything out of place, patch of clover, things that calves would eat that would cause bloat.
Next I would change the diet to a more neutral grass hay get the legumes out of the diet and reduce the grain by 1/2 at least...this should make a change in the rumen's bacteria after a couple of weeks I would reintroduce the grain if need be and slowly add the alfalfa; let the rumen grow some good organisms.
Could be that you just have chronic bloaters...always will be.
Just my two bits worth.
DMc

 

[farm princess]

First off, THANK YOU to all who has responded!!! 2nd--You say that I should know my calves like I do my kids and I just want to say trust me yes I do know them and he is usually a smaller one actually the second smallest compared to the rest!! I didn't know if there were any other signs of bloat but I do like to know if there were any others. The "normal" says to look at the left side for bloat but like someone posted that they can look bloated all over is something else to look for. I gave him some tums last night and checked him this morning and he is back to being a smaller calf again. I honestly think that the tums worked better than the bloat release! And I am sure he likes it better too ;-)

 

[Alice]

Tums, huh? Who'd a thunk it...

Hey, if it worked...who am I to say...I've tried some pretty unorthodox things, myself.

Alice

 

[farm princess]

I know it sounds odd but the vet said that is one of the things to try. A few other suggestions is powder laundry soap or even baking soda!! The only down fall is it takes alot of tums (I used approx. 30) but it seems to work better than the bloat release! ;-)