Bloated and Burping..

[lsmarie143]

Hi all. I have a 4 week old Holstein bull calf. Everything has been perfectly normal until today.

Today I worked with him and his halter for about 15 minutes. It didn't seem like a stressful session. I tied him to a tree with a good lead and a pan of feed for him. He just stood there with a good tug on his halter. After about 10 minutes I took him off and gave him a good rub down and took the halter off. He just stood there. Eventually he went to lay in the shade with the jersey bull.

Every since then he seemed ticked off at me.

So, tonight's feeding time had me a little worried. I fed our 3 week old jersey in the same pen and the Holstein didn't even get up to come get his bottle which is not normal at all. Normally he is blocking the gate; not letting us in.

After feeding the rest of the bunch, I placed him in a separate pen and noticed that he is super bloated. If he gets up, he lays back down within seconds, and is continuously burping.

I gave him 3cc's of Duramycin 72-200 in each hip.
Did he get stressed out or is something else wrong?

 

[lsmarie143]

and I just found out that you do NOT feed alfalfa hay to your calf. Live and learn I guess.

Jersey has the bloat now. Holstein was fine this morning. Cut his bottle in half. He was as feisty as ever...7 hours later he is swelling again. I hope this gets out of their system soon.

Was in the feed store today and a man told us to give him only water and flour in his bottle for a few times.

Has anyone ever tried this?

 

[James T]

I have never tired but I think the flour might be intended as a defoaming agent, reducing the gas levels.

"Anti-foaming agents"
"Any non-toxic oil, especially a mineral oil that persists in the rumen, is an effective bloat treatment. The rate for treatment is 300 to 500 mL (10 - 12 oz) for a 450 kg (1,000 lb) animal, administered in one dose. This treatment can be repeated several times within a few hours if necessary. An emulsified oil or an oil containing an approved detergent such as dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate is preferred because it mixes well with rumen contents. The anti-foaming agent can be administered with a stomach tube or with a large syringe directly into the rumen through the flank. The anti-foaming agent may also be delivered as a drench, using a standard drenching procedure.The severity of the bloat usually determines the method of treatment. Every effort should be made to relieve the gas with a stomach tube, followed by the administration of anti-foaming agents through the stomach tube. If passage of the stomach tube relieves the excess pressure, then the anti-foaming agent collapses the foam. The animal begins to belch within 10 to 15 min and should recover within an hour."

If this didn't work I would run them into the vet unless your prepared to make an incision and place a tube in.