Bread and cows?

[ifarm26]

I don't know if anyone on here has heard of this or if I have just been in the dark. A buddy of mine called about 7:30 last night from his pasture needing the number to the vet. I said whats wrong and he said 1 cow was dead 1 heifer was about dead , and his new bull was laid out on his side. I got ahold of the vet and sent him his way. I called this morning and he said that the other two were dead now, and it was from dehydration. They pumped them full of electrolytes but it didn't help. The vet was clueless as to what it could be because they had water in a creek and in an automatic waterer next to the gate. The vet checked the hay and feed and said it looked good too.
My buddy called his brother who has two yearling heifers in this pasture and told him what was going on. He told him that he was just there around lunch time and they were fine. He said that he was given half of a pick-up load of day old bread so he brought it and fed it to the cows since he had the day off. The vet said sure enough, that was the cause. Said the bread agitates the acid in their stomachs and draws all of the fluid to their stomachs thus dehydrating them. I have never heard of this and have known several people that have fed day old bread as a treat for their cows. Vet said it was the amount and which ones consumed the most were the first victims to go.
Anyone else had experience with this? The remaining cows are not drinking or eating now, said he may lose the entire pasture full!! Vet was coming back this morning to try and get more electrolytes in them.

 

[skyhightree1]

We always got truck loads of bread and hostess cakes and snacks from the bakery and fed the bread to the cows and sweets to the hogs. We fed alot of bread to the cattle and never had that happen before. I still to this day if I can get it feed my cattle bread. I guess that can happen if you dumped alot of bread and don't have a big amount of cattle to eat it.

 

[skyhightree1]

This is what I just found... I hope it helps prevent this from happening to someone else.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_cows_eat_bread

 

[ifarm26]

I had a bull that loved bread. If we were cooking out he would come to the fence and not leave until he had a bun or two. I didn't think it would hurt them at all.

I forgot to mention that he had the bull four yearling heifers and 10 cows in the pasture.

 

[skyhightree1]

Wow... How many has he lost? 3 ? I wonder if he had stuck a big needle and let some of the air out if they would have been able to breathe and survive or cut a slit in them with a knife to let the gases out.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

This is what I just found... I hope it helps prevent this from happening to someone else.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_cows_eat_bread

sound more like it would hamper milk production then...... then be a cheap feed source for lactating cows

 

[ifarm26]

I asked him if the vet said bloat, and he said no. He said he thought that too, but he said that it was dehydration. He said that the skin on the neck could be pinched and it would just stay there. The vet said that he had only ever seen it one other time.

 

[skyhightree1]

I asked him if the vet said bloat, and he said no. He said he thought that too, but he said that it was dehydration. He said that the skin on the neck could be pinched and it would just stay there. The vet said that he had only ever seen it one other time.

I am not a vet but I don't understand how it couldn't have bloat associated with those deaths. They may not be as bloated since it has been some time since they ate it. I don't understand what pinching the neck could has to do with bloat.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_ ... _in_cattle

 

[ALACOWMAN]

pinching dehydrated skin it will stay tented rather then snap back in place....

 

[ifarm26]

after further delving into the situation, his brother has done this over the past few months. Vet now says more than likely it is acidosis, which dehydration is a symptom and can lead to death of the animals.

 

[skyhightree1]

pinching dehydrated skin it will stay tented rather then snap back in place....

So wouldn't it be possible they had bloat and didn't drink and became dehydrated? That to me just seems like to fast just for dehydration alone to kill them.

 

[skyhightree1]

after further delving into the situation, his brother has done this over the past few months. Vet now says more than likely it is acidosis, which dehydration is a symptom and can lead to death of the animals.

oh ok

 

[greybeard]

I asked him if the vet said bloat, and he said no. He said he thought that too, but he said that it was dehydration. He said that the skin on the neck could be pinched and it would just stay there. The vet said that he had only ever seen it one other time.

I am not a vet but I don't understand how it couldn't have bloat associated with those deaths. They may not be as bloated since it has been some time since they ate it. I don't understand what pinching the neck could has to do with bloat.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_ ... _in_cattle

The basis behind the pinch test is that a distended rumen tightens the skin all over, and if you can pinch the skin, and it stays 'pinched' for a couple seconds, it's supposedly shows a likelihood that severe bloat is not taking place. Not a very scientific method imo.

Bread is a "hot" feed. It's like grain overload.

 

[skyhightree1]

Grey thanks for that link i made it a favorite

 

[ifarm26]

Thanks for that link grey! That is the best one around. The ones I found do not explain it in that detail. The brother of my friend said that he had been feeding flats, about 8-10 loaves of bread, about every other week for about 2 months. This time it was half a truck bed so I guess it was just too much and the results are 3 dead animals.

 

[greybeard]

There is a thread somewhere, showing how and where, to download the entire Merck Manual--which Merck has made available to the general public.
Not sure where that thread is now, but here's Merck's page.

http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/index.html

 

[Nesikep]

I just looked it up on Amazon... I'm buying it.. it's $60 bucks well spent I think, and there's something about paper books, though I wouldn't mind a soft copy since it's a bit easier to search

 

[skeeter swatter]

.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_ ... _in_cattle[/quote]
The basis behind the pinch test is that a distended rumen tightens the skin all over, and if you can pinch the skin, and it stays 'pinched' for a couple seconds, it's supposedly shows a likelihood that severe bloat is not taking place. Not a very scientific method imo.

Bread is a "hot" feed. It's like grain overload.[/quote]
The "pinch test" has nothing to do with bloat, but rather dehydration. The pinch stays pinched because the cells have shrunk .
I agree it is exactly like grain overload.

 

[greybeard]

I thought the dehydration came as a result of bloat. They may drink a profusely right after ingesting a lot of bloat causing feed or forage, but quickly stop drinking at all soon afterwards, and while the test IS for dehydration, the dehydration is a symptom of the cause.
But yes, I agree it IS a dehydration test. I stand corrected-learn something new here every day.

 

[djinwa]

I asked him if the vet said bloat, and he said no. He said he thought that too, but he said that it was dehydration. He said that the skin on the neck could be pinched and it would just stay there. The vet said that he had only ever seen it one other time.

I am not a vet but I don't understand how it couldn't have bloat associated with those deaths. They may not be as bloated since it has been some time since they ate it. I don't understand what pinching the neck could has to do with bloat.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_ ... _in_cattle

The basis behind the pinch test is that a distended rumen tightens the skin all over, and if you can pinch the skin, and it stays 'pinched' for a couple seconds, it's supposedly shows a likelihood that severe bloat is not taking place. Not a very scientific method imo.

Bread is a "hot" feed. It's like grain overload.

Actually, the pinch test is used even in other species without rumens, like cats and dogs, to assess dehydration. Less fluid under the skin keeps it from springing back.

Yes, too much starch all at once is not good for ruminants. It changes the microbes in the rumen to those that produce acid. And the acid can burn holes in the rumen and cause other problems as we see in feedlots and dairies.

You have to be careful in amount and type of starches. More refined starches, as in bread, will break down quicker and cause more problems if fed in high amounts.

Any large amounts of starches, especially if the cattle aren't adapted to them, can be fatal. Which is why one had better keep their grain bins or piles secured in case the cattle get out and gain access. I've heard stories of herds wiped out that got into grain.