What are the symptoms of bovine rumen impaction? Prevention and treatment methods explained in one article
Bovine rumen impaction is a disease in which excessive coarse feed accumulates in the rumen of cattle; this coarse feed distends the stomach body, preventing the rumen from digesting and absorbing normally, which leads to a disorder of digestive and motor functions. This disease is commonly seen in standardized and fully housed farms. So what are the symptoms of bovine rumen impaction? And how should it be prevented and treated? Let's take a look at the detailed introduction brought to you by Qinong Web.
1. Onset symptoms
Bovine rumen impaction is caused by two reasons: one is overeating stomach-damaging type bovine rumen impaction, and the other is stomach-heat type bovine rumen impaction, so their onset symptoms also differ somewhat. Overeating stomach-damaging type bovine rumen impaction has a relatively acute onset; in the early stage of the disease, the cow is depressed, feeding and rumination are weakened or stop, the left abdomen is swollen, and pressing it feels hard; the sick cow has difficulty defecating, and the discharged feces are black and foul-smelling; on auscultation, rumen motility sounds are weakened or absent; when the disease is severe, breathing is rapid, the animal groans in pain, and it may even become comatose. The early symptoms of stomach-heat type bovine rumen impaction are similar to those of the overeating stomach-damaging type; feeding is also reduced or stops, the left abdomen is enlarged, and palpation feels hard; on auscultation, stomach motility is reduced or there is no motility sound; the cow often feels restless and walks around; when the disease is severe, it stands still with an arched back, the limbs tremble, and some cases develop diarrhea.
2. Prevention methods
Strengthen feeding management; when feeding, it is essential to feed at fixed times and in fixed amounts. The feed can be appropriately increased according to the cow's growth stage so that the cow eats its fill. When adding feed, add frequently and in small amounts to prevent the cow from overeating and causing impaction. Also maintain the same feeding times; if feeding is later on a certain day, the hungry cow will eat a large amount of feed, but it cannot digest it all at once, leading to impaction. In addition, when changing feed, it must be changed slowly. If the feed is changed suddenly, the cow will not adapt to the new feed and, being stimulated, will be unable to digest normally.
3. Treatment methods
There are many treatment methods, including manual assistance, medication, and surgery, etc. Let's take a look below.
Massage therapy: gently massage the rumen with the hand at the cow's left abdominal position, massage for 5-10 minutes each time, once every half hour; during massage, drench the cow with a large amount of warm water, which gives a better effect. This method is suitable when the condition is relatively mild.
Diarrhea therapy: use 1 jin of magnesium sulfate or sodium sulfate, add 1 liter of water, then add 1 liter of vegetable oil, and drench the cow with it; this can speed up the discharge of the accumulated food from the cow's rumen.
Motility-promoting therapy: when a cow has impaction, rumen motility is reduced or slow; this method is to promote rumen motility and speed up digestion and absorption. 10% hypertonic sodium chloride 300?500 milliliters can be used for intravenous injection, which can stimulate rumen motility.
Stomach lavage therapy: choose a plastic tube with a diameter of 4-5cm and a length of 3 m, insert it from the cow's oral cavity and guide it directly into the rumen, moving it back and forth to stimulate rumen contraction and cause the liquid contents in the rumen to flow out; if they cannot flow out, inject a large amount of warm water through the tube opening on the mouth side, then suck out the liquid contents with a tool. After repeating this several times, the contents in the rumen can be emptied.
The above are the symptoms and prevention and treatment methods of bovine rumen impaction brought to you by Qinong Web. We hope it can help you. To learn more about cattle, please stay tuned to Qinong Web.