Bloating Heifer calf

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simba

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Aug 18, 2011
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524
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Saskatchewan, Canada
This morning when I did chores I found my Feb. 2013 show heifer bloated. I tied her up and tubed her with no luck. I had about 6 feet of tube in her, so I don't know how I couldn't have hit the blockage. I gave her a bottle of Bloat-Ease and my dad and I ran her in the pasture and got her standing uphill on a really steep dirt pile. My dad pushed in her stomach while I held her and we were able to get her mostly back to normal. I kept her in the barn to watch her for 4 hours, then let her back on pasture because she looked fine. Now she's bloating up again.

She's on pasture, but eating oats with 3 other calves twice a day. I put out one small square timothy hay bale every night for her and 7 other animals to pick through. I've been doing this routine with her since May with no problems.

Any ideas on what's causing her to bloat?
Why didn't tubing her work?
What else should I try?

I really hate to see my little girl in distress, thanks in advance.
 

cowman 52

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San Angelo Texas
Tubing one is way more than poking a hose down one,  if the hose is too stiff you can puncture something, and it needs to bend around in the belly to get to the air, or you can get it in the lungs.  I might guess she is full of oats, and maybe just over full. Start with a little mineral oil, it will usually get things flowing.  You have two kinds of bloat, gas or foam, foam usually is from something in the feed like alfalfa or a batch of feed that might have something in it like the mixer at the mill had some hog feed in it. Gas is from not being able to belch, and stomach just not doing well.
If you do tube one, get a bloat hose from the vet supply, the ends are smooth, it has a hole on the side to make it work better.  In a last case instance, keep a 16 ga by 3 needle somewhere, about 30 degrees down and to the front of the hooks, about 6 inches stab her 1 time, hold down firm on needle, the belly will push it around, it will save one in an emergency .
 

DLB

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Jul 8, 2008
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Another idea I have heard of (and used) was to revaccinate with 8-Way Blackleg.  I had a heifer bloat off and on for about a month or so.  Talked to a judge friend and he said try it...I did and knock on wood-the heifer mentioned has not bloated since and it has been 14months since. 
 

simba

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524
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Saskatchewan, Canada
Thank you very much for the advice, cowman 52 & DLB, I'll keep it in mind for the future.

After I found her starting to bloat up at 4pm, I didn't do anything, but kept a close eye on her. By 7pm she was mostly down to normal and by 10pm she was completely down. She must have moved or laid the right way to clear the blockage. I bring her in from pasture twice a day for feeding, so I'll be able to continue to watch her. Hopefully this won't turn out to be a regular occurrence.

Can bloating be a genetic trait? Her sire bloated 4 or 5 times before he was two years old, for no apparent reason.
 

obie105

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Oct 17, 2011
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I had a heifer several years ago that bloated regularly. I was told to use vita ferm. She never bloated again. Just an idea since your already feeding them.
 

okiegirl

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Nov 20, 2011
Messages
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Location
Oklahoma
Try adding Sure Champ at each feeding.  It has Vitaferm and it works well for us.  Plus it keeps them eating at shows.  You can also get a Vitaferm paste.  We give it prior to leaving for shows.  It keeps the bacteria in their guts working and appetite up.
 

simba

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Saskatchewan, Canada
Thanks guys! As far as I know, I can't get Vitaferm or Sure Champ here in Canada, but I'll certainly check it out!

By the way, heifer was fine this morning, hoping it stays that way!
 

cowman 52

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Try  about 2 tablespoons of tide laundry soap, the ip unscented  kind.  Have seen it work,  the cooked soybean oil, or just plain corn oil.
 

Pleasant Grove Farms

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Sep 19, 2011
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putting a couple Tblsp of liquid laundry soap will take down frothy bloat almost immediately; you put that down the stomach tube; tubing don't work with a frothy bloat.
If you have a real emergency with bloat, you can take a large needle and punch the rumen and let the air out that way so the animal can breathe.
If you have a chronic bloater that you are afraid will die cause they bloat so much and so bad you can have the vet put a permanent opening in the rumen about the size of a dime; then the animal will never bloat again cause air is being let out constantly.
we did that years ago with a bull and also with a feedlot steer.

 

Charguy

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May 11, 2011
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68
Larissa.

Probably she is just having trouble adjusting to grain feed. Sometimes they will upset the balance in their rumen and everytime they eat something they bloat up.

I have had a few commercial calves do this after weaning. Im in Canada too and what I find works the best is to give the calf in question a rumensin slow release bolus. It is a big bolus with wings on the side of it so it stays in the rumen and cannot pass to another stomach. It slowly releases Rumensin into the rumen and that will take care of the bloat issue. You will see the size of the bolus and wonder how you will get it down but trust me it works and you wont have to worry anymore. There is a special gun to adminster it that you will need as well but once you have it, you have it. Just go to the vet and ask for it. I get them from the Stockyards vet in Edmonton. It seems to settle them down and fix the issue right up. They last for 60 days and I have never given a calf a second one. I have a few females in the herd I have done this with and they are still in the herd with no issues. The plastic case it is in breaks down eventually in the rumen. Some purebred guys give their show calves a bolus as soon as they start working with them so the calves dont go off feed due to issues surrounding bloat.

Hope this helps you out.
 

simba

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Aug 18, 2011
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524
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Saskatchewan, Canada
Thanks for all the advice, I didn't realize there were so many different ways to treat bloat! The bolus seems like a good idea to completely prevent the situation, I'll have to look into that.
 

HavinABlast

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Aug 25, 2013
Messages
59
Never hurts to put a magnet in her.....as my vet always says "they should all be born with a magnet"....sometimes it's a real cheap way to save a lot of grief!  Good luck with her!
 

simba

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Joined
Aug 18, 2011
Messages
524
Location
Saskatchewan, Canada
Charguy said:
Larissa.

Probably she is just having trouble adjusting to grain feed. Sometimes they will upset the balance in their rumen and everytime they eat something they bloat up.

I have had a few commercial calves do this after weaning. Im in Canada too and what I find works the best is to give the calf in question a rumensin slow release bolus. It is a big bolus with wings on the side of it so it stays in the rumen and cannot pass to another stomach. It slowly releases Rumensin into the rumen and that will take care of the bloat issue. You will see the size of the bolus and wonder how you will get it down but trust me it works and you wont have to worry anymore. There is a special gun to adminster it that you will need as well but once you have it, you have it. Just go to the vet and ask for it. I get them from the Stockyards vet in Edmonton. It seems to settle them down and fix the issue right up. They last for 60 days and I have never given a calf a second one. I have a few females in the herd I have done this with and they are still in the herd with no issues. The plastic case it is in breaks down eventually in the rumen. Some purebred guys give their show calves a bolus as soon as they start working with them so the calves dont go off feed due to issues surrounding bloat.

Hope this helps you out.

Well it's been eight months since we put in the bolus that you recommended and my heifer hasn't bloated once! It sounded like such a good idea that the friends who are boarding my cattle put one in all of their show animals as well as any animal that had bloated before. These boluses really work; I plan to put them in all of my show animals from now on. The size of the bolus is crazy, and we did have a bit of trouble with some animals refusing to swallow them or spitting them out but overall I'm very impressed with the boluses and would recommend them to anyone. 
 
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