bloat problem

[Deena]

For the past few months my steer has been bloating like a few times every month but now he is bloating almost every day. I put baking soda in his feed because i have heard that this should help and it did in the beginning but it doesn't seem to work anymore. Also i have tried giving him more hay and less feed and that worked too but for the past like 3 weeks everything that i try doesn't do anything. I have tried a like a bloat guard block thing( i don't know what it's called) and he wouldn't even touch the thing so that didn't help. The bloat doesn't seem to affect him or seem painful because he would still eat all of his food and he still has a ton off energy. So i'm wondering what is causing this and also any suggestions on ways to help  ???

 

[simtal]

are u sure that he's even bloating? He could be just full.

 

[kanshow]

We had a heifer that was doing that earlier.. it was a slight air bloat.    We opened up another corral giving her more exercise.  We did the baking soda, bloat block, & backed some of the corn out of the ration & put in more oats... along with free choice hay.  That seemed to work for us.    You can buy the bloat guard ingredient seperately to put in the feed. 

 

[Dixie]

We were told by the University Beef Specialist to put a handful of oyster shells into the grain each feeding for two (2) weeks. At the end of two (2) weeks you can discontinue the oyster shells and all should be well. We had a calf that kept bloating this past year, we had tried everything that you have and this is what finally worked. I know Oyster shells sounds goofy but, (we were told) it helps to slough off all of the damaged lining of the rumen and new will form. Good Luck with that calf!

 

[Deena]

Whole oyster shells or do you smash them up first?

 

[ATOZ]

We also fought a steer that bloated a lot this year , when he did I put 12 oz of vegtable down his throat and he would go down in 30 minutes and not bloat for a couple of days. This is not a cure but it will give him relief.

 

[Jill]

Wow, never heard of Oyster Shell being fed to a calf, that's a new one. 
To answer Deena, when you buy them they come crushed, we use them for Chickens and in our corn burning stove, it makes the corn burn hotter.

 

[cattlejunky]

We had a steer bloating this summer.  We switched him to heifer feed with baking soda and have not had a problem.  I think he just could not handle the corn that was in the steer feed.