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In the Soviet years, thanks to experiments and the search for the cheapest feed, the belief spread that a cow could eat almost anything. They gave the cattle cut paper instead of straw, they did not die. In some places they tried to add dried jellyfish to the feed. Fortunately, such experiments remained at the exotic level, since tympania in cattle is a very common phenomenon. Mild forms often even go unnoticed. But if the disease has become severe, the cow needs immediate help. Otherwise, the animal may die.
What is tympania
Colloquially, this phenomenon is often referred to as “bloated cow”. The popular name is apt. Tympania is an excessive accumulation of gases in the rumen of cattle. In animals with a single-chamber stomach, this is called flatulence. Sometimes it can pass on its own, but often the animal needs help. Scar swelling is of 3 types:
- chronic;
- primary;
- secondary.
An acute course occurs with primary and secondary forms of swelling. When treating cattle for tympania of the scar, it is good to know the history of the disease, since each type has its own cause of origin.
Causes of tympania in calves and cows
The formation of gases in the stomach of cattle is normal. When chewing cud, cows burp gases along with food. The latter accumulate in the scar when the act of belching is blocked. If the cattle chews the gum, you can be calm: he has no timpani.
Very often, cattle “swell up” with a sharp transition from one type of feed to another or with the introduction of a large amount of succulent feed at once. The latter is often practiced in order to get as much milk as possible from a dairy cow.
Tympania in young
Calves often develop bloating when they are switched from milk to a plant-based diet.
Since usually the owners do not fool themselves especially, this transition occurs quite abruptly. In nature, a calf can suckle its mother for up to 6 months. But there is not enough milk, so the cub consumes more and more vegetation as it grows. For a private trader who bought a 2-month-old calf, such conditions are not feasible. Even if there is a dairy cow in the farmstead, a person will not be able to constantly run around to feed the calf. Therefore, usually young animals are transferred to “adult” feed within a week. And at the same time they get timpania.
Abrupt transfer of calves to adult food is a common cause of rumen swelling
Acute primary
An acute course of the primary type of tympania occurs if cattle receive a large amount of easily fermenting feed in one feeding:
- clover;
- vikki;
- alfalfa;
- cabbage;
- tops;
- corn in the stage of milky ripeness;
- winter crops.
These foods are especially dangerous if they are fed raw, frosty or self-heated.
The primary acute form of the disease is also often caused by frozen root crops:
- potatoes;
- turnips;
- carrot;
- beet.
All of the above feeds belong to the category of milk-producing ones, therefore, they are almost without fail included in the diet of cattle. To prevent tympania, it is necessary to monitor the quality and condition of these feeds. Do not feed moldy or rotten food. Spoiled grains and stillage, as initially potentially fermentable products, are almost guaranteed to cause timpania. They can only be fed fresh.
Acute secondary
This type may occur when:
- blockage of the esophagus;
- acute infectious diseases, one of which is anthrax;
- some plant poisonings.
Secondary tympania cannot be cured without addressing the true cause of the swelling.
Chronic form
The reason for this form of tympania in cattle is other internal diseases:
- squeezing the esophagus;
- diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, abomasum;
- traumatic reticulitis.
The chronic form of cattle can suffer for several months, but without eliminating the cause, the process will inevitably lead to the death of the animal.
Symptoms of rumen tympania in cattle
In the case of acute tympania, the process develops very quickly:
- the stomach increases sharply;
- the left “hungry” fossa begins to bulge;
- the work of the scar first weakens, and then stops altogether;
- the animal is anxious;
- shortness of breath appears;
- heartbeat is frequent and weak;
- cyanosis of the mucous membranes.
When tapping on the abdominal wall, a drum sound is heard.
A variety of the acute form of tympania with gas formation is foamy. The released gases mix with the contents of the stomach and “lubricate” the picture. Anxiety in cattle with foamy tympania is less pronounced.
With the provision of timely assistance, the prognosis is favorable.
Chronic tympania is characterized by the fact that the scar swells periodically. Often after feeding. In chronic tympania, swelling of the scar is less pronounced than in the acute form. Observe the gradual depletion of the animal. The disease can last for several months. The prognosis depends on the underlying disease.
Diagnosis of tympani
In vivo, timpania is diagnosed by a cow swollen like a balloon. If there was a normal animal and suddenly turned out to be “in the last month of pregnancy”, you can not look for other signs: this is tympania. To be sure, you can tap your fingers on the swollen belly and listen to a booming sound, compare the sides (the left one sticks out more) and see if the cow is chewing the cud. If the latter is not present, but everything else is, then this is timpania.
It is unlikely that from the photo, without seeing the process in dynamics, someone will be able to determine whether this cow is pregnant or it is swollen with gases
Pathological changes
If the cattle managed to fall from tympania, at autopsy they find:
- blood-filled muscles of the front of the body, especially the neck and front legs;
- gas comes out of the cut scar and foamy contents pour out;
- spleen pale, compressed;
- kidneys are pale, autolyzed, there are areas with a rush of blood;
- the liver is partially autolyzed, ischemic.
In other words, with tympania, the liver and kidneys are not completely preserved.
Treatment of ruminal tympania in cattle
Since tympania is a fairly common occurrence in cattle, the owner’s first aid kit should contain:
- formalin, lysol or ichthyol;
- tympanol, vegetable or vaseline oil, sicaden.
These elements are sort of synonymous. You do not need to use them all at once, but one of these two items should always be at home.
Without these drugs, the prognosis for acute gas tympania is unknown. The veterinarian may not have time to get there, since treatment must be started immediately, as soon as a swollen cow was found:
- to weaken the fermentation process in the rumen: 10-20 g of ichthyol / 10-15 ml of formalin / 5-10 ml of lysol are mixed with 1-2 liters of water and poured inside;
- to break up the foam orally: 200 ml tympanol / 150-300 ml vaseline or vegetable oil / 50 ml sikaden mixed with 2-5 liters of water;
- for adsorption (“precipitation”) of gases: 2-3 liters of fresh milk or 20 g of burnt magnesia.
Of the oils, vaseline is better, since it only covers the intestinal walls from the inside, but is not absorbed by the body of the cattle.
To excite belching, cattle are placed on a raised platform with their front legs and the scar is massaged with a fist. You can also try:
- rhythmically stretch the tongue with your hand;
- irritate the veil of the palate;
- pour cold water over the left sigh;
- bridle the cow with a thick rope;
- slowly hold the animal uphill.
There is also a rather amusing “folk way” from the category of “magic”: close the eyes of a cow with the nightgown of the hostess and drive her (the cow, but it is possible with the hostess) through the threshold of the barn. The threshold must be high. There is a rational grain here: stepping over the threshold, the cow is forced to strain the abdominal muscles, and this contributes to the appearance of belching. And if the cattle close their eyes, the animal becomes much calmer. This is important when tympania, because often the cow is very irritated due to pain. So any suitable rag can play the role of a shirt. In the 19th century, if timpania appeared in the middle of the night, they put whatever was at hand on the head of the cattle, hence the shirt.
It’s good when there is a suitable slide
All these activities are carried out before the arrival of the veterinarian. If by that time tympania has not passed or it turned out to be a severe form of the disease, the cattle scar is probed, releasing gases. Using the same probe, the stomach is washed with a solution of potassium permanganate in a ratio of 1:10. The second option for freeing the scar from gases: puncture with a trocar.
If foam has formed in the stomach, there will be no sense from a puncture: only a small amount of foam can come out through the trocar sleeve. In this case, the scar is washed with a probe, the cattle are given orally foam-destroying drugs and agents that cause belching.
During the recovery period, cattle are kept on a limited diet.
Preventive measures
Tympania prophylaxis is “standard”. The same recommendations can be found in almost any gastrointestinal disease:
- providing cattle with good quality feed;
- limiting those types of feed that can cause fermentation in the stomach;
- a ban on cattle grazing on wet legumes: clover, alfalfa, peas and others;
- gradual transition to grazing with rich herbage, especially after the winter period. At first, it is desirable to feed hay before pasture;
- timely vaccinations against anthrax;
- instructing cattlemen and shepherds on measures to prevent tympania.
The latter, however, is not feasible for private households. Either the owner knows, or the hired shepherd, no matter how instructed, will not help.
In the West, timpania is increasingly being prevented by implanting a special ring with a lid into the side of the cow. Even in severe cases of tympania, anyone can cope with the problem: it is enough to open a hole in the side of the cattle so that the gases come out. Through the same hole, you can get rid of fermented food.
In the end, it’s good for everyone: the cow does not have tympania, the owner does not need to call the veterinarian
Conclusion
Tympania in cattle can cause a lot of trouble to the owner, primarily because of the large size of the animal. With small cattle, everything goes easier, since they can be “taken on the handles”, rearing up by the front legs. In cattle, it is better to prevent tympania than to eliminate the consequences of malnutrition of the animal later.