Bloat in Cattle

Lush pastures with high amounts of clover or lucerne makes spring a high risk time for bloat especially in young cattle. Bloat is caused by rapid gas accumulation in the rumen. This gas cannot be belched out as it becomes trapped in the rumen contents and forms stable foam.

When cattle are put onto a risky feed they can bloat within 15 minutes and die within 2 hours. If there are early signs of bloat, remove the herd from the offending pasture and feed hay or mature grass/silage. Bloated cattle can be given bloat oil and cattle with severe bloat may need to be stabbed in the left flank to release the gas. Because of the rapid onset, the first sign of bloat may be dead cattle. This can look similar to other common causes of sudden death including clostridial diseases in unvaccinated cattle.

Nothing is 100% effective at preventing bloat but the most reliable bloat prevention can be provided with Rumensin 100 day anti-bloat capsules given a week before being placed on riskyfeed. Other management options include providing fibre, giving bloat oil via troughs and avoiding hungry cattle gorging on highrisk pastures. Rumensin has the added advantage of improving feed conversion efficiency (7-15%) meaning bloat prevention can also improve production/profitability of finishing cattle.