Vagal indigestion in cows can look like bloat

By Ee Cheng Ooi
Updated May 17 2019 - 4:38pm, first published May 8 2019 - 11:18am
The cow looks like a 'papple' when viewed from behind. Both lower quadrants are usually bloated, and the left upper quadrant of the abdomen is bloated (apple), while the right upper quadrant is normal (pear).

Bloat is one of the few calls we get which is an absolute, full-blown emergency. It happens when a cow eats lush feed (usually lucerne or legumes), which froths up in the rumen, preventing her from burping. The gas builds quickly, and the cow begins to blow up like a balloon. Soon, she's struggling to breathe. There's an extremely narrow timeframe to relieve the pressure by stabbing the rumen (remember: left side, and use a knife with a hilt if possible) and drenching with oil, and it's rarely just the one cow that is affected.

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