Compare and contrast Acidosis and Bloat diseases of

ruminant animals
1. Acidosis of the Rumen 
Introduction

Rumen acidosis is a fast killing disease in ruminants that is caused by overeating with grains or
ground feed.

In English, acidosis of the rumen is also called lactic acidosis, carbohydrate engorgement or
rumen impaction.

Cause

When cattle, goats or sheep accidentally gain access to large amounts of grain or concentrate
feed and eat too much of it the rumen contents turn acid, which can rapidly kill the animals.

Signs and Symptoms

After eating ground feed first signs appear faster than after ingestion of whole grain.

Visible signs appear more or less in the following order:

1. Bloat
2. Pain and kicking against the belly
3. (Sometimes animals that have eaten a lot of grain start drinking a lot of water)
4. No more feeding or ruminating at all, no rumen contractions
5. Staggering or not moving
6. Lying down and unable to rise, completely dull
7. Shallow rapid breathing
8. High temperature up to 41degC (esp. on a hot day)
9. Diarrhoea, liquid, sour smelling often with undigested grain visible

The larger the amount of grain ingested the more severe the acidosis is going to be. A cow or
goat can die already at early stages of the disease. In cattle the time between overeating and
death is 1 to 3 days, in goats it can be as short as 3 hours. Cattle may improve and then relapse 2-
3 days later. Survivors may also go lame or abort (2 weeks later). - Overeating on grain is
especially dangerous in animals that feed on pasture and do not normally receive grains or
concentrate feed. In pastured animals 10kg of grain ingested over a short time is enough to kill a
cow and 1kg can kill a goat.

Diagnosis
The most important is to react promptly when detecting a suddenly severely diseased animal and
suspecting overeating with grain. Immediately confirm whether animals on the farm have had
uncontrolled access to and eaten large amounts of grain or ground feed.

Treatment

Animals with milder acidosis and that are still able to stand and walk should be given
magnesium hydroxide (400-500gr/cow, 4-5gr/goat) in warm water through the mouth (or by
stomach tube). After giving the solution, massage the flank to mix the magnesium hydroxide
with the rumen contents. If a vet is quickly available he can administer a 5% sodium bicarbonate
solution and electrolytes intravenously. - In animals that show signs of recovery give only good
quality hay and no grain at all for 3-4 days.

Severely affected animals may die any moment and should be slaughtered to salvage the meat.

Most animals that relapse after showing temporary improvement also die.

Prevention

Store grains and concentrate feed safely and out of reach for livestock. When supplementing
animals with grain start by giving small amounts of grain in the evening after animals return
from grazing and gradually increase the amount over two weeks.

2. Bloat ( Ruminal Tympany) 

With the onset of long rains, livestock keepers, especially goat, sheep and cattle keepers should
become aware of the dangers of bloat to their livestock. Bloat occurs when there is an abrupt
nutritional change in the diet and especially when ruminants feed on lush green pastures. It
simply means animals have too much gas in their stomach.

 How animals get bloat

The rumen of cattle, sheep and goats is like a large container in which a mixture of partly
digested feed and liquid is continuously fermenting, producing large quantities of gas. For
example, an average cow can produce over a thousand litres of gas in a day. Some of the gas is
removed by absorption into the blood stream but most of it is removed by belching during
"cudding". If the gas cannot escape, the rumen literally "blows up" and the animal gets bloat. It
can happen when:

 Animals eat too many legumes or too much fresh, lush grass (e.g. olenge grass (Luo))
 Animal eats too much grain (e.g. finger millet, Acacia pods)
 Animal eats cassava leaves or peels
Something blocks the passage of food in the stomach or gullet 

Types of bloat

There are two types of bloat: Frothy Bloat and Free Gas Bloat.

Animals get Frothy Bloat when the rumen becomes full of froth (foam). Several animals in the
herd may get this type of bloat at the same time when they graze on wet, green pasture mixed
with legumes in the field. Foaming substances are found in certain plants such as legumes of
which lucerne, clover and young green cereal crops are examples.

Frothy Bloat is due to the production of a stable foam, which traps the normal gases of
fermentation in the rumen. Pressure increases because belching cannot occur. Initially the
distension of the rumen stimulates rumen movements, which makes the frothiness even worse.
Later on because of the distension there is loss of muscle tone and loss of the rumen's ability to
move spontaneously, compounding the situation.

Saliva has antifoaming properties. More saliva is produced when food is eaten slowly than when
it is eaten quickly. Succulent forages are eaten more rapidly and digested more quickly and as a
result less anti-foaming saliva is produced. Grazing on immature, lush, succulent, rapidly
growing pastures with a high concentration of soluble proteins is most conducive to bloat, as is
the stage of growth of the plant, not its degree of wetness.

Causes of Frothy Bloat

 The primary cause of frothy bloat appears to be a change in the composition of certain
pasture plants, the change being one that facilitates the development of a stable foam that
in turn prevents belching
 Frothy Bloat normally happens at the start of wet season when the diet of grazing animals
abruptly changes from dry feeds to wet lush pastures that contains some legumes.
 Animals also get Frothy Bloat when they feed on ripe fruits or other feeds that ferment
easily.
 Some poisonous plants can cause sudden and severe bloat.
 A sudden change in the type of food can also cause Frothy Bloat.

Frothy bloat can also occur in feedlots with insufficient roughage, or food too finely ground.
This leads to a shortage of rumen-stimulating roughage, and prevents the rumen's ability to move
spontaneously and hinders belching and release of gas.

Free Gas Bloat is usually due to physical obstruction of the oesophagus, often by a foreign body
such as a potato, avocado, apple etc. Grain overload leading to stopping of of normal rhythmic
contractions of the rumen wall can also cause this type of bloat as can unusual posture,
particularly lying down, as may occur in a cow affected by milk fever. This type of bloat
normally only affects one or two animals in the herd at the same time, not several as in the case
of Frothy Bloat. As the name suggests, in this type of bloat the gas lies above the food in the
rumen and is not mixed with it, as it is in Frothy Bloat. 
Signs of Bloat

 The left side of the abdomen behind the ribs becomes very distended and very tense, like
a drum. Later the right side also becomes distended
 The animal stops eating
 The animal may grunt and have difficulty in breathing
 There may be mouth breathing
 The animal may stamp its feet on the ground
 Sometimes green froth comes out of the mouth and nose
 There may be extension of the tongue from the mouth
 Diarrhoea is common in cases of Frothy Bloat
 Animals may collapse and die after only an hour or so
 There is often frequent urination

Prevention - Control - Treatment

Prevention of bloat

1. Feed the animals with dry grass or hay to fill them up before you turn them out onto new wet
lush pasture. For this to be effective the hay or dry grass should form at least one third of the
diet.

2. Do not water the animals just before you put them on to wet pasture

3. Do not graze the animals on wet green pasture early in the morning. Wait until the pasture has
been dried up by the heat of the morning sun

4. You should gradually increase the grazing hours of the animals on wet green pasture over the
first week. Do not put the animals out all day and leave them there.

5. Avoid abrupt changes in the diet of animals and always give newly introduced feeds in small
quantities.

6. If possible try to strip graze animals to reduce intake and to maintain grass dominance in the
stretch of grass. The pasture ideally should have at least 50% grass.

7. During the risk period the continual administration of anti-foaming agents such as Stop Bloat
should be considered.

8. Watch animals closely at all times during the risk period.

9. Keep anti-foaming agents close at hand during the risk period.

Treatment of bloat

Depending on the type of bloat, several methods of treatment can be applied:

 Do not feed the animal for a few hours and make the animal move around (remember it
can die within 1 hour if the bloat is severe)
 For less severe cases of frothy bloat, give 500ml to large animals and 100ml to small
animals of any edible vegetable oil, solid cooking oil, butter oil, ghee or milk orally (by
mouth). Non-toxic mineral oils can also be used effectively.
 Severe bloat is an emergency and rapid action is required to save the animal's life. In life-
threatening cases where the animal can not breathe, an emergency rumenotomy may be
necessary. Puncture carefully the skin and the rumen of the animal on the left flunk to let
the gas out. Use a knife or any sharp thing but the best instrument to use is the trochar
and cannula. The hole should be made at a hands' width behind the last rib and a hand
away from the edge of the backbone. Push hard because the skin is very tough. Gas and
froth will come out when you make the hole. It helps to put a tube or cannula through the
hole to keep the hole open. There will be an explosive release of gas and rumen contents.
Remember that in severe cases if this is not done the animal will die. SO DO IT  (for
more information on how to use a trocar please also see Tools for livestock)
 Pour some vegetable oil into the rumen through the hole to help stop further gas or froth
formation. Complications are rare. Call a veterinarian to attend to a punctured abdomen
or a difficult case of bloat.
 Another aid is to tie a stick in the mouth to stimulate the flow of saliva, which is alkaline
and helps to denature the foam.
 Forceful walking may help to coalesce the foam into larger bubbles and stimulate
belching.
 Give bloat medicine such as the following: Stop Bloat, Bloat Guard or Birp once daily for
3 days

In cases of Free Gas Bloat due to a foreign body lodged in the oesophagus, it may have to be
dislodged by using a probang or stomach tube, for which the services of a veterinarian will be
required.