Bloat And Feeding

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31440, 5 August 1967, Page 12

Bloat And Feeding

TT is not necessarily the x cow that eats fast, or eats the most that gets bloated, according to Mr P. Vlieg, a technical officer with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research at Palmerston North. He told the West Coast and Buller farmers’ conference that stall-feeding tests had been carried out on this aspect, and he had found a sloweating cow would bloat better than a fast-eating cow. Mr Vlieg’s comments on the following aspects of bloat control were:—

Flank Painting: This was a wash-out, because the cow did not lick herself when she should. He had once treated two cows: one licked herself Ihr and 50min later, the other didn’t lick herself for two days. Pasture Composition: The content of pasture was often a point of discussion in the causes of bloat, but he had experienced bloat in a herd where the pasture content contained only 4 per cent of clovers. Bloat in these circumstances was simply because a cow could be selective. Cows had shown to be carrying up to 95 per cent of clover when examined after dying of bloat

Turpentine: “We have tried the turpentine trick.” Half an ounce of mineral turpentine had good results. There was no bloat for four days, but the cow didn’t eat for a week.