Bloat in weanling heifer

Kovu

A BBX heifer of ours that was born August last year died yesterday with bloat. She's not on any ration, but general purpose lick and let run across light ground with 2 cows and 2 other weanlings. Never seen anything like it before as I checked them in the evening and at 11am the next day she was like a balloon. Brought them out of the field and was taking them up to the yard and she just collapsed on the road. Got the knife into her in the upper gut (to the left of the hip bone) and she just deflated. But passed away within a few mins of this. Has anyone seen anything like this before or know of anything she could have eaten to have caused it? If there is a weed or something that she was eaten, I want to remove it ASAP.
The only thing I can think of is that we let them into opened habitat ground from the REPS, possible clover build up? They've been on the same ground since early April so it's not that they have hit new ground. I'd just hate to lose any of the other weanlings.

bbam

We had bloat last year with 5 month old heifer, brought her in and gave her some hay which seemed to do the trick... Maybe it would have cleared anyway but that was the advice I got..

A few years ago we had a nice weanlin bull that bloated up, stopped passing dung and died, tbh I reckon he'd got plastic or something.. Vet reckoned same and nothing could be done.. like yourself he died immediatly after the vet let gas out of him..

Kovu

Interesting, only for I have worked with a vet & knew what to attempt. The vet was on the way too. I must question them & see what they think. I know there's very little rubbish on the land as it's the middle of nowhere. Bad times to lose a heifer though!

whelan1

did you ask for a pm to be done by the knackery?

Kovu

I didn't but I think I will ring them tomorrow to see if they found anything strange. We've used the same place for as long as I'm alive so they should be able to tell me if anything stood out. I.e. Plastic etc. If not, I'm baffled.

reilig

Did she have any access to red clover sown or wild?

It can cause bloat. The mild spring that we had saw wild clover grow in abundance!!

Kovu

reilig wrote: »

Did she have any access to red clover sown or wild?

It can cause bloat. The mild spring that we had saw wild clover grow in abundance!!

Would this be what we call purple clover? It's not very abundant. But there is a bit there. Unless it grows on marsh land better, where we had the habitat and no fertiliser on it for years.

reilig

Karen112 wrote: »

Would this be what we call purple clover? It's not very abundant. But there is a bit there. Unless it grows on marsh land better, where we had the habitat and no fertiliser on it for years.

AFAIK, red clover and purple clover are the one thing. (I'm open to correction).
Its very sweet stuff - when we were young we used to call it honey suckle - you could pull the leaves from the clover head and suck it to get a sweet taste. The habitat that received no fertilizer or bogland would be an ideal growth spot for it.

Its something to bear in mind anyway!!

bbam

Karen112 wrote: »

I know there's very little rubbish on the land as it's the middle of nowhere.

We try to keep things tidy but they were on fields under the road and so much crap ends up in the fields, it's incredable... Bags from the chipper are the worst as the cattle seem to love the salt/vinegar taste :mad:

Kovu

bbam wrote: »

We try to keep things tidy but they were on fields under the road and so much crap ends up in the fields, it's incredable... Bags from the chipper are the worst as the cattle seem to love the salt/vinegar taste :mad:

I live about 8km from the nearest chipper on a small road, the farm these cattle are on are about a km from us but on an even smaller road. The only thing I can think of there is black plastic waste blowing in. But for a heifer that was 10months old, it seems less plausible that she'd eat it.....

@ Relig, eh, to me, honeysuckle is different. But I do recall learning how to get nectar from these clover. So prob the same thing. But it's just the fact that they've been there since April baffles me. It's not new grass to them, the weather has not been too humid to grow much more and it's a large unfertilised ground for them as we're in the AEOS. I.e. small stock & larger running ground.

reilig

Karen112 wrote: »

I live about 8km from the nearest chipper on a small road, the farm these cattle are on are about a km from us but on an even smaller road. The only thing I can think of there is black plastic waste blowing in. But for a heifer that was 10months old, it seems less plausible that she'd eat it.....

@ Relig, eh, to me, honeysuckle is different. But I do recall learning how to get nectar from these clover. So prob the same thing. But it's just the fact that they've been there since April baffles me. It's not new grass to them, the weather has not been too humid to grow much more and it's a large unfertilised ground for them as we're in the AEOS. I.e. small stock & larger running ground.

The wild clover will grow best in unfertilized ground.

Google purple clover - there's quite a bit on it!!

Kovu

reilig wrote: »

The wild clover will grow best in unfertilized ground.

Google purple clover - there's quite a bit on it!!

Oh arse, that means me pulling clover tomorrow! And fencing....aaaargh
Thank you for the heads up on that! Would also be a good reason why they spent a majority of their time on the unfertilised ground. Fencing off once again....*sigh*
Actually...think I'll just find a horse or donkey to eat it off!