Be prepared and prevent bloat this spring

Producers will need to be on watch for bloat this spring as lush pasture and legume growth accelerates following a wet winter.

Knowing how to prevent bloat is key to ensuring livestock health and avoiding stock losses ahead of the spring selling season. Read on to find out more and see the strategies that can help you prevent stock losses from bloat this spring.

Understanding bloat

Bloat is a condition that can affect both cattle and sheep but is more severe in cattle. It’s caused by an inability to eructate (‘burp’) a build-up of gas in the rumen, which causes pressure on the diaphragm and disrupts the animal’s breathing.

The most common form is frothy bloat and occurs when a stable foam is created by the ingestion of legume pastures such as lucerne, medics, clover and lush grasses, which trap natural gases that cannot be belched up.

Bloat can cause severe discomfort in livestock and in advanced cases, lead to death. Symptoms include:

• distension in the left upper flank
• cattle not grazing or refusing to move
• visible distress, such as rubbing their sides against trees or other objects
• straining when urinating or defecating
• sudden death.

Preventing bloat

Management strategies for preventing bloat include:

• Seek professional advice to determine the bloat risk presented by pasture.
• Use grazing management to avoid grazing high-risk pastures for bloat – particularly lush, growing pastures with a high legume content, such as lucerne and sub-clover.
• Avoid grazing high-risk pastures particularly during their growing stage – mature pastures are lower risk.
• If grazing high-risk pastures, apply mineral oil pasture sprays before grazing and treat trough water with a bloat oil formula.
• Consider using bloat blocks/ licks and anti-foaming supplements.
• Limit grazing time or implement strip-grazing, keeping in mind that animals can be affected by bloat in less than one hour of heavy grazing, so intense monitoring is recommended.
• Ensure livestock have access to roughage such as hay. With higher risk conditions prevalent, do not put hungry animals onto that pasture. Cattle can be filled on roughage before being turned onto pasture to prevent them gorging as heavily.
• Aim towards grass-legume mixtures with no more than 40% legumes.
• Incorporate bloat-resistant legumes, such as Lotus corniculatis, into pasture mixes.

Using a number of these strategies is recommended to effectively prevent bloat this season. Any products applied to pastures must be used according to the label.

Treating bloat

Always contact your veterinarian immediately for assistance if you suspect animals are affected by bloat on your property. Several treatment options for bloat are available and include:

• removing cattle from pastures immediately if signs of bloat occur
• bloat drench may provide relief in cases with early symptoms
• veterinary application of stomach tubes, or trocar-and-cannula into the left paralumbar fossa.

More management options and a list of treatment products are available in NSW DPI’s Bloat in cattle and sheep factsheet.

Ensuring 5–in–1 vaccinations are up-to-date is recommended to reduce the chance of other diseases causing similar symptoms to bloat and creating confusion.