The lamb has a swollen belly: what to do and what are the reasons, treatment for tympania

Raising sheep is hard work even for an experienced farmer. Ruminants have a very sensitive digestive system, so any little thing in feeding can lead to serious consequences. Often, cattle ranchers don't know what to do if a lamb's belly is swollen. Do not delay the solution of this problem, and then you can easily save the sheep from death.

Main reasons

Most often, a swollen belly of a lamb is a sign of rumen tympania. The scar is one of the sections of the stomach of ruminants. It is in the rumen that the main processes of digestion of food take place.This section contains many beneficial bacteria that release a small amount of gas during the digestion of food. Normally, gases are excreted naturally and do not harm the animal.

Inappropriate food can cause profuse gas formation, which significantly stretches the body in size. Pressure on the walls stimulates severe acute pain, so the animal is lethargic, lethargic, refuses food and water. Characterized by a tense, unnatural posture with an arched back, excessive anxiety. The membranes of the nose and eyes may become congested with blood, and the gait becomes wobbly and unsteady.

The condition is usually triggered by feeding large amounts of high protein foods such as alfalfa or clover. The same problem arises after giving the tops of potatoes, beets or apples, cabbage, which easily roam in the stomach with the formation of gas. Grass wetted with dew or rain also tends to ferment, so it is not recommended to graze sheep in the early morning, immediately after rain, or in swampy areas.

How does it manifest?

Bloating is easy to see with the naked eye. Both sides or the side on the left side are significantly enlarged in size. The animal is breathing heavily, refuses food and feed, may lie motionless or be reluctant to move.

A sharp refusal to feed and a serious condition of the animal are caused by an acute swelling of the scar. Chronic bloating is only accompanied by a slight increase in the side in size, and is usually caused by minor violations in feeding technology.

What to do if the lamb has a swollen belly

Acute rumen tympania requires immediate treatment, otherwise the lamb can easily suffocate. For the treatment of sheep, it is necessary to remove excess gas from the stomach as quickly as possible. It is necessary to place the lamb so that the upper half of the body is higher than the lower one, and gently massage the left side. If the lamb can move, it makes sense to drive it up the mountain and lower it several times - active upward movement stimulates the release of gas.

The belly of the lamb can be doused with cold water. To prevent further gas formation, creolin or a solution of turpentine mixed with milk is forcibly poured inside.

In extreme cases, the veterinarian resorts to piercing the wall of the lamb's rumen with a trocar. The puncture must be done in a strictly defined place - a hungry hole, exactly in the middle between the maklok (hip joint) and the last rib of the lamb. This procedure cannot be performed by an unprepared person, so it makes sense to call a veterinarian immediately after the onset of the disease. If everything went well, the tube is left at the puncture site for a while so that the gas has time to escape. In this case, the trocar is held with the thumb.

After removing the tube from the wound, the puncture site must be disinfected with iodine.The sheep are observed for several hours. If the condition is satisfactory, it can be released into the general box. But feeding concentrates and, in particular, lush green grass should be limited to a minimum, at least for a couple of weeks.

Problem Prevention

To avoid gastric distension in lambs, the diet must be carefully selected for both young and adult sheep. Grazing of animals on swampy pastures or in areas with abundant dew formation is not allowed. If it started to rain heavily, it is advisable to drive the herd indoors and only after the area has dried out again to release it into the field.

In autumn and spring, sheep are gradually transferred to a new feed. At first, green grass is allowed to be given for 15-20 minutes a day, and then the time is gradually increased to several hours.

Do not feed lambs table scraps or cleanings, including potato, eggplant, beetroot. It is necessary to regularly review the diet of sheep, counting the content of dry and succulent feed. It is better if a certified livestock specialist does this.

Recommended