Hungry fossa in a cow: where is the maklok and rating scale, massage

To assess the effectiveness of feeding, how full the scar is in cattle, you need to know what a hungry hole (hollow) in a cow is and where it is located. According to its condition, you can not only determine how correctly the diet is composed and, if necessary, adjust the nutrition in time, but also learn about the speed of metabolic processes in the body, and general he alth. How is the state of the depression in cattle assessed? What is the norm and what is the deviation?

What is a hungry hole

The hungry fossa in cattle is located on the body of ruminant artiodactyls, is clearly visible in the pelvis. The cavity formed by the costal arch (last rib), transverse processes of the vertebrae and maklok, triangular in shape.

Important! Maklok - a kind of protrusion on the lower back of the cattle, which forms the pelvic bone.

The cow's hungry fossa is most noticeable on the left side. To assess its depth, you can put your palm on the hole.

Hunger Fossa Scale

The state of the hungry fossa is assessed on a 5-point scale:

1 point. This indicator indicates an extremely sunken depression. The skin is strongly stretched, fits the transverse vertebrae. From the costal arch to the maklock, the fossa is strongly concave inward, wider than the palm, which is an alarming symptom.
2 points. The width of the fossa corresponds to the width of the palm. The cavity has a clearly defined triangular or wedge-shaped shape, rounded corners. The skin fits snugly and slightly stretches the processes of the vertebrae. A skin fold runs at an angle from the maklok to the costal arch.
3 points. This indicator indicates the beginning of the filling of the hungry fossa towards the spinal column.The depression is clearly visible behind the arc of the rib. Above the processes of the vertebrae, the skin is concave inward and closer to the vertebra is curved outward. Triangular outlines are recognized.
4 points. The skin located above the vertebrae falls towards the peritoneum, after which it curves outward. Behind the ribs, the skin fold is even, does not form a depression. Runs parallel to maklok.
5 points. With this indicator of scar filling, there is no transition between the stomach and the arch of the last rib. The ends of the vertebrae are not visible. The scar is well filled. The belly is rounded. The skin fold curves slightly outward, slightly convex in the area of the fossa.

Important! The assessment of the depression in cattle is carried out standing behind the animal on the left side. Inspection is carried out daily, taking into account age, physiological indicators of he alth, breed, diet.

A low score indicates violations in the nutrition system, malfunctions in the functioning of the digestive tract, as well as deterioration in he alth, systemic disorders in the cow's body.1-2 points indicate errors in feeding, unbalanced diets, metabolic disorders, intestinal disorders.

One point, obtained when testing the hungry fossa in cattle, is a sign of exhaustion, the presence of chronic, acute processes in the body of ruminants, lack of access to the food supply, the feed stem. This indicator indicates an imbalance in nutrition, feeding cows with low-quality low-grade feed. Two points are acceptable for young cows at the beginning of lactation, in the first month after calving. If the dimple is clearly visible on a two-point score, this indicates:

development of systemic failures in the body of cattle;
inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract;
metabolic disorder;
too fast passage of food through the digestive tract;
poor feed digestibility.

A high score indicates normal, adequate rumen filling with food. The criterion for the norm is 3-4 points.

Important! For dry cows, the depression score should be at least four to five points.

Three points is the optimal parameter that indicates the normal, sufficient condition of dairy heifers at the beginning of the lactation period or in the first two weeks after launch, which is associated with the restructuring of the body, the acceleration of metabolism.

How does assessing the hunger pit help in practice?

In practice, veterinarians, livestock specialists should monitor the state of the hungry fossa in cattle to determine the relationship between feed intake, condition and he alth of ruminant artiodactyls. Cavity testing should also be done when cattle are introduced to new diets, one week before expected calving date, days 2-6, and 8-10 after newborn calves are born.

Temperature risk

A few days before calving, as well as in the first 3-5 days from the start of lactation, cows notice a slight increase in overall body temperature by 0.5-1.5 degrees, which is the norm.

Important! An increase in temperature by 1-2 degrees on the first day after calving does not always indicate the development of postpartum complications. But in this case, veterinarians must maintain strict control over the condition of the animals.

An increase in temperature above the physiological norm is noted if, when assessing the depression, the indicator in heifers was 1-2 points. If in cattle the hungry fossa is estimated at one point, in such individuals in the first days after lactation, pathologies, diseases, systemic and functional failures of various etiopathogenesis were diagnosed.

Important! Cows with a score of two before or after calving are always at risk and need systematic monitoring.

Cows with a score between 3-5, if there were no pathologies, postpartum complications, chronic diseases, had normal temperature indicators.

Feed consumption

With regards to the consumption of cattle feed, when assessing the hungry fossa at 1-2 points, such animals, compared with individuals whose score was in the range of 3-5, consumed less food. The animals were diagnosed with low live weight gain, friable condition, intestinal disorders, rumen atony, other pathologies, disorders in the gastrointestinal tract.

To normalize the condition of ruminants, they were transferred to new diets, taking into account age, physiological characteristics, and he alth status. If necessary, the diet was supplemented with probiotics, vitamin-mineral complexes.Symptomatic drugs were administered to normalize metabolism, digestion, and general condition.

Hotel

After the birth of calves in the study group of cows out of 100% in the first days after calving, 60-70% of the individuals when testing the cavity had a score of 1-2 points, which was an alarming indicator. Only in 30-35% of heifers after the birth of offspring, the state on the scale was within 3-4 points.

Metabolism

If we evaluate the condition of ruminants, the metabolic rate by testing the cavity a week before calving and 10-12 days after the birth of babies, in the test groups, even at the 9-10th week, veterinarians noted metabolic failures, systemic disturbances in work internal organs. With minimal scores (1-3), the cattle group showed accelerated breakdown of fatty acids. This state inevitably leads to ketosis.

What to do in case of abnormality?

With a sunken hole in cattle (1-2 points), agricultural animals should be under the constant supervision of veterinarians, livestock specialists, farm workers, livestock complexes. Required:

take a rapid ketosis test;
pay attention to the diet and, if necessary, make nutritional adjustments;
measure the amount of dry matter in the diet;
monitor daily temperature indicators, he alth status;
prescribe medicines, enzymes, vitamins to normalize metabolism, general condition.

Important! With swelling of the scar, accumulation of gases, a massage is prescribed. Rhythmic movements press on the cavity on the left side of the cow's body for 10-20 minutes.

It is mandatory to carry out an audit of the main feed. Check the energy value of food, the quality of food consumed by animals.If necessary, dry cows in the diet increase the amount of concentrated feed. Pay attention to the conditions of detention, compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards, cleanliness of feeders, drinkers. They check the density of animals in barns, premises.