A Review of Bloat in Ruminants

Abstract

Many recent papers have referred to the literature bearing upon certain aspects, but no one heretofore has reviewed all phases of ruminal physiology and pathology relating to the bloat problem. For the purposes of acquainting workers with all phases of the problem and revealing the gaps in our present knowledge, such a review would seem desirable and is being attempted in the present article. Cattle, sheep, goats, and probably all other ruminants are subject to bloat. To our knowledge no one has attempted to determine experimentally the relative susceptibility of different species to this condition. From a survey in Scotland, McCandlish (121) obtained evidence that dairy cows were more susceptible than beef animals or sheep. Mead, Cole and Regan (125) noted that the feeding of green alfalfa tops caused less serious bloat in sheep than in dairy cows. Since, however, they compared only four cows and four sheep, the difference could easily be explained on the basis of individual susceptibility rather than upon a species difference. Copyright © . .