The Book of Alfalfa: History, Cultivation and Merits / Its Uses as a Forage and Fertilizer

by F. D. Coburn

RULES FOR PASTURING

The most generally approved rules in regard to pasturing are:

At the beginning of the pasturing season give animals a heavy feeding in the morning before turning upon the alfalfa.

Have water in the pasture all the time.

Keep the animals in the pasture night and day, after they have become accustomed to it, until removed permanently.

Use upland in preference to bottom fields for pasture.

Watch the stock closely the first few days and remove permanently animals that show symptoms of bloat.

Sow blue-grass, brome grass, or meadow fescue with alfalfa in fields intended for permanent pasture.

The following valuable information upon bloat (tympanitis) and its treatment was prepared by Nelson S. Mayo, formerly professor of veterinary science at the Kansas agricultural college:

“Bloating, in all cases, is accumulation of gas in the stomach or intestines, or both, but more particularly in the paunch (rumen). This gas is produced by a fermentation, similar to that observed when cider is ‘working’ and the gas escapes in bubbles. There is usually a small quantity of gas given off from the food during normal, healthy digestion, but so small that it causes no trouble, and passes off readily through the intestines, though sometimes from the stomach, up the esophagus, and out of the nose or mouth—‘belched up,’ as it is commonly expressed. These gases which cause an animal to bloat are generated in considerable quantities if a large amount of juicy, green food is eaten. Alfalfa, clover and frozen roots are very liable to produce bloating.

“It is well known that only part of the animals in a herd pasturing upon clover or alfalfa bloat; so the blame cannot be laid entirely upon the food, but is probably the result of a slight derangement of the digestive organs, not ordinarily noticed, but easily aggravated by certain foods which ferment easily. Animals that are ailing are very liable to bloat when turned on alfalfa pastures. Alfalfa and clover are much more liable to produce bloating if wet with rain or dew, and especially hoar frost, and animals are more apt to bloat if turned into the pastures when very hungry, as they gorge themselves, and the food is not properly masticated. Hence, cattle should not be allowed to go hungry to the pastures.

“It is generally believed by those who have had considerable experience in pasturing clover or alfalfa, that cattle and sheep are less liable to bloat if they have free access to dry food, such as hay or straw. Common bloating, or hoove, occurs in animals having a compound stomach and that chew the cud—ruminants, as they are called. Of our common domestic animals, cattle and sheep belong to this order.

“One of the first symptoms noticed is that the animal stops feeding, and remains lagging behind or stands by itself. Rumination, or chewing of the cud, is suspended; the animal appears dull and listless, the back slightly arched; the whole abdomen or belly is distended with a prominent swelling on the left side just forward of the point of the hip. If the swelling is tapped lightly with the fingers there is a hollow, drum-like sound; hence the technical name, tympanitis.

“The rumen being distended with gas not only makes the animal appear much fuller than usual, but it presses forward on the diaphragm, or ‘midriff,’ and this presses against the lungs, and interferes seriously with the animal’s breathing. The breath is short and rapid. The animal often grunts, or moans, with each breath. The animal’s nose protrudes, and there is a driveling of saliva from the mouth. Sometimes there are quite severe colicky pains, shown by the animal’s kicking at its belly and stepping about uneasily. Sometimes, also, the pressure is so great as to cause eversion or bulging out of the rectum. The symptoms of bloating are so prominent, especially when the history of the case is taken into account, as to make this disease very easy to recognize, even by an ordinary observer.

“When animals die from bloating, death usually takes place in the following manner: The diaphragm is pressed against the lungs so hard that the animal cannot breathe, and it dies of suffocation. Animals usually remain standing until near the end, when they gradually lose consciousness, stagger, and fall, and in falling rupture some of the vital organs.

“Treatment must depend somewhat upon the condition of the animal. If the animal is badly bloated, with labored breathing and staggering gait, energetic measures must be resorted to at once. The best and most satisfactory treatment for bad cases is tapping. This consists in making a hole through the skin and muscles, over the prominent swelling on the left side, into the rumen or ‘paunch,’ thus allowing the gas to escape at once, relieving the animal.

“The best method of tapping is by means of an instrument called a trocar and cannula. A trocar is a sharp-pointed instrument, five or six inches long, and about the size of a lead pencil, with a handle at one end. Over the point of the trocar slips a tube, called a cannula, not quite as long as the trocar, with a wide flange around the upper end of the tube, as shown in the illustration herewith.