New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts

---

Bloat in cattle
48. Effect of copper in a bloat drench on rumen by-pass in cattle

G. C. WAGHORN
I. D. SHELTON

AgResearch Grasslands
Private Bag 11008
Palmerston North, New Zealand

Abstract  A trial was undertaken to determine whether a bloat drench containing copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), selenium (Se), and iodine (I) would by-pass the reticulo-rumen (rumen) of cows. Six rumen-fistulated cows were fed pasture at a range of intakes so that there was an 8-fold range in rumen dry matter (DM) pool size, and the Cu in the drench was used as a marker. The extent to which the rumen Cu pool size increased as a consequence of drenching was used to indicate the fate of the drench. The increase in the rumen Cu pool with drenching showed 30-100% of the drench (mean 71.3 +/- SE 5.15%) remained in the rumen 25-30 min after administration and recovery was not affected by rumen fill or saiety. It is suggested that the low and variable recoveries could be the result of a slow dispersion of drench in the digesta, so that drench which was concentrated in the cranial reticulo-rumen passed rapidly to the abomasum. The drench did not appear to elicite a closure of the oesophageal groove.

Keywords  cattle; bloat drench; rumen by-pass; copper; bloat

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (488K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

---

This year's abstracts | Journal home page | All abstracts | Publishing home page