Author Topic: Recipe and quantities for helping bloat (Read 4855 times)

moprabbit · « **on:** November 07, 2016, 10:19:09 am »

I've looked at the long post about bloat, which is really helpful, but I can't find the actual quantities of things to give sheep with suspected bloat. I know that it's bicarbonate of soda, vegetable oil and yoghurt that can be given, but how much of each should be used? My sheep are big, about 70 -90 kg. I was afraid yesterday that they'd over indulged on apples and were bloated. I gave them some of the above, but didn't really know how much. They seem a bit better today, but I would like to know the proper quantities to give. They won'tbe seeing any more apples though! Thank you

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #1 on:** November 07, 2016, 01:05:41 pm »

I don't think any of us weigh the ingredients...

For a calf I probably want to give it about 500ml at a time, I guess a third to a half of that for a sheep. Then more if it seems to be a good idea.

In terms of proportions, I mix yoghurt and sunflower oil to make a yoghurty oily drinky thing, add some chopped ginger, take the drinky thing with me and add the bicarb just as I'm about to administer it. For 500ml I think I probably use about half to one rounded teaspoon of bicarb, but basically I put in enough to make it froth then administer straight away.

Whatever you gave yesterday seems to have done the trick, so how much did you use?

moprabbit · « **Reply #2 on:** November 07, 2016, 02:09:13 pm »

Thanks for your reply, Sally. I gave them about 2 tablespoons of yoghurt, 1 teaspoon of bicarb. and a dash of vegetable oil. It frothed quite well and I gave it straight away. They're not 100% better today, but better than yesterday. They're all eating, the one that had the squits is now firming up.What you would expect - maybe a couple of days to get over it? Thank you

SallyintNorth · « **Reply #3 on:** November 07, 2016, 08:07:53 pm »

I've not had it happen very often, and in fact I think always with calves not with sheep, so I've no personal experience that I can recall of sheep getting over it. I've had one calf needed the drench three times a day for several days, and then again about a week later, but I'd have though that usually one or two drenches would do the trick. (The first calf didn't need to be drenched after the first two - he drank it down avidly himself, out of a bucket!)

With calves I was able to keep them in and feed only hay, which helps. I also poo picked so I could see what they were passing - or were not passing

The other thing I did is massage the taut abdomen, for several minutes, to help the rumen start moving properly again after giving the drench. And with the calf that took a while to get fully over it, he sometimes needed a massage but wasn't bad enough to drench again after that.