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Displaced
Abomasums
A number of dairymen have
indicated they are having more
displaced abomasums this fall,
and I don’t pretend to have all the
answers to their problems. How
ever, their problems did encour
age me to choose this topic for this
column.
As you probably arc well aware
of, DA’s are most prevalent short
ly after calving and are generally
more of a problem with older
cattle. However, I’ve been hearing
more dairymen complain about
heifers having DA’s this year.
There are a number of theories
as to the cause of DA’s. Some
times, there is a lack of smooth
muscle contractions around the
abomasum. These contractions arc
necessary to help gases escape.
This could also be one of the bene
fits of exercising cows. If the
gases cannot escape the stomach
may float up into an abnormal
position.
A number of factors may con
tribute to the inactivity of the
smooth muscles and the lack of
abomasal contractions. Some peo
ple think this is caused by a lack of
calcium. However, before you
start increasing the calcium con
tent in your dry cow rations,
remember that excess calcium can
cause milk fever. So, the message
is, be sure your dry cow rations
are properly balanced.
Histamines caused from the
consumption of improperly fer
mented feeds and aflatoxins from
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Extension
Dairy
Agent
moldy feeds can also affect
smooth muscular contractions; so
will excess acid production in the
men. Aflatoxins could have been a
problem in some of our feeds this
year as a result of this summer’s
drought
Gases in the stomach and acid
production in the rumen could be
the result of feeding dry cows too
much grain or too much com sil
age, not acclimating dry cows to
grain 2-3 weeks before calving,
feeding fresh cows too much grain
too soon after calving, feeding
large quantities of grain at irregu
lar times, and failure to buffer the
rumen.
Large voids are created in the
cow’s body cavity after calving:
this is accentuated if there is a lack
of rumen fill due to cows being off
feed.
What To Do
To help prevent some of these
problems--
1. Feed dry cows some long
stemmed, digestible forage such
as grass hay, and limit the intake
of finely chopped forages and
com silage.
2. Properly balance the dry cow
ration.
3. Feed good quality feeds free
of molds and products of abnor
mal fermentation.
4. Acclimate dry cows to grain
feeding about 3 weeks before
calving and limit their intake to
about 6 pounds per day.
5. If the lactating ration con
tains NPN or elevated levels of
nitrates, acclimate dry cows to
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Stea/wMth* vary by «tyto.
these feeds about 3 weeks before
calving. Cows can utilize NPN
and tolerate higher levels of
nitrates if exposed to them
gradually.
6. To minimize acid formation
in the rumen, avoid feeding large
slugs of grain at any one feeding.
It is better to feed smaller quanti
ties at more frequent intervals. For
lactating cows a guideline is to
offer cows no more than about 8
pounds per feeding.
7. Buffer the rumen by offering
cows some hay or haylage before
feeding them grain. As cows chew
the hay crop forage they’ll pro
duce lots of saliva, which is an
excellent, free and palatable buf
fer. The goal is to have a buffer in
the rumen to quickly “neutralize”
the acids produced from the diges
tion of grain. Another alternative
is to add buffers to the ration.
8. Avoid pushing too much
grain to cows too soon after calv
ing. The main goal should be to
get fresh cows to consume lots of
good to excellent quality forages.
This will encourage good rumen
function which in turn favors bet
ter digestion, better appetites and
greater dry matter intake. That
should provide good rumen fill,
good muscular contraction and
minimize the accumulation of acid
in the rumen.
9. Keep feeds fresh and keep
mangers and water bowls clean to
entice appetites. Minimizing
stress on cows will also help.
There are many forms of stress
that affect cows at calving time
including: infections, the act of
giving birth, heat, uncomfortable
and unsanitary surroundings, the
social pressure of being exposed
to new herdmates, new surround
ings, new routines, new feeds, etc.
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There is no guarantee these
practices will prevent any DA
problems you may be having.
Nevertheless, they still deserve
consideration as good general
herd management practices.
Sheep Producers To Vote
On Pennsylvania
Referendum
HARRISBURG Pennsylva
nia sheep and lamb producers will
vote January 9-23 on a proposal to
establish a marketing and research
program, state Agriculture Secret
ary Boyd E. Wolff said today.
Under the proposal, sheep and
lamb producers would contribute
25 cents for each animal sold,
Wolff said. The money would be
used for promotion, education and
research activities determined by a
marketing board composed of
affected producers.
“The provision for producer
control of the program is in keep
ing with Governor Robert P.
Casey’s pledge to place the reins
for all commodity marketing
programs in the hands of the pro
ducers,” Wolff said.
Wolff called for the referen
dum, provided for under state law,
after hearing testimony from lamb
and sheep producers in August. It
will mark the first lime that Penn
sylvania sheep and lamb produc
ers have voted on a state market
ing program.
Wolff said the department will
mail ballots and copies of the
pronoscd program to approxi-
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I '*■» On Maplw At The •
il 'FA FARM SRiOW .
#133-137
whether DA’s are a problem or
not.
Penn State Cooperative’s
Extension is an affirmative action,
equal opportunity educational
institution.
mately 3,800 producers statewide.
Producers who fail to receive a
ballot and a copy of the proposal
may call the department’s toll-free
number, 800/AG-PENNA. The
material is also available in Room
303, Bureau of Market Develop
ment, at department headquarters,
2301 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg
17110.
Eligible voters are owners of
sheep and lambs that were bom
within the state and those whose
animals were bom outside Penn
sylvania but have been in the state
for 30 days or more.
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