Feedipedia
Animal feed resources information system
Feedipedia
Feedipedia

Sponsored by

Adisseo

Automatic translation

Did you find the information you were looking for? Is it valuable to you? Feedipedia is encountering funding shortage. We need your help to keep providing reference-based feeding recommendations for your animals.
Would you consider donating? If yes, please click on the button Donate.
Any amount is the welcome. Even one cent is helpful to us!

Bloat

Valérie Heuzé's picture

Bloat occurs when the fermentation gases produced in the rumen can not be evacuated and cause an overdistention of the rumen. There are two forms of bloat. The frothy bloat (called primary bloat) is due to a persistent foam mixed with the ruminal contents. The free-gas bloat (called secondary bloat) is due to free gas separated from the ingesta that cannot go out of the rumen because of mechanical obstruction. Bloat mainly occurs in cattle but may also be seen in sheep. There are individual (genetically determined) susceptibilities to bloat (Kahn, 2005).