Outbreak of ruminal acidosis in semi-extensive breeding beef cattle production - Case report.]

• Main Authors: Lucas Souza Quevedo, Caroline Silva Silveira, Tiago Schreiner, Aline Diefenbach, Bruno Leite Anjos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade de Medicina Veterinária do Estado do Rio de Janeiro 2015-10-01
• Series: Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Medicine
• Online Access: http://rbmv.org/index.php/BJVM/article/view/407

ABSTRACT. Quevedo L.S., Silveira C.S., Schreiner T., Diefenbach A. & Anjos B.L. [Outbreak of ruminal acidosis in semi-extensive breeding beef cattle production - Case report.] Surto de acidose ruminal em criação semiextensiva de bovinos de corte - Relato de caso. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 37(3):269-274, 2015. Curso de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Pampa, Campus Uruguaiana, BR 472, Km 592, Caixa Postal 118, Uruguaiana, RS 97500-970, Brasil. E-mail: [e-mail] The ruminal acidosis is a metabolic imbalance responsible for high mortality of cattle which occurs by excessive carbohydrate intake. This work describes the epidemiologic and clinicopathological findings of an outbreak of ruminal lactic acidosis in cattle. The outbreak occurred in a farm in São Borja, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, affecting Braford cattle on semi-extensive breeding system. From 170 bovines, with about two years old 14, showed signs of ruminal lactic acidosis. Eight of them presented staggering gait, depression, bristling hair, dark diarrhea and ruminal atony, esternal recumbency and death. The cattle were fed native pasture, common salt and water ad libitum. About 15 days before of first death has been started a supplementation with rice grains and sorghum grass silage. The disease was classified as acute form for the eight cattle. In this report the supply of rice was limited to a few feeders for the whole lot and at higher levels than recommended for semi-extensive production, allowing greater intake by cattle dominant. The disease was controlled with adequacy of the feeding management, with no rice for feeding until total recovery of animals.