So last time we had #44 in the head gate, Dustin and I had performed some home surgery and we’d just installed a brand new trocar to relieve the bloat from this cow. At this point in the story we are expecting a big release of air and to be heroes deserving of smooches from adoring women (after a shower of course).
Instead, what we received was this.
There was definitely air in there, but we received it via a foamy grassy mess that clogged every two seconds. Dustin took to cleaning out the trocar routinely while I tried to figure out what to do. Every once in a while we’d get a blast of air only but it would only last a second before reverting to this again. With constant attention we were keeping the cow from bloating further but weren’t really causing the relief we were accustomed to.
We worked on #44 for about 30 minutes and weren’t getting anywhere. Usually when I install a trocar I put it on the roundest part of the distended rumen. In looking at where I’d put this one, I thought maybe I’d installed it too low. I hated to do it but I removed the trocar and installed it about 4 inches higher. This meant another home surgery. The end result, same thing. At this point I called the vet. I confessed all my sins and told him exactly what had been going on all morning. His response was we’d done everything correctly and we’d done all we could for the cow. Best thing to do was put him in the barn and keep an eye on him. If what we’d done hadn’t fixed him, nothing the vet could do would do any better. #44 is under observation in the hospital barn and is doing well so far but he still doesn’t appear normal at this time as he still has a distention in his belly. We are keeping an eye on him and will update as things progress.