Bloat in Cattle. XVII. Wheat Pasture Bloat and Its Prevention with Poloxalene

Abstract

In four controlled experiments, it was established that bloat occurring in rumen fistulated cattle pastured on wheat is a foamy type. Poloxalene effectively prevented foaming, and bloat scores of controls and those receiving poloxalene differed significantly. Though differences among daily treatments of 1.0, 1.5 or 2.0 g of poloxalene per 100 lb (45.4 kg) body weight were nonsignificant, a dose-response relationship was suggested. A fifth experiment, conducted with 112 heifers pasturing wheat, indicated that a molasses liquid supplement containing poloxalene and a molasses-salt block containing poloxalene significantly reduced bloat incidence and severity during the periods they were offered. The bloat-provocative pastures contained 35.1 to 37.7% crude protein, 9.5 to 12.4% insoluble protein, 17.4 to 18.7% soluble protein, and 6.8 to 7.7% nonprotein nitrogen.