Rumen Pressures Associated with the Scores of a Bloat Severity Scale

Abstract

Rumen pressures corresponding to each point of a six-point bloat severity scale were determined in two experiments with cattle; rumen pressures in sheep were also determined for the first four points (0 to 3) of the scale. Correlation coefficients between rumen pressures and bloat scores of steers recorded by adept observers were 0.83 or higher for all comparisons. Subdividing the scores to create an 11-point scale improved the correlations, especially for sheep. Each point on the bloat scale corresponded to a relatively narrow and consistent range in rumen pressures.