One of our BEBs was not feeling so good. She was bloated and wasn't eating like she should have been. Our outstanding and skilled herdsman/veterinarian noticed that she seemed to be in some pain, too. After watching her for a week he decided she needed surgery. Like humans, she wasn't allowed to eat for twelve hours before the surgery.
The herdsman, with Son #4 assisting, got to work. He made an incision on her side and then opened her first stomach. When the stomach was cut into there was a "poof" as steam came out. Son #4 had the extreme pleasure of a tiny bleeder spray him in the face, his mouth and on his coat. The herdsman clamped off the bleeder for a minute or so and then it was fine. Once the stomach was opened he took two long pieces of suture material and fastened one on each side of the incision making a "handle" on each side of the open stomach. Son #4 had to hold the handles and keep the stomach lifted up so the feed in the stomach would not drop into the cavity of the cow. If the stomach contents fell into the cavity it could cause bacterial infection.
Our herdsman reached inside the first stomach and pulled out a few small pebbles. He then found the opening to the second, smaller stomach and reached through the first one into the second one and pulled out a few larger stones. The second stomach is smaller and closer to the liver and other organs. If a cow feels pain usually the problem is in the second smaller stomach. If the items were in her first stomach it would not have been an issue. His second reach retrieved two small nails. On the third attempt he gained two more nails. His final trip into the stomach was to remove one other nail that had embedded itself slightly into her stomach. That was the one that was no doubt causing her the majority of her problems.
Since he had her stomach opened he threw in a handful of powdered electrolytes to help balance the PH level. Then four pills - antacids - sort of like pepto bismol, were thrown into her stomach before sewing her up. Sort of like a front loading washing machine.
By the time he had her sewn up she was chewing her cud, which was an excellent sign that things were already beginning to work again.
When I was at the barn talking to the herdsman he was getting ready to take care of another cow with a LDA. Left Displaced Abomasum. Time for Bovine Biology 101. I will not torture you with all the fine details that Farmer would use to educate you. If you want those details, call him. Here goes, in a nutshell.
Cows have four stomachs. The last stomach in the line is called the abomasum. The first stomach is called the rumen. The rumen is the stomach where the regurgitation takes place. I will use Farmer’s explanation of this. Picture a big cement truck with the big cylinder on the back that turns and mixes the cement. As long as things are turning and churning she will be as content as a cow chewing her cud. When the abomasum gets displaced it is because the rumen quits working and gas builds up in the abomasum. When the gas builds up it causes the stomach to “float” up. So now, we not only have a cow not ruminating we also have a stomach going on vacation, heading north. If you do not take care of this the cow will die.
The first step after discovering the wandering stomach is to toggle it down. The cow is given a shot of Rompun under her tail right where it connects to her body. I guess it’s like the amnesia drug we get for surgeries. She isn’t totally out but she could not give a pooh about what you do. Now, here comes the urban legend part of this. We tip her. Yep, tip her over and she ends up lying on her back. I asked Farmer if her legs were straight in the air and he said they folded them down. In my mind I’m thinking she would be so embarrassed!
Once the cow is down (this is the short version) you insert a toggle through her belly and into the abomasum. You then do it again about an inch or so away. The toggles have sutures attached. Now, she has two strings coming out of her belly. Tie the two strings together on the outside and that will keep the abomasum in place. The toggles are her souvenir to keep. Another shot to wake her up and she’s done.
