A new product under consideration for registration in Canada has potential to help prevent bloat in cattle.
Bloat dangers are a major stumbling block in the widespread adoption of high-quality alfalfa grazing systems.
Joint research by provincial and federal research centres has evaluated a product that can prevent bloat when added to cattle drinking water.
Blocare 4511, developed by Ancare New Zealand Ltd., showed a 100 percent bloat prevention rate in three consecutive studies, said Tim McAllister of the Agriculture Canada Lethbridge Research Centre. He did the tests along with scientists from Agriculture Canada’s Lacombe and Kamloops research facilities and Alberta Agriculture.
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Blocare 4511, while not yet available to producers, is under application for registration in Canada, McAllister said.
Important tool
Though its perfect bloat-prevention results cannot be expected under all conditions, the product could become an important component of bloat-safe grazing systems.
In experiments near each of the research centres, cattle and sheep that received Blocare-treated water were allowed to graze alfalfa for six-hour periods.
After being pulled off the pasture, livestock were kept without supplementary feed – an uncommon practice that greatly increases the chances of bloat.
Blocare was administered in the water during the 18 hours in confinement.
“The results show that this is a very effective product,” said McAllister, a ruminant microbiologist and nutritionist.
“Our experiments included alfalfa grazing periods that would normally cause bloat under most conditions, and in fact did, in our control animals.
“However, cattle provided with Blocare had no instances of bloat. The product allows livestock to get the nutritional and performance benefits of grazing pure alfalfa stands, while minimizing its health risk.”
Blocare is an environmentally safe detergent that is widely used in New Zealand, he said.
Researchers need to determine how it prevents bloat, but its overall effect is to stabilize the rumen and reduce the viscosity of ruminal fluid.
“To make sure cattle get an adequate daily dosage of Blocare in the water, other sources of water need to be fenced off,” he said.
“The treated water is foamy and pink, but the animals have no aversion to it and consumption levels are similar to non-treated water.”
