Why is the practice of “leaky cows” gaining momentum? (6 photos)

It's becoming increasingly common to see cattle on farms today with a nasty hole in their side. Where are animal rights activists looking? It’s scary to imagine what horrors the poor animal experiences! Why are livestock abused so much on farms?





Psychologists delve into our inner world. And the cows have zootechnologists!

Let’s immediately put everything in its place: this is not just “some kind of hole in your side,” but a full-fledged surgical operation, which is carried out by veterinarians according to all the rules. It's called scar fistulation. During the operation, cows are fitted with a special fistula (something like a tunnel earring in the ear, only larger). The cow does not experience terrible suffering, unbearable pain and feelings of inferiority.



So this is what your cyberpunk is like.

Typically, a fistula provides direct access to the cow's first proventriculus, or rumen. Essentially, this is a huge bag with a capacity of 150-200 liters with food and bacteria that digest this food. The walls of the rumen often contract, mix the contents and intensively absorb the digested yummy.





The largest cavity with the little green things is the scar. This is where the fistula is placed.

There are 3 reasons for carrying out this procedure.

Firstly, fistulation is carried out for medicinal purposes. If a cow has stomach problems, Mezim will definitely not help her! Actually, little helps them at all - the gastrointestinal tract of cows is very complex. The fistula helps to eliminate all problems in the rumen at once: accumulated gases, dysbacteriosis, impaired motor skills and everything else can be solved directly. There is no need to give a bunch of drugs, figure out how to remove the gas, and hope that the animal will not throw off its hooves while the treatment works - it is much easier, faster and more effective when there is direct access to the problem organ!



Well, don't sulk! Let me release the gas!

The second reason for fisting is science. Of course, veterinary medicine does not stand still, and today we have made great progress in studying the functioning of the body of cattle. But, as they say, live and learn. And what better way to study digestion than with a visual aid in the form of a live cow with direct access to the stomach! This does not bring harm to the animal itself, but a whole carload of benefits.



When there was one more vent hole.

The third reason is not used everywhere, but it occurs on some farms, where one such leaky cow can help the whole herd! Everything is simple here. It happens that due to inappropriate nutrition, all or most of the beneficial bacteria in the rumen die, causing the animal’s digestion to “stand up.” It takes quite a long time to wait until the balance is restored and new bacteria multiply. Therefore, veterinarians extract some rumen contents along with bacteria from a healthy cow through fistulas and feed it all to the sick one. The dish is not the most appetizing, but we get the effect immediately.



As children, we were told about a hedgehog with a hole in his right side. But in real life it turns out that it’s not hedgehogs who walk around with holes, but cows!

So it turns out that a hole in the side saves lives and health! But someone still believes that this is knackering! This practice is common throughout the world on large livestock farms.