Things You'll Need
- Mineral or vegetable oil
- Baking soda
- Plastic container
- Syringe (without needle)
- Stomach tube
- Ground ginger
Instructions
Prepare the bloat remedy mixture by combining 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup mineral or vegetable oil and 2 tbsp. baking soda. Mix well and store it in a clean, empty plastic container or bottle. An empty soda bottle works well as a container. Mineral and vegetable oil are anti-foaming agents and help release gas in the rumen. Ground ginger can also be added to the mixture to improve the taste.
Restrain or secure the sheep while keeping it calm. Make sure that you do not put pressure on the stomach area of the sheep while restraining as this could exasperate the bloat.
Fill a syringe with your bloat remedy mixture. Give it to the sheep by inserting the syringe into its mouth and shooting the mixture directly down its throat.
Watch the throat of the sheep to make sure that the animal swallows the mixture.
Continue to administer the mixture in this manner until you have given the sheep a full cup.
Walk the sheep if possible and massage its stomach gently to aid in the release of the trapped gas bubbles. Lift the animal from below the stomach to help expel the gas.
Administer a stomach tube to release excess gas from the rumen if the mixture remedy does not alleviate the bloat. Pass a small diameter rubber stomach tube, between .5 and 1 cm, down the sheep's throat and into the stomach. Excess gas will be released through the tube. Once the tube successfully reaches the stomach, gas will be emitted that smells like stomach contents. The stomach tube works immediately upon reaching the stomach.
Monitor your sheep to ensure that the bloat does not return. If your sheep experiences reoccurring problems with bloat you should consult your veterinarian and possibly change your grazing habits.