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Bloat in Cattle and Composition of Rumen Gases

College of Agriculture, University of California, Davis

ABSTRACT

The hydrogen sulfide content of the rumen gas of bloated and nonbloated cows on alfalfa pasture was measured in 8 trials by an iodometric method especially adapted for this purpose.

The rumen gas contained, on the average of 26 titrations, 0.11 ± 0.01 per cent hydrogen sulfide by volume. There was no relation between hydrogen sulfide concentration and bloat.

The rumen gas contained on the average 67 per cent carbon dioxide, 26 per cent methane, and less than 1 per cent oxygen. The concentration of these gases was not related to bloat.

This result supports the theory that bloat is caused, not by abnormal gas formation, but by a lack of belching.