Why do they put holes in the side of cows?

Behind every successful cow are millions of gut microorganisms — mostly bacteria, protozoa, and some fungi. This bastion of bugs that resides in a cow’s 20-gallon rumen are ultimately responsible for digesting all the plant material the bovine consumes.

Being the quintessential symbiotic relationship — the cow supplies the bugs with nutrients and the bugs convert cellulose into usable energy for the cow — it also works the other way: when the cow gets sick, the bugs get sick, too. Then they die. And no gut bugs eventually means no cow.

Transfaunation — the act of taking microbes from one source and putting them in another — can be a literal lifesaver when it comes to a bovine bellyache. And how does one go about retrieving such a sample? By creating a one-stop shop for your sick cow’s gut flora needs. Designated donor cows with a surgically installed port allow access to the rumen from the outside.

Placing a rumen fistula — the medical term for a permanent hole between an internal organ and the outside world — into a healthy cow for collection purposes is a relatively straightforward procedure and performed frequently at veterinary schools, according to Dr. Brian Aldridge, clinical professor and specialist in large animal internal medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Illinois. “To put one in would take about an hour and a half,” he says.

Rumen flora from a fistulated cow helps not only sick cows, but also sheep and goats because they share similar digestive systems.

Performed with the cow standing, local anesthesia is used and the rumen is surgically attached to the skin and body wall. Then, a cannula, essentially a tube, made of extremely durable, thick plastic is inserted to keep the surgically created hole between the rumen and the skin open yet sealed. A removable cap is included for easy access. After healing is complete in about four to six weeks, your brand new fistulated cow is ready to save lives.

“It’s amazing how important those rumen bugs are,” Aldridge says. “Not only are they important for digestive function, but also for how the animal feels.” These microorganisms in the gut produce vitamins and minerals necessary for the health of the cow.

“They are essentially a natural probiotic,” Aldridge says.

Rumen flora from a fistulated cow helps not only sick cows, but also sheep and goats because they share similar digestive systems. “Our vet school always has a fistulated cow,” Aldridge says. “The bovine GI surgery patients routinely get a transfaunation because it’s been shown that the recovery rate and return to appetite and milk production is much greater if you reestablish the gut flora.”

Sick farm animals and surgical patients aside, fistulated cows are also a staple in bovine nutrition research, since having a fistula makes it easy to sample rumen contents in order to study how different nutrients affect a cow’s digestive system. The cost of surgically installing a rumen fistula is about $300 and doesn’t affect the longevity or health of the cow, says Dr. Susan Fubini, professor of large animal surgery at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “The plastic cannulas themselves last forever,” she says. As for the fistulated cows, “They are without a doubt the happiest animals in our hospital.”

Aldridge agrees. “People have looked into the longevity of animals with a fistula and they do really well,” he says. The fistulated cow currently at University of Illinois is named Brooke. “Brooke’s been here for four or five years and she’s fine. If anything, she’s overweight and over-cared for.”

It’s no wonder a fistulated cow at a veterinary school is treated like bovine royalty. Rumen microbes, or the “liquor of life” as Aldridge calls it, are a hot commodity where there are sick ruminants around. Aldridge estimates Brooke helps at least one patient on a weekly basis.

The logistics of a rumen fistula are straightforward enough that these cows are common demos at vet school open houses. Just unplug the top, don a shoulder-length plastic sleeve, and in your arm goes into the rumen of a live cow.

Just unplug the top, don a shoulder-length plastic sleeve, and in your arm goes into the rumen of a live cow.

If you’re in there for therapeutic reasons instead of as a tourist, you can remove a couple of gallons of rumen contents without any negative impact to the donor cow. What you take is then kept warm – remember your sample contains live microbes that are accustomed to a cow’s internal body temperature – then run through a strainer and usually diluted with water before administration through an orogastric tube to a ruminant in need.

At the University of Illinois’ busy hospital, Aldridge says Brooke has never run out of rumen fluid. “It’s remarkable how quickly her supply turns around,” he says. “Sometimes we’ll take samples two or three days in a row, but she always has some. She hardly changes shape after we take that much out,” he jokes.

With biosecurity an eternal concern on farms, fistulated cows must be in good health and come from a historically healthy herd. Common GI diseases such as Salmonella can be transmitted between donor and sick cow through rumen contents, as well as other diseases such as Johne’s disease, a chronic bacterial disease of the gut.

“Disease transmission is always a risk,” Aldridge says. “However, we’ve never seen that as a complication. We try to keep the donor animal in relatively high health, and perform regular blood tests.”

Cornell’s current fistulated cow is named Blossom. “Before Blossom, we had Stella and Elsa,” Fubini says. It seems that much like a clean bill of health, an exceptionally cow-like name is a requirement before donning a portal to the rumen world.

As for the humans who care about these cows, they can wear their pride: a major company that sells rumen cannulas makes t-shirts emblazoned with fistulated cows and sheep. (Typically $15, they come free with a $500 cannula purchase.) But, maybe, don’t wear it to the human dinner table.

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Why Cows Have Port Holes in Their Sides – Cows are ruminants. They have a complex digestive system and digestion physiology. Cannulation is basically the creation of holes at specific sites in cows for various purposes. Many cow farmers want to know about cannulation/hole drilling in cows, their purposes, and risk factors associated with it. Purposes are Why Holes in Cows in Their Sides

• Research
• Sampling for Digestion Digestibility Study
• Lifesaving Relief
• Transfer of Microbes
• Giving of Medications quickly

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Here we will explain the purposes of cannula in cows with all necessary details.

WHAT IS CANNULA?

The cannula is a porthole-like a medical instrument that helps in accessing the rumen of cows.

As it has already been cleared the cow has four parts of the stomach and carries a diversity of microbes that perform a number of beneficial functions in cows. Cannulation has been using for a long time in the animal world.

Researchers/farmers/observers cut the holes the sides of cows to evaluate the ruminal contents, flora (community of microbes), and for other research purposes.

The practice of rumen cannulation was first documented in 1928 by Arthur Frederick Schalk and R.S. Amadon of North Dakota Agricultural College

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Functions

Let’s enlist the proper purposes of these holes in cows for better understanding:

Cows that have been undergone a surgical procedure and fitted with cannula is called cannulated cows.

It is noteworthy to know that there are various types of cannula according to their functions. Remember, these all cannulas have different purposes some are used for intestines, abomasums, and rumen.

T- Cannula
Reentrant Cannula
Abomasal cannula
Omasal cannula
Closed T cannula.

These Ports are Great. Personally, I have had Cancer for the last several years. My last Chemo set, the Doctors inserted a Port and a Tube down into my Heart. I was going into the Hospital daily for those treatments and they were able to inject the chemo quickly and much easier than Daily IV’s I had no problems at all with the port. Quite a Convenience.

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Installation of Cannula Port – University of Utah

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HOW CANNULA HELP IN TRANSFAUNATION?

This is a lifesaving procedure that can become possible through the cannula. With the help of the hole in the donor cow, the rumen is easily approached and microbes are obtained from that cow. These essential microbes are transferred from that donor cow to the sick cow to improve her health.

Plus, through cannulation, ruminal microbes of a cow can also be easily studied. Interestingly, researches have revealed that the ruminal flora from cows not only helps the other cows but also it effectively helps the sheep and goats because they are also ruminants and have almost similar gastrointestinal tract.

HOW CANNULATION IS PERFOMED?

This is very much important to know the temperament of a cow before going for cannulation. This point is much valid when you are doing cannulation for research purposes.

This surgical intervention is done when the cow is standing. Local anesthesia is given to that cow. The skin is cut to create a hole. Through that hole, the cannula is passed. This is all done to keep the hole open. A removable cap is also included for easy access. After a period of six months when healing is completed, the cow becomes ready for the desired purpose.

HOW CANNULATION HELPS IN TREATMENT OF MEDICAL CONDITIONS?

The cannula is also helpful in saving the life of a cow. In the severe cases of ruminal acidosis or other similar conditions, the cannula is passed in the cows to remove the extra ruminal contents and ease the cow from the ruminal troubles which can put her life into danger.

All along with that, this helps in infusion of various kinds of life saving drugs into the rumen of diseased cows.

HOW CANNULATION IS USED IN RESEACHE STUDIES?

Holey cows had been used in the area of nutritional research studies for a long time ago. Through this procedure, samples can be easily taken from the cow’s rumen to evaluate their digestibility and other parameters. Moreover, it also helps researchers in better understanding of the digestive physiology of cows and the impact of nutrients on the growth of microflora and overall health and well being of cows. This is why; cannulation has a wide range of applications in the field of animal research.

DOES CANNULA PUT THE LIFE OF COW AT RISK?

This is a very important question that is usually asked by the farmers. Like what are various risk factors that are associated with cannulation in cows. You know that after creating a hole in cows their internal organs become exposed to the outside environment.
If you have done the surgery nicely with all care and maintaining aseptic conditions, then chances of getting infection become less. With proper care and attention, cannulated cows can enjoy a healthy and happy life.

Additionally, this is important to note that while transferring the ruminal content/microflora from one cow to another cow can increase the spread of infectious diseases such as salmonellosis, Jones’s diseases, and other chronic bacterial infections. These infections can compromise the overall health and performance of the herd.

To deal with this situation, this is important to define a criterion for the donor cow and cannulate the cow with supreme health status and free health-related complications. For that select a cow of superior genetic potential and do regular testing to assess her health status.

IS CANNULATION A PROCESS PAINFUL?

Cannulation is a quite painful and uncomfortable process. Just imagine, cows are also living creatures and drilling holes in their sides is creating painful sensations in them. Although, this practice is widely used for various outcomes ethically this is not good for their overall health and life expectancy. However, according to some schools of thought cannulation is not a painful process but it just creates a time being discomfort in cows and also doesn’t impact the life expectancy of the cows.

CONCLUSION

Holes are created on the sides of cows for a number of medical/research purposes. This is kept in mind that surgery should be performed by only expert veterinarians and all precautionary measures must be kept in mind. Lastly, proper attention and care should be given to the holey cow, and in case of any complication; you should contact your veterinarian on emergency grounds.

Why Cows Have Port Holes in Their Sides _ Cannula_ A Quick Discussion

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REFERENCES:

Alonso, F. R., W. J. Donawick, and E. P. Hammel. 1973. Cannulation of bovine abomasum: A surgical technique. Am. J. Vet. Res. 34: 447−448.

Gay, W. I., and J. E. Heavner. 1986. Methods of Animal Experimentation. Vol. VII. Research Surgery and Care of the Research Animal. Part A. Patient Care, Vascular Access, and Telemetry. Academic Press, Orlando, FL.

Komarek, R. J. 1981a. Intestinal cannulation of cattle and sheep with a T-shaped cannula designed for total digesta collection without externalizing digesta flow. J. Anim. Sci. 53:796-802.

MacRae, J. C. 1975. The use of re-entrant cannulae to partition digestive function within the gastro-intestinal tract of ruminants. In: I. W. McDonald and A.C.I. Warner (Ed.) Digestion and Metabolism in the Ruminant. Proc. IV Int. Symp. Ruminant Physiol., Sydney, Australia. pp 261−276

McGilliard, A. D. 1982. Surgical techniques-advances and cautions. In: F. N. Owens (Ed.) Protein Requirements for Cattle: Symposium. MP109:31−36. Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater.

KEY WORDS (COW’S CANNULA) (COW’S STOMACH) (COW’S DIGESTION) (DIGESTIBILITY TRIAL) (COW’S ACIDOSIS)