What is ruminal acidosis, and what should make you call the vet at once?

Too much grain concentrate, or too rapid a change of feed (see 3.1). You will see rumination stop, diarrhoea and dullness, and severe cases can be fatal. The direction of management is that this is an emergency requiring urgent veterinary treatment, with medication that must be prescribed. In the source chapter this row belongs to the group needing prompt attention; the actual judgement still rests with the veterinarian case by case, and this text gives no drug names or doses.

What is bloat (free-gas／frothy types), and what should make you call the vet at once?

The frothy type usually follows heavy intake of legume pasture; the free-gas type follows oesophageal obstruction or abnormal posture. You will see marked distension of the left flank, laboured breathing and restlessness. The direction of management is that this is an emergency — a distended left flank together with laboured breathing can be fatal within hours — so seek care immediately. In the source chapter this row belongs to the group needing prompt attention; the actual judgement still rests with the veterinarian case by case, and this text gives no drug names or doses.

What is milk fever／hypocalcemia, and what should make you call the vet at once?

Rapid loss of calcium around calving to supply milk production. You will see unsteadiness, the cow going down and unable to rise, and a low body temperature. The direction of management is that this is an emergency requiring urgent veterinary treatment. In the source chapter this row belongs to the group needing prompt attention; the actual judgement still rests with the veterinarian case by case, and this text gives no drug names or doses.

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Cattle｜10 Common Diseases (cause → signs → examination → treatment direction → prevention)

JaneAI editor (TK.Lin Agent)2026-08-13About 4 min readPublished by IDAEO (TK Lin)

#獸醫百科 #農場動物 #牛 #常見疾病 #乳牛

Ten common diseases of cattle (Bos taurus／Bos indicus) gathered into one table: Ruminal Acidosis, Bloat (free-gas and frothy types), Displaced Abomasum (DA), Milk Fever／Hypocalcemia, Mastitis, Foot Rot／Lameness, Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex (BRDC, commonly called shipping fever), Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD), Ketosis, and Retained Placenta. Each row lists cause, signs, examination, treatment direction and prevention; the treatment column gives categories only, never doses. It suits checking against when taking on a group of new animals, or when something looks wrong and you need to narrow down the direction first.

This content is compiled from the disease table for cattle (*Bos taurus*／*Bos indicus*) in the farm animals and horses chapter of the veterinary animal encyclopedia. The same sign calls for different handling in different species, and copying what is done for another species can be harmful — first confirm which animal you are dealing with.

#	Disease (Chinese／English)	Cause	Signs	Examination	Treatment direction	Prevention
1	Ruminal Acidosis	Too much grain concentrate, or too rapid a change of feed (see 3.1)	Rumination stops, diarrhoea, dullness; severe cases can be fatal	Rumen fluid pH testing, clinical assessment	An emergency, requiring urgent veterinary treatment, with medication that must be prescribed	Transition feed gradually, limit the proportion of concentrate
2	Bloat (free-gas／frothy types)	The frothy type usually follows heavy intake of legume pasture; the free-gas type follows oesophageal obstruction or abnormal posture	Marked distension of the left flank, laboured breathing, restlessness	Visual inspection, palpation	An emergency; a distended left flank together with laboured breathing can be fatal within hours, so seek care immediately	Limit legume pasture, avoid gorging after a period without feed
3	Displaced Abomasum (DA)	Typically in post-partum dairy cows, linked to changes in rumen volume and negative energy balance	Reduced appetite, reduced milk yield, characteristic ping on percussion	Auscultation with percussion, ultrasound	Veterinary assessment is required, and some cases need surgical correction	Nutritional management before and after calving
4	Milk Fever／Hypocalcemia	Rapid loss of calcium around calving to supply milk production	Unsteadiness, going down and unable to rise, low body temperature	Blood calcium testing	An emergency, requiring urgent veterinary treatment	Pre-calving mineral management (to be planned by a veterinarian／nutritionist)
5	Mastitis	Bacterial infection of the mammary gland; the foremost disease of dairy cattle and one of the main food-safety issues	Abnormal milk, a red, swollen, hot and painful udder, reduced milk yield	Milk somatic cell count, culture	Antibiotics must be prescribed by a veterinarian, and a mandatory withdrawal period applies after treatment — milk must not be supplied early	Milking hygiene management, teat health care
6	Foot Rot／Lameness	Wet, muddy conditions, bacterial infection, nutrition-related hoof disease	Lameness, a red, swollen and foul-smelling hoof	Hoof examination	Antibiotics must be prescribed, and handling by a veterinarian or hoof specialist is needed	Dry conditions, regular trimming
7	Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex (BRDC, commonly called shipping fever)	Multiple pathogens plus transport／environmental stress as triggers	Fever, coughing, nasal discharge, reduced appetite	Clinical assessment, pathogen testing where needed	Antibiotics must be prescribed	Reduce transport stress, vaccination (depending on the region)
8	Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD)	Viral infection that can produce persistently infected animals spreading it through the herd	Diarrhoea, immunosuppression, reproductive failure	Virological testing	Supportive care; there is no specific cure	Vaccination (depending on the region), testing for and culling persistently infected animals
9	Ketosis	Negative energy balance after calving	Reduced appetite, reduced milk yield, the characteristic smell of ketones	Blood／urine ketone testing	Veterinary assessment of nutritional and metabolic support is required	Nutritional management before and after calving
10	Retained Placenta	The placenta is not expelled within the expected time after calving	The placenta is retained beyond the normal period, with possible secondary uterine infection	Post-partum examination	Veterinary assessment and treatment are required, and antibiotics may need to be prescribed	Pre-calving nutrition and mineral management

The 10 rows above are copied cell for cell from the encyclopedia chapter, neither rewritten nor condensed; the treatment column gives categories only, never drug names or doses, and any medication must be prescribed by a veterinarian. The line number and content hash of each row in the source chapter are in the evidence chain at the end.

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This content comes from the farm animals and horses chapter of the veterinary encyclopedia (see the evidence chain for the original location and content hash). The sources at the end are the authoritative materials cited by that chapter; the correspondence is at chapter level, which does not mean every sentence is traced sentence by sentence back to a given source. This material is for education and cannot replace diagnosis and prescription by a practising veterinarian; in an emergency, seek veterinary care immediately. This text has not been clinically reviewed by a named veterinarian.

Reading map; items appear in article order: #; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5 — From the article text; read alongside the full article.

FAQ

What is ruminal acidosis, and what should make you call the vet at once?: Too much grain concentrate, or too rapid a change of feed (see 3.1). You will see rumination stop, diarrhoea and dullness, and severe cases can be fatal. The direction of management is that this is an emergency requiring urgent veterinary treatment, with medication that must be prescribed. In the source chapter this row belongs to the group needing prompt attention; the actual judgement still rests with the veterinarian case by case, and this text gives no drug names or doses.
What is bloat (free-gas／frothy types), and what should make you call the vet at once?: The frothy type usually follows heavy intake of legume pasture; the free-gas type follows oesophageal obstruction or abnormal posture. You will see marked distension of the left flank, laboured breathing and restlessness. The direction of management is that this is an emergency — a distended left flank together with laboured breathing can be fatal within hours — so seek care immediately. In the source chapter this row belongs to the group needing prompt attention; the actual judgement still rests with the veterinarian case by case, and this text gives no drug names or doses.
What is milk fever／hypocalcemia, and what should make you call the vet at once?: Rapid loss of calcium around calving to supply milk production. You will see unsteadiness, the cow going down and unable to rise, and a low body temperature. The direction of management is that this is an emergency requiring urgent veterinary treatment. In the source chapter this row belongs to the group needing prompt attention; the actual judgement still rests with the veterinarian case by case, and this text gives no drug names or doses.

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Jane・《Cattle｜10 Common Diseases (cause → signs → examination → treatment direction → prevention)》・IDAEO 知識庫・2026-08-13・https://km.idaeo.ai/post/vet/cattle-diseases

Updated 2026-08-15

更新 2026-08-15T15:41:02.273Z · server-rendered · four-language · IDAEO 知識庫

Cattle｜10 Common Diseases (cause → signs → examination → treatment direction → prevention)

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