Gastro-intestinal Disorders and the Functioning of the Digestive Tract of Young Calves

Abstract

Observations were made on the volume and composition of the small intestinal contents of young, scouring calves affected by salmonellosis, abomasitis and non-specific enteritis. The volume of the intestinal contents and the quantities of reducing substances, nitrogen, lipids and electrolytes flowing through the upper small intestine were, except in one calf, 0.7 to 4 times the quantities of healthy calves. At the ileum the volume and quantities were 1.1 to 34 times normal and the concentrations of the components in the ileal contents were 0.3 to 2.4 times normal. The pH of the contents from the distal half of the small intestine were usually lower in scouring than in normal calves. The disorders did not alter greatly the pattern of abomasal emptying, except in the early stages of the disturbances when flow from the abomasum was depressed. The rate of passage of material through the small intestine, as judged by the passage of polyethylene glycol, was not altered by the disorders. It is suggested that in scouring calves, failure of absorption of solutes occurs, especially of sodium and chloride, from the lower half of the small intestine.