The life and tasks of a cow with a hole in its side (6 photos)

It turns out that the funny song about a hedgehog with a hole in its right side has more truth and common sense than it might seem at first glance.





Imagine being able to look inside a cow. Whether it's curiosity or a desire to discover all the truths of the world, a cannulated cow is an experiment by a person trying to figure out what happens in the digestive system of cattle and how to increase their milk production to the maximum.



In 1928, Arthur Frederick Schalk and R. S. Amadon of the North Dakota Agricultural College became the first people to have the pleasure of looking inside a live cow. Since then, scientists and agronomists around the world have expanded on this controversial practice to improve livestock health, reduce mortality, and increase milk production. Whatever the reason, nearly a century later, the practice remains highly controversial.

What is a cannulated cow?





Inside a cow live millions of independent microorganisms that work day and night to fuel her digestive system. Of the cow's four stomachs, the rumen is where the magic happens - converting cellulose from plants into energy. The symbiotic relationship allows the cow to thrive despite eating anything, and allows the microbes to exist in exchange for their positive effects on the mammal's gut health. Now imagine if the cow got sick and lost the homeostasis that allows the good bacteria to nurse her back to health.



A cannulated cow has a porthole inserted into her side to collect rumen bacteria to treat sick cows. A cannula or strong tube is inserted into the porthole and microbes are taken from the healthy cow. The rumen fluid and microbes are then transferred to the sick cow. This is called transfaunation. In this way, the healthy cannulated cow becomes a donor for cattle, providing sick cows and even goats and lambs with beneficial bacteria to help them recover. Surgical insertion is also used to study the processes in the body of cattle, introducing nutrients into their stomachs and extracting them for analysis.

Surgical Risks



The entire procedure is performed under anesthesia, and the cow recovers in about four to six weeks. The rumen is sutured, and this fistula allows researchers to study the contents of the stomach, as well as the digestive processes of the cow. Various livestock activists in all countries oppose this practice. But its promoters claim that thanks to this process, many cows live healthy lives up to 12-15 years.

Their own lifespan increases, and transfaunation helps save other dying and sick animals. It is a common problem for outside bacteria to enter an animal during surgery, but scientists have discovered that the abundance of good bacteria in cattle prevents harmful microbes from multiplying inside. These cows are often the healthiest in the herd.



Today, this practice is flourishing around the world - from Europe to Australia. In France, cows' stomachs are being studied to reduce the impact of greenhouse gases and improve food production. The goal of research is still to identify the most suitable feeding patterns for high milk production in cattle. However, this does not change the fact that in laboratories for modern experiments, laboratory rumen is used. They are made of plastic, but they imitate the fermentation process in a real cow. Why cut open an animal when you can get the results you want with a plastic model? The answer, it seems, is that it reduces methane emissions in livestock farming.

It turns out that cannulated or fistulated cows also become healthier and live longer.

In a world where many foods are genetically modified and the narratives about what we eat change every second, the cannulated cow question remains somewhere in the gray area.