COW MAGNET
WHAT IS HARDWARE DISEASE?
Is a common term for bovine traumatic reticuloperitonitis.
It is usually caused by the ingestion of a sharp, metallic object. These pieces of metal settle in
the reticulum and can irritate or penetrate the lining.
Cattle commonly swallows foreign objects because they
do not use their lips to discriminate materials before ingesting and they do not completely chew their food before swallowing.
Sharp metal objects, such as nails or wire are the common initiators of hardware disease. The object travels into the rumen and then pushed into the reticulum along with the rest of the feed.
In some cases, contractions of the reticulum can push the object through the part of the reticulum wall going to
the peritoneal cavity, where it causes severe inflammation.
In rare cases, the metal object penetrates the entire wall of the reticulum and can pierce the heart sac, causing pericarditis.
Compression of the uterus in late pregnancy,
straining during partuition and mounting during estrus can
increase the likelihood of the object penenetrating the abdominal wall or the heart sac.
