Hardware disease is a common name used for traumatic reticuloperitonitis. It is a condition that we see a few times every year but I was reminded of the severity of the problem when I saw three cows affected over a weekend.

The first cow presented on Saturday morning well back in her milk and seemed uncomfortable and was doing some grunting. When I examined her she was reluctant to move in any way that caused movement around her abdomen, on listening to her chest the problem became apparent.

Hardware disease is caused when a piece of metal, typically a wire, that the cow has eaten penetrates the wall of the stomach and can enter the pericardium.

The pericardium is the sack that surrounds the heart and holds a film of fluid around the heart allowing it to beat freely, well-lubricated and free from friction.

When the wire penetrates the pericardium it brings bacteria from the stomach with it resulting in pericarditis, infection and inflammation of the pericardium. This then results in pain in the chest and abdomen which explains the cow’s presenting signs.

Affected cows need intensive treatment, including painkillers and antibiotics, magnets inserted into the stomach can provide relief in some cases.

On the Sunday morning there were two more cows with the same condition. At this stage we were thinking about the possible source of the metal foreign bodies. There are several possibilities including fencing wire, wire from tyres that are used to cover silage pits and nails from building, to name a few examples.

Preventative strategies include metal detectors on forage harvesting machinery and magnets on feeder wagons where the feed discharges. Another option is to use magnets in all the cows to attach to any metal in the stomach thus reducing the chances of penetration of the stomach wall.

In our case we decided to administer magnets to all the cows as a preventative measure and thankfully have not had any more cases on this farm.

You should consult your own farm vet if you have concerns about hardware disease.

Donal Lynch owns and runs Donal Lynch Veterinary, Tullamore, Co Offaly. Donal Lynch Veterinary is part of XLVets. XLVets is a group of progressive practices who are working together to achieve a better future for agriculture and veterinary in Ireland. Visit www.xlvets.ie