Method of collecting ferromagnetic foreign bodies or samples in the fore-stomachs of a reminant

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method of collecting ferromagnetic foreign bodies or samples in the fore-stomachs of a ruminant by means of a collecting unit, which is introduced through the animal's mouth, which has been forced wide open by means of a mouth dilator, and through the animal's pharynx and oesophagus. The collecting unit is attached to one end of a connecting element in such a way that it is possible to remove the collecting unit again by pulling the other end of the connecting element.

[0002] It is well-known that ferromagnetic foreign bodies in the fore-stomachs of a ruminant can be picked up by means of a collecting unit in the form of a permanent magnet and a connecting element in the form of a steel wire. The.steel wire is mounted through an ordinary pharyngeal sound, on the mouthpiece of which a protective funnel of rubber is placed in order to prevent any foreign bodies that may have been collected from falling off on the way up through the oesophagus. While the magnet is led down it is drawn tight against the mouthpiece of the pharyngeal sound. After being introduced into the rumen the magnet is disengaged from the mouthpiece by means of the wire,-and it then falls down into the reticulum.

[0003] According to the present invention it is suggested that a loop is introduced through one of the animal's nostrils, and that the loop is picked up in the pharynx, pulled out through the mouth, and connected to the other end of the connecting element.

[0004] According to this method it is thus possible to introduce the collecting unit in a known manner through the mouth of the animal, but as long as the unit remains in the stomach of the animal the connecting element is led out from the stomach through the oesophagus and the pharynx and out through the nose. This implies that the animal's mouth can be shut during the collecting, which may therefore be stretched over a longer period - several days, if desired - as the animal can continue to eat and drink in the normal way.

[0005] The collecting unit is removed in the following way: The connecting element is picked up by means of a suitable instrument. through the animal's mouth, which is held wide open by means of a mouth dilator, and led out through the mouth.

[0006] The described method is also appropriate in connection with the collecting of the contents of the rumen. In this case the collecting unit may be e.g. a heavy metallic container with many holes, through which rumen juice can ooze into the container, while the connecting element consists of a suction tube, through which samples of the contents of the rumen can be taken out at intervals. When this collecting method is applied, the collecting is not complicated by addition of excessive quantities of saliva as in the case of the methods used previously, where the suction tube was led through the animal's mouth, thus preventing prolonged examination.

Claims

Method of collecting ferromagnetic foreign bodies or samples in the fore-stomachs of a ruminant by means of a collecting unit, which is introduced through the animal's mouth, which has been forced wide open by means of a mouth dilator, and . which is attached to one end of a connecting element in such a way that it is possible to remove the collecting unit by pulling the other end of the connecting element, characterized in that a loop is introduced through one of the animal's nostrils, picked up in the pharynx, pulled out through the mouth, and connected to the other end of the connecting element.