Normal position of abomasum on right side. Abomasum displaced to the left of rumen. In another displacement, the abomasum rides up high on the right side underneath the last ribs and again is enlarged with gas and some fluid. Sometimes the right displaced abomasum turns into a much more serious and often fatal abomasal torsion. In either left or right abomasal displacement, the entrance and exit to the stomach are slightly kinked.
Most left displacements occur within one month after calving.
Heavy yielding and older dairy cows are usually affected. Right displacements are spread out more throughout the three months after calving. Cause Abomasal displacement is seen almost exclusively in dairy breeds. Several theories attempt to explain the condition, but no definite single cause is known. Heavy concentrate and low roughage feeding programs produce an enlarged abomasum while rumen size decreases.