The Veterinarian Part 14

DIARRHOEA

CAUSE: Giving rich succulent foods after being fed on stimulating diets for some time, and such a case may be a benefit to the animal instead of an injury. Turnips, carrots, etc., especially if frozen slightly, are apt to produce it. Also impure and stagnant water which acts as a poison or some irritant in the food, as sand, clay, etc., or it may result from excitement, as driving cattle or s.h.i.+pping cattle in cars when not accustomed to it. Or, it may be the result of an overdose of irritating medicines. Diarrhoea as a rule is not fatal. It is often an effort of nature to relieve some disease, as poison in the blood. The easiest way to get rid of it is by way of the bowels.

SYMPTOMS: It is easily detected. An animal pa.s.ses large amounts of feces which are of a liquid nature. At first the pulse is but little affected, but after a day or two it becomes weak and slightly increased. If it continues for a few days the pulse increases, the ears and legs get colder than normal, there are slight gripping pains in some cases due to slight irritation or perhaps to slight spasm of the intestines. These pains may increase and result in inflammation of the bowels, especially if the cause is due to stagnant water or irritating drugs.

TREATMENT: In many cases all you have to do is to change the food and clothe the body according to the temperature. Do not let the animal drink large quant.i.ties of water at one time. Give pure water in small quant.i.ties, but often, and it may be necessary to give medicines.

Endeavor to find out the cause and if due to some irritant in the intestines, prepare Flaxseed tea by pouring a quart of boiling water on a half pint of pure Flaxseed, allowing it to cool. Compel the animal to drink it. This is very soothing to the bowels when irritated and also beneficial in removing the irritant; in cases where the Diarrhoea continues for some time, it is necessary to stop it by administering Gum Catechu, two ounces; Protan, two ounces; Zinc Sulphocarbolates, eight grains. Mix and make into eight capsules and give one capsule every four hours with capsule gun. Keep the animal as quiet as possible and feed non-irritating food that is easily digested, as steamed barley or oats.

DEHORNING

Dehorning is not considered a cruelty as some people hold it, as horns on cattle do not only add discomfort to themselves but add to the owner's risk. It is much better, safer and I think more humane to prevent the growth of horns on calves after they are three or four days old by rubbing the elevations where the horns make their appearance with a pencil of Caustic Potash after being moistened with cold water. Repeat this application two or three times, which is generally sufficient.

When dehorning cattle with clippers or saw, it is well to remove about one-half inch of the flesh of the horn. This gives their head a much better appearance after the horns are removed and healed. When a horn is freshly amputated, apply Oil of Tar occasionally, as it is an antiseptic and prevents infection and the annoyance of flies. However, this should be performed during the season when the flies are less numerous.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Photograph of cow.]

CHAMPION JERSEY COW GREY PORTIA.

Owned by Mrs. Nelle Fabyan, Geneva, Ill.

DROPSY

(Ascities)

CAUSE: Usually seen in old animals or cattle fed on poor food where the blood becomes so poor, so to speak, that Dropsy follows, The presence of worms frequently stimulates excessive secretions of fluid, producing Dropsy.

SYMPTOMS: The abdomen is abnormally increased in size, flanks are gaunt, paleness of the membranes of the mouth and eyes and a general weakness.

Pressure with the hand on the abdominal walls will produce a splas.h.i.+ng, watery sound.

TREATMENT: The cause at first should be determined and the disease treated accordingly. If due to worms, withhold all food for twenty-four hours. Place two ounces of Oil of Turpentine in gelatin capsules and give with capsule gun. Follow this in six hours with two drams of Aloin, three drams of Ginger in gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun. Feed nouris.h.i.+ng food as wheat bran mashes and one cup of Flaxseed meal once a day. In their drinking water place one dram of Pota.s.sium Iodide two or three times a day. See that this water is drunk and give no other until this is consumed by the animal.

ECZEMA

CAUSE: Insanitary surroundings, as warm, damp stables. Overfeeding, swills, decomposed vegetables. Applying irritating drugs to the skin.

SYMPTOMS: Redness of the skin and the animal rubs itself; is usually confined to a small area at first, but eventually spreads. Considerable inflammation is present, also eruptions of the skin which discharge white, serous, sticky fluid, terminating in scabs and thickness of the skin. Sometimes suppuration or formation of pustules containing pus is present. These symptoms do not always occur in regular succession; in some cases the serums oozing from the skin will be more prominent than in others.

TREATMENT: Determine the cause and remove it. If due to poor food, improve the quality. Also feed laxative food, as hot bran mashes, steamed rolled oats. If the bowels do not act freely, administer Aloin, two drams, and Ginger, three drams. Place in gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun, An ointment made from the following is very effective as an application in this condition: Blue Ointment, one ounce; Zinc Oxide, three ounces. Mix well and apply two or three times a day. A tonic usually has a very good effect in the treatment of this disease, and I would recommend the use of the following: Pulv. Gentian Root, four ounces; Pota.s.sium Nitrate, four ounces; Ferri Sulphate, four ounces. Mix and make into twelve capsules and give one capsule two or three times a day with capsule gun.

ERGOT POISON

(Ergotism)

CAUSE: Ergotism is produced by cattle eating fungoid growths which attack kernels and seeds of rye and blue gra.s.s, etc. These kernels or seeds grow dark in color and become abnormally large and curved in shape. The infected gra.s.s or hay when eaten by cattle contract the arteries, especially those of the legs, just above the feet, although all the arteries in the body are contracted to a certain extent. This disease is frequently seen in Spring and Summer.

SYMPTOMS: Ergot is prescribed in cases of bleeding, because of its contracting effect upon the arteries (closing or stopping the flow of blood) where the blood supply is the weakest, as in the extremities. It is cut off and this, of course, causes the skin just above the hoofs to break or crack as though it were cut with a knife. This shuts off the entire supply of blood to the foot, which mummifies, and the lower portion becomes gangrenous and eventually sloughs off. One of the first effects of Ergot Poison in pregnant cattle is abortion, due to the blood supply to the womb being shut off by its contracting effect on the arteries. Cattle are particularly susceptible to Ergotism.

TREATMENT: When Ergotism is so advanced as to produce sloughing of the feet it is best to destroy the animal. If other animals are affected slightly, find out the cause and remove it. Look to the hay or pasture as the producer. Administer one-half ounce of Chloral Hydrate, two or three times a day in their drinking water or mix it with sufficient quant.i.ty of Flaxseed meal to fill an ounce gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun. If the skin is slightly broken above the foot, wash with five per cent solution of Carbolic Acid. Where the feet have become gangrenous amputation of the foot or feet is necessary, which is not advisable unless the animal is very valuable.

FLUKE

(Liver and Lungs)

CAUSE: This disease is contracted by cattle grazing on marshy lands.

There are two different species of Fluke that affect the liver and lungs of cattle. They are both flat, leaf-like worms. The Common Liver Fluke is about one-half inch long, while the so-called American Fluke is somewhat larger. In their life history these Flukes depend on snails as intermediate hosts. At a certain stage of development the young Flukes live on snails. They become encysted on stalks and blades of gra.s.s which are finally swallowed by grazing cattle. This disease is most frequently seen in young cattle.

SYMPTOMS: The animal shows no marked signs at first, but eventually the appet.i.te diminishes, rumination or chewing of the cud becomes irregular, the animal becomes dull, hide-bound, hair standing, the visible mucous membranes of the mouth and eyes become pale and bloodless, the eyes discharge watery fluids oozing down the face, temperature varying from two to three degrees above normal and milk supply, if in aged cattle, remarkably reduced. In all cases there is great thirst and the animal becomes very much emaciated and refuses to eat. Swellings about the belly and breast, etc. Diarrhoea at first, alternating with constipation, but finally becomes continuous. The diseased animal succ.u.mbs to the malady in from two to six months.

TREATMENT: Medical treatment is unsatisfactory. The disease will be prevented to a considerable extent by giving animals plenty of salt and in the marshes containing pools of water introduce or plant carp, frogs and toads into the infected tracts. These will destroy the young parasites and feed upon the snails which serve as their intermediate hosts. Or, prevent the cattle from grazing upon swampy marshes by fencing them out.

FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE

(Infectious Aphtha--Epizootica Eczema)

CAUSE: This disease is produced by a specific agent or germ, the exact nature of which is not known. It will pa.s.s through the Berkfelt filter, which is the most minute filter known to science, and is therefore known as a filterable virus. This is an eruptive fever and belongs to the cla.s.s of Exanthematous diseases such as smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, etc. Every outbreak starts from some pre-existing infection. The infection is distributed by manure, pastures, barnyards, hay, drinking troughs, box-cars, s.h.i.+ps, boats which have been previously occupied by animals affected with this disease, travel over public highways or man may carry the infection of this disease on his clothing and transmit it to healthy cattle, etc. Foot and Mouth Disease not only affects cattle but attacks a variety of animals, as the horse, sheep, goat, hog, dog, cat, also wild animals as buffalo, deer, antelope, and man himself is not immune from this disease. Children also suffer from Foot and Mouth Disease, resulting from drinking unboiled milk from infected cattle.

Therefore, when purchasing cattle be very careful, as you may be buying an infections disease. Keep the newly purchased animals to themselves for two or three weeks, if possible. This will give ample time for the majority of infectious diseases to develop.

SYMPTOMS: The disease usually makes its first appearance in three to six days after being exposed, by chilling, rise of temperature, and in a day or so pustules varying in size from that of a pin head to that of a pea appear. They appear upon the inner surface of the lips, gums and upper surface of the tongue. The feet also become affected between the digits.

The udder usually becomes affected, especially in milking cows. As soon as this disease becomes well established the affected animal evinces great pain when attempting to eat. The animal generally refuses food. In many instances they shut and open the mouth with a smacking sound owing to the stringy saliva flowing from the mouth. The ulcers in the mouth continue to enlarge until they attain the size of one-half to two inches in diameter. The mucous membrane covering these ulcers breaks and a watery discharge escapes. In a few days the surface of the ulcers takes on a whitish appearance. The same changes take place in the feet and the animal becomes very lame and the udder very much swollen, the ulcers discharge, etc.

PREVENTION: When any of the above mentioned symptoms are noticed, non-affected animals should immediately be removed to non-affected quarters. This disease is not communicated through the atmosphere but by the animal coming into direct contact with the infection or virus; hence it is not necessary to move unaffected animals any great distance but merely to clean, sanitary quarters which have not been subjected to any possible infection from the diseased animals. It must be borne in mind that the attendant or helper cannot be too careful in the matter of his own actions and dress as the infection is easily carried through clothes, fecal matter, etc., adhering to shoes or any matter or articles, such as buckets, brushes, rubrags, blankets, etc.

The existence of this disease should at once be reported to your nearest Veterinarian. He will report to the State Veterinarian of your State or to the United States Bureau of Animal Industry at Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C.

TREATMENT: I cannot recommend any treatment as being satisfactory or a cure, for although under some treatments the animal appears to make a good recovery, in the majority of cases the feet are disfigured and crippled, the udder permanently injured with growths, animal unfit for milking purposes, and the mouth, tongue and teeth left impaired; the mouth and tongue strictured from wounds and the teeth loosened from the gums. Furthermore, should an animal make apparent recovery, it is not immune from a recurrence of the disease. In treating the disease, there is not only danger of spreading the disease to other animals, but to man. The flesh or milk from animals apparently cured should never be used unless first examined by a qualified Veterinarian.

Without question, all animals showing severe symptoms as above described should be at once slaughtered and buried six feet or deeper, covering carca.s.s with Quicklime and then promptly filling grave, according to the Government regulations, which should be followed explicitly. Be careful to disinfect scene of slaughter, as bloodstains, etc. The United States Bureau of Animal Industry regulates the disinfectants to be used and the strength thereof, and as these are subject to change from time to time, I must refer you in this matter to the proper Government authorities.

MEDICAL TREATMENT: If permitted by Government authorities, I would suggest the following treatment as being beneficial: In mild attacks of Foot and Mouth Disease benefits may be derived by cleanliness and the applications of antiseptics as placing Boracic Acid, one dram; Pota.s.sium Chlorate, two drams, in a bucket of water, compelling the animal to drink it. Repeat this dose two or three times a day. Also compel the animals to stand in tubs or troughs containing a one in one thousandth solution of b.i.+.c.hloride of Mercury for at least five minutes, twice daily. When other parts of the body become affected, as the cow's udder, apply Carbolated Vaseline twice daily. This treatment should be continued until all ulcers have ceased to discharge. Always keep in mind that this disease is contagious and is transmitted to other animals, as well as to man. For disinfecting corrals, barns, clothing, hands and anything which the diseased animal might come in contact with, I would recommend Coal Tar products, diluted one part to fifty parts warm water.

Spray, sprinkle or scrub.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Photograph of bull.]

HEREFORD BULL.

Owned by C. A. Tow, Norway, Iowa.