VENTRAL HERNIAIt may occur in any part of the abdomen and varies in size with the extent of the rupture.
VENTRAL HERNIA
It may occur in any part of the abdomen and varies in size with the extent of the rupture.
The characteristic symptom is the bulging out of the gut, tumorlike; and this often can be slipped back where it belongs. If the rent be not closed, even if the gut is returned, the least bit of strain is liable to force it out again. Some kinds of hernia cause immense pain and the animal shows it.
In treating, work the gut back to its place. This done, place a pad—a flat piece of wood or leather will do—over the wound and fasten in such a way as to keep it in place. This should be worn for a month until recovery is complete. Such treatmentwill not serve in all cases of hernia. An operation may be necessary, which should be made only by a skillful veterinarian.
—This is not a disease at all, but an indication of poor health, more particularly of poor nutrition; usually the result of indigestion, improper food, worms or want of proper exercise. The skin is hard, rough, papery, and cannot be picked up from the body with ease. When the attempt is made, it suggests that the body is too large for the skin. Of course treatment is in the nature of better food, that proper nourishment may be secured. A good physic will be proper to start with and then follow with a tonic, easily assimilable food of a nature that will properly nourish the body.
—A sound produced in the act of breathing while the air is being expelled from the lungs during forced respiration. It is a fluttering sort of a sound. When horses are trotting or pacing the sound is essentially a nasal one, and is not to be regarded as a state of unsoundness. It is rather a measure of excitability, and associated with horses of much spirit and good breeding.
—A disease of the hip, caused usually by some injury as from a fall or kick. A slight swelling is observed just over the hip, and lameness when the animal walks or trots. In severe cases, the horse will hop and catch the lame leg. The best treatment is absolute rest. Frequent applications of hot water are good. After each application bathe with a solution made of 4 ounces of water, 2 ounces of tincture of opium, 2 ounces of tincture of arnica and an ounce of belladonna. If the lameness continues, use a blistermade of 2 teaspoonfuls of cantharides and 4 tablespoonfuls of lard. Allow the blister to remain for an entire day, then wash off with soap and water and apply lard or vaseline. Repeat in a couple of weeks if necessary. If the lameness disappears, give the horse rest for several weeks.
—A fracture at the point of the hip. The most common cause is striking the point of the hip against a door post or pole. Sometimes a kick is responsible. While recovery follows, as a rule, from the very nature of the fracture, there is no treatment that will remedy the broken point. After the soreness has passed no inconvenience results; only a blemish is observed.
—The term hog cholera has become quite ambiguous, partly on account of new discoveries concerning the cause of the disease and partly on account of what have been supposed to be two different but curiously related diseases being generally included under this general term. Until within a year or two we have supposed that there were two infectious diseases of hogs recognized under the general terms of hog cholera and swine plague. It now seems probable that we will be able to do away with the term swine plague entirely.
The disease considered here answers to the following requirements: (a) Infectious by association or other natural exposure; (b) the animal before death and the carcass after death show certain accepted symptoms which are clearly recognized as pertaining to cholera; (c) the blood is virulent and capable of reproducing the disease on inoculation into susceptible hogs; (d) attack and recovery confer immunity. It is to be understood that we might easily have diseases among swinewhere characteristic “a” or even “b” might be present and yet the disease be not true hog cholera.
AN ATTACK OF CHOLERAOne of the familiar attitudes assumed when the hog is affected with cholera. When this far along, not many cases of recovery are observed.
AN ATTACK OF CHOLERA
One of the familiar attitudes assumed when the hog is affected with cholera. When this far along, not many cases of recovery are observed.
Until within recent years American authorities, bacteriologists and veterinarians alike, have very generally accepted a certain germ, the bacillus of Salmon and Smith, as the specific cause of hog cholera and another somewhat similar germ as the cause of what was supposed to be a distinct but curiously related disease—swine plague. But within a few years workers in the Federal bureau of animal industry have apparently demonstrated that hog cholera is caused by a living germ so small that it passes easily through germ filters which remove all known forms of the bacillus of Salmon and Smith.
It may be interesting to note further that this new germ is so small as to be invisible to the highest available powers of the best microscope. That it is a living organism and not a chemicalpoison may be very easily demonstrated. The curious relations to this disease of the old bacilli of hog cholera and of swine plague are not well understood, but it seems quite possible that they may play some part in the later development of the disease after the disease processes have been started by the invisible germ. While our old theories and supposed information concerning the cause of hog cholera have been very much disturbed by newer work, it is important to remember that hog cholera is now just as much as before to be recognized as a distinctly infectious disease. It is important to remember also that this infection is absolutely necessary, or there can be no cholera no matter how susceptible animals may be. There can be no cholera without this primary and specific cause any more than there can be plants in our wheat fields without the previous presence of mustard seed. Conditions of soil and climate may favor a rank growth of mustard. Conditions of feed and keep may favor the development and spread of hog cholera. They may decrease resistance and increase susceptibility, but cannot originally cause the disease. It is a rather common experience that hogs kept closely housed and fed, especially with such foods as corn, offer less resistance than do other hogs. In our vaccine work we frequently find hogs of this type which die readily under inoculation with blood of low grade virulence. Hogs of hardier type may become slightly sick or not sick at all with inoculation from the same infectious material. Pampered show herds appear especially susceptible to both natural infection and artificial inoculation.
The farmer, and for that matter the public in general, should bear in mind that the cause of hogcholera is a living organism capable of enormously rapid self-multiplication—actual, though very minute particles of matter. This, fully understood, makes it apparent that infection may be carried in any way that other fine particles of matter may be carried. It thus becomes very apparent that the infection may be carried by sick hogs or upon the legs and bodies of hogs not sick; it may be carried in wagon boxes, in hog racks, in stock cars, or upon shoes and clothing of people. It is very evident that the infection may be carried down stream, especially in small creeks, and give rise to other outbreaks.
So far as the sick hog is concerned, we are quite sure that the blood and the manure are thoroughly infectious and there can be no question concerning the infectiousness of fresh carcasses of dead hogs. Perhaps we should say first of all that we rarely get all of the accepted symptoms of hog cholera plainly shown in one case. It is important to bear in mind that cases vary in virulence from those of very chronic type where hogs live for weeks and finally die or recover, to very acute cases where they die overnight.
The hog coming down with cholera is usually sluggish at first, lying around in the shade and refusing feed. The hair may become rough. The eyes early show symptoms of inflammation, with a sticky discharge. There is usually a suppressed cough. The gait may become irregular and uncertain, especially with the hind legs. After these preliminary symptoms have been shown for a time, the skin becomes red, changing to purple, especially noticeable in white-haired hogs. The hog is then usually within a very few days of death.
As already explained, not all cases are typical. Sometimes hogs die in an outbreak of cholera fromundoubted hog cholera, and yet the ante mortem or post mortem symptoms show very little upon which to base a diagnosis. But we may easily demonstrate that these were cases of cholera by injecting their blood into susceptible hogs and by thus producing typical cholera.
THE RESULT OF HOG CHOLERAA post mortem of a hog dying from cholera will show ulcers like those pictured here. Look for them in the large intestine.
THE RESULT OF HOG CHOLERA
A post mortem of a hog dying from cholera will show ulcers like those pictured here. Look for them in the large intestine.
At the autopsy of an ordinary case of cholera the first and perhaps the most striking thing seen is the purpling of the skin. On opening the carcass small blood spots may be found under the skin and in the fat cut through. The glands along the intestines are intensely inflamed. The mucous membrane of the stomach is frequently thickened and roughened and in chronic cases there may be ulcers. On opening the intestines we see areas here and there of intense inflammation in the acute cases or numerous ulcers in cases of more chronic type. Invery acute cases we find areas intensely inflamed, even bloody in places. The slow chronic cases develop characteristic hog cholera ulcers. These may appear at almost any point on the lining membrane, but more particularly in the blind pouch and around the point where the small intestine connects with the large intestine. On stripping off a very thin transparent membrane covering the kidneys, a typical case of hog cholera will usually show minute red spots on the surface somewhat resembling the covering of a turkey egg, which gives the common name of turkey egg kidney of hog cholera.
—Clearly there are certain things which the owner of healthy hogs in a hog cholera district should do and a good many things which he should not do. The same is equally true for the man who has sick hogs in a neighborhood where there are uninfected herds. The owner of healthy hogs and his family should keep away from public stock yards, from all pens and yards on other farms whether sickness among hogs prevails or not. It may easily occur that a neighbor’s hogs may appear well but have recently received the infection and be already capable of scattering the disease. We do not know at what period in the development of this disease infected hogs become capable of disseminating hog cholera.
During a hog cholera season the owner of healthy hogs should institute something in the way of private quarantine and pleasantly, perhaps, but firmly, ask visitors, especially stock buyers and threshing machine crews, to keep at a reasonable distance from the pens and yards. It is safer for one man to have exclusive care of healthy hogs during the hog cholera season, and this man should be very careful where he goes with reference to possibleinfection. Special fencing or other provisions should be made wherever practical to keep dogs out of the pens and yards, for, under certain conditions, dogs become very active agents in spreading the disease.
The owner of a healthy herd should be very careful about buying in hogs for feeding or breeding purposes, and, in the Western states especially, all public stock yards and stock cars must be regarded as possible sources of spread. Hogs coming into the herd for breeding purposes, if by rail, should be shipped in other than stock cars, and should not be unloaded so as to go through stock yards. All new hogs coming on to a farm where the disease has not appeared, should be kept carefully apart from the herd for from two to three weeks after arrival. The disease may thus have time to develop, if the animals have been infected before shipment or en route. It is decidedly worth while to be careful about clean feeding, for it seems probable that this is a common method by which infection enters the body. This being the case, troughs and feeding floors should be frequently disinfected with steam, boiling water, or a very dilute corrosive sublimate solution (1:1,000 dissolved in water), with the troughs subsequently rinsed out with plain water. Or the troughs and feeding floors may be disinfected with any of the coal tar disinfectants if they are used in sufficient strength. These are not poisonous in any probable quantity which hogs would get.
—The farmer should be especially careful about buying hogs out of stock yards. Some years ago a certain Minnesota farmer purchased a lot of feeders from Sioux City and took them home to his farm. In about twoweeks his hogs commenced dying. A little later hogs previously on the farm began dying. In a little while he was losing hogs at the rate of 25 a day, losing a total of about 200. This loss of 200 hogs was scarcely a drop in the bucket—too small for consideration in comparison with the loss which this outbreak cost the state, for, with some others coming into the state from Iowa and Nebraska, this outbreak cost the state, as carefully estimated, about $1,250,000 during that one year. As soon as the Minnesota farmer here referred to realized that he had cholera and was liable to lose a large portion of his herd, he shipped out a lot of fat hogs ready for market. These were yarded for a time in the public stock yards of his town, and one of them died while waiting for shipment. This hog was left for a day or so in the yard. Later a carload of feeding hogs was shipped in from a point in South Dakota, where they had never had hog cholera. These South Dakota hogs were unloaded into the yards where the fat hog had died some time before, and were sold out from there by auction.
It was a very interesting study to follow the resulting outbreaks; but a very serious matter for the owner and for that entire portion of the state. Practically every farmer who bought hogs at this sale, and very many of those who walked around the yards looking at the hogs, but without buying, had hog cholera on their farms in a very uniform period after the sale. Surely the moral of this tale is so self-evident as to need no further suggestion.
—Troughs and feeding floors, at least, and, if practicable, the hog house also, should be kept clean and frequently disinfected during an outbreak. When the outbreak appears to be over,the owner must decide as to just what he will do in the way of disinfection and cleaning up, or whether he will stay out of the hog business for a year and allow the infection to die out. This is, of course, without regard for the possibility of putting in vaccinated and immune hogs. Feeding troughs and feeding floors and the hog house in general, may be disinfected if of reasonably good construction, by a thorough cleaning and then by one of the methods suggested under prevention. If the sick hogs have been kept in an old straw shed or in an old hog house that is about ready to fall down anyway, by all means the best method of disinfection is by burning. Without disinfection or burning the owner cannot be safe in putting in susceptible hogs within much less than a year after the last hog died or recovered. The slow old chronic cases that go dragging around at the end of an outbreak should usually be killed and safely buried, for it is rarely profitable to put such hogs in shape for market. It might possibly be worth while to hold such a one over and nurse them along, in case of valuable brood sows, for hogs having recovered from cholera are usually immune for life.
Brood sows which have had the disease and recovered usually give something more than natural immunity to their offspring. But the degree of immunity so conferred is so variable in degree and uncertain otherwise that it cannot be depended upon as a routine method of establishing immune herds. Yards may be practically disinfected by plowing or by burning off a good layer of straw.
—Generally stated, this vaccine consists of two parts: (a) Blood serum from the body of a specially immunized hog; and (b) virulent blood serum from the body of a hogabout to die from cholera. The general theory upon which this double vaccine is used is that of giving the animal an infectious disease and at the same time a treatment which enables the animal to resist the infection. When the hog is through with it he is in exactly the same condition as though he had gone through a natural exposure and recovered.
—We start this work with certain hogs that are immune usually because they have passed through an outbreak. It has been shown that when such immune hogs are treated with large injections of virulent blood under the skin or into a vein, that they do not usually become sick, but their own blood develops a peculiar property that gives protection to other hogs that are naturally susceptible.
When the blood or rather blood serum from this specially treated immune hog is injected into the bodies of healthy susceptible hogs, the latter becomes likewise immune, but the immunity so gained lasts only a short time, possibly four to six weeks, and is then gradually lost. If we give a small injection of virulent blood at the same time, or soon after the immunizing serum is given, then the treated hog becomes immune for a long period, perhaps for life.
—The specially immunized hog which produces this immunizing serum is known as a hyperimmune, and to save words will be hereafter mentioned as such. The simply immune hog may be prepared for producing serum in either one of three ways. (1) By three rapidly increasing doses of virulent blood serum injected under the skin at intervals of seven to ten days; (2) by one enormously large injection of virulent serum under theskin; (3) by injecting virulent blood in smaller doses directly into the blood circulation.
In this work an ordinary immune hog weighing 100 pounds is given a quart of very virulent blood, a teaspoon of which similarly injected would kill a hog that was not immune. In other words the immune, and especially the hyperimmune hog, have developed certain properties in their blood antagonistic to hog cholera virus.
—We have two possible methods of vaccinating or immunizing susceptible hogs (a) Serum only. This is by the injection under the skin of serum from the body of a hyperimmune hog and gives immediate but temporary immunity lasting, as already stated, several weeks. If this animal, during the period of immunity, is exposed to natural infection, he becomes protected for a very long period, perhaps for life. (b) Simultaneous. The second method of vaccination consists of injecting immunizing blood serum into one thigh and a small amount of disease-producing serum at the same time, or soon after, into the other thigh, thus giving the animal the cholera and a cure for it at the same time. If the immunizing serum is potent and the virulent serum is really virulent, then the animal so treated becomes permanently immune.
The serum-only method is usually preferred in actual outbreaks and for hogs not yet sick, because this gives immediate protection, and the hogs, being naturally exposed, usually develop a permanent immunity. The simultaneous method of vaccination is preferred where we are very confident of the serum’s potency against the virulent blood, and for hogs that have not yet been infected. It may yet be found wise to use this method even in outbreaks.
—Every intelligent stockman who reads this will probably ask if there is not danger of scattering cholera by this simultaneous vaccination into districts where it has not yet appeared. A considerable amount of direct evidence on this point is better than any amount of theorizing and personal opinions. This evidence all agrees that unless the vaccinated hogs become distinctly sick as a result of the vaccination (which can occur, and does very often), that there is practically no danger of disseminating the disease. This is especially true since all hogs on the farm are supposed to have been treated and are immune, and, therefore, incapable of developing cholera and so spreading the disease. It does occur, even with good serum, perhaps, that an occasional hog may become a little sick, and very rarely even die, as a result of vaccination. But with good serum given in standard dose and virulent blood also given in proper dose, the risk of this is so small that it may be safely disregarded and especially when all hogs on the farm or that may be exposed with such sick hogs have been treated.
—A common term to denote a diseased condition of the blood. The horn is not hollow and never is. The old quack method of boring a hole in the horn with a gimlet and squirting turpentine into the orifice is both cruel and ridiculous. While in fact the temperature of the horn is low, it is because of the general poverty of the blood of the animal. There is no merit in this kind of treatment. The most common symptoms are general debility, scanty flesh, scurvy coat and coarse hair. The appetite is also irregular and at times greedy. Treatment is in line of better food and general improvement of the system. Iflice are found on the body, they must be destroyed by disinfectants and washes. A tonic, consisting of 2 teaspoonfuls of sulphate of iron, 1 teaspoonful of powdered nux vomica and 4 tablespoonfuls of ground gentian root given each day in the food or as a drench, will be very helpful in toning up the system and in enriching the blood. The most important factor of the treatment, however, is in nutritious, wholesome food.
—SeeSand Cracks.
—A small insect about half as large as the common house flies, and very much like them in appearance. Horn flies swarm about the head and settle near the base of the horn, where they bite and cause much irritation. They also attack cattle on the back and sides and flank. The fly mixtures that are commonly advertised, and applied by means of a hand-spray, are excellent for keeping the pests away. A good home mixture to apply at the base of the horns is made of pine tar, kerosene, and fish oil. Use this in equal parts, and apply with a brush.
—SeeBloating in Cattle.
—SeeWater in the Brain.
, also called rabies and mad dog, is an infectious disease caused by some invisible organism. The disease is transmitted from one animal to another by the bite of an animal which is suffering with the disease or by direct inoculation. It is more common in the dog than any other animal, from the fact that dogs run at large and have a tendency to bite other dogs with which they come in contact while they are suffering with the disease.
The dog shows two forms, furious and dumb. In the furious form the animal at first seeks darkplaces, but is usually restless and will move from one place to another. This condition lasts for a day or two, after which time he becomes more restless and may go 30 miles in a day. He will drink water, eat sticks, stones, and bite other dogs, horses, and cattle, less often man. This condition will last from one to four days, and then the dog becomes partly paralyzed, so that he can no longer swallow, or his legs may be affected, so that he will lie in one place, and usually dies after a few days longer. In the dumb form, the animal seeks dark places, is rather restless, the throat and lower jaw become paralyzed, he is unable to swallow or to close his mouth and, therefore, cannot bite. Sometimes they will change from one form of symptoms to the other.
In the horse the symptoms vary somewhat from those in the dog. The horse is restless, usually violent and will kick and bite, oftentimes showing sexual excitement. He may break his teeth on the manger and oftentimes bites his own flesh at the place where he has been bitten by the dog. The symptoms usually develop in from eight to twenty-eight days after the animal is bitten, but may not develop for six months. The disease runs its course in from two to ten days, with a fatal termination.
There is no treatment for the disease after the symptoms have developed. In case man is bitten he should take the “Pasteur” treatment, which is a preventive, and it should be taken in a very short time after being bitten. After the symptoms begin to show it is too late to take treatment.
—SeeWater in the Chest.
—A continued distention of the rumen caused by large quantities of undigested material lodging in therumen. Inflammation often results, with distress and pain manifest. If relief is not attained the walls of the rumen become paralyzed. Associated with the disturbances the animal is dull, the left side swollen, the breathing and pulse increase and the back aches. When lying down, the left side is always up. In treating, cold water dashed over the back and loins is recommended. A strong physic of Epsom salts and ginger will aid in stimulating the secretions and may bring relief. If gas accumulates so as to threaten the life of the animal, the trocar and canula should be used. If these are not available, use the knife, as described for hoven or bloat. In some cases the impaction becomes so pronounced as to resist ordinary treatment, when extreme measures will be necessary if the animal is to be saved. Better call your veterinarian and open the rumen in order to remove the contents with the hand. The operation is as follows: At the point midway between the point of the hip and the last rib, and down about four inches from the backbone, an opening is made large enough to admit the hand. After the opening is made the edges are stitched to prevent any material from getting between the skin and the rumen wall. Now remove the greater part of the accumulated material; this done, the rumen, the muscles and the skin are each in turn stitched, the wound dressed and the animal given stimulating medicines. A splendid tonic consists of 4 tablespoonfuls each of ginger, tincture of gentian and tincture of iron. Give this tonic daily and until the animal has fully recovered.
—Failure to digest food with abdominal pains and indisposition resulting. Bad food and improper management are back of thetrouble in most instances. Mild cases require no treatment. A light, laxative diet is desirable for stubborn cases. If possible turn the animals on fresh grass. Jamaica ginger is generally prescribed for indigestion. Give 8 tablespoonfuls in a pint of warm water three times a day as a drench. Follow this with condition powders, or some good digestive tonic. After recovery see that the diet is varied and that laxative and succulent foods are supplied.
—As the name indicates, this is an infectious trouble frequently extending over considerable areas and occurs among both horses and cattle. It is very similar in its action to ordinary pneumonia or inflammation of the lungs. However, it does not seem to be so acute in its action. The same treatment is applied to cases of this kind as to ordinary pneumonia. When its presence becomes known, it is wise to remove all healthy animals to some other quarters. This lessens the danger of infection to healthy animals. After the disease has run its course, remove all litter and manure from the stables, thoroughly air out, admit as much sunlight as possible, and disinfect all walls and floors. A coat of whitewash on the ceiling and walls is desirable. The floors should be literally wet with disinfectant fluid, which should be admitted to all cracks and open spaces.
—SeeSwamp Fever.
—Sometimes this disease is called enteritis. It frequently follows severe cases of colic. It is the result of inflammation caused by indigestible material lodging in the stomach and intestines of animals. It may, however, result from other things that irritate the bowels. When first noticed, a general depressionprevails, with signs of pain in the bowels; breathing is quickened and frequently a chill shows itself. The horse acts very much as if he had a case of colic. As the disease progresses the pain increases and the pulse rises. In a few hours the pain becomes very severe and the animal is in great agony all over; he breathes heavy, the legs and ears are cold and clammy and the pulse very high. In severe cases the pulse reaches to 100 and 105 beats a minute. The horse now is very ill indeed. He shows great weakness. It is very unlikely that he will survive more than a day or two. The disease usually runs from ten to fifteen hours, and unless there is a change for the better, death results.
When far advanced there is little likelihood of successful treatment. Success lies only in early work, taking the disease in time. A satisfactory drench is made of 4 tablespoonfuls of tincture of laudanum, 10 to 15 drops of tincture of aconite, 1 tablespoonful of common soda, and 1 tablespoonful of ginger. These are mixed in a pint of warm water and given as a drench. Repeat this every hour until the animal gets relief. A mustard plaster gives relief when applied to the belly. A physic is not considered advisable, as it increases the inflammation—just what is not wanted at all.
The most rational treatment consists in allaying the pain. Opium in teaspoonful doses every hour until the pain is relieved is helpful. Some veterinary practitioners use 10 grains of morphia and 4 tablespoonfuls of chloral hydrate in syrup and water for each dose. This dose is repeated every two or three hours until the symptoms abate.
The diet should be carefully watched in diseases of this kind. Bran mashes made with linseed tea or slippery elm bark are suitable. Boiled food isbetter than uncooked food. Good water frequently and in small quantities is desirable. Skimmed milk is excellent and may be fed for a week or two at a time. This food often effects a cure without any other aid.
—This is a common disease in farm stock. The disease occurs most frequently in late fall or winter or early spring, and is due to exposure while the animal is still warm and hot; bad ventilation influences it. Authorities now generally believe it to be a germ disease and infectious. One of the first things noticed is the shivering of the animal and then a fevered condition; the animal seems to be hot, then cold; a peculiar breathing is noticed; the pulse quickens, ranges from 60 to 70 beats a minute; the eyelids on the inside take a scarlet hue. The animal does not eat, stands up much of the time with the head down and the ears lopped over; a grating sound is noticed when the ear is placed to the chest. Frequently distress is experienced in the bowels; constipation follows and the temperature rises gradually until it reaches 105 degrees, which is reached about the sixth or seventh day. If recovery does not follow the appetite will disappear, the mouth become cold, the breath heavy and disagreeable and the pulse feeble, frequently not noticeable at all.
After the case assumes a more favorable aspect, an effort should be made to keep the animal comfortable and in as good condition as possible. It is therefore advisable to keep it well blanketed, the legs bandaged and rubbed. The patient should be kept also in a warm stall where good air is available. Good food that is nourishing and easily digested should be provided. Sweet milk is good,and raw eggs mixed in the gruel are excellent also. A compress over the lungs does much good. The compress should be made out of heavy cloth, frequently rinsed in cold water and then placed over the lungs where they are covered with heavy, dry cloths. On recovery, rub the sides of the chest so as to thoroughly dry the surface. A mustard plaster, after the compress has been removed, is quite generally used. A stimulating medicine may be given during the early stages. Use a drench, consisting of 8 tablespoonfuls of whiskey to 4 tablespoonfuls of sweet spirits of niter. If the animal is in very great distress, give a drench every two or three hours consisting of 8 to 10 drops of Fleming’s tincture of aconite, 2 tablespoonfuls of laudanum mixed with a pint of cold water.
After the animal is on the road to recovery, stop the use of these medicines and give a tonic consisting of nitrate of potash or saltpeter and ground gentian root, half and half. Give a teaspoonful three times a day. While the animal is sick, a little boiled flaxseed mixed with a soft food will keep the bowels regular. It is not wise to give purgatives, hence it is wise to give an injection consisting of warm soapy water, so as to empty the bowels. From two to four weeks of rest and care should be allowed for complete recovery.
—A specific disease of the horse affecting the mucous membrane of the air passages. When the mucous membrane of the eyelids is affected, pink eye results. Sometimes the mucous membrane of the intestines is affected, in which case colic or inflammation of the bowels results. The common cause is exposure to cold. If no work be required, plenty of fresh air be supplied, no drafts admitted and careful nursing otherwise, the diseasewill run its course in from two to three weeks and no medicines will be necessary. In cases where considerable cough prevails, the custom of putting a piece of camphor about the size of an egg in a pail of boiling water and holding the horse’s head over it from a quarter to a half hour at a time is to be commended. The bowels should be kept free and open. Any of the ordinary purgatives will do. If weakness occurs, give 4 tablespoonfuls each of tincture of ginger, ground gentian root and sweet spirits of niter in a half pint of water three times a day. Two tablespoonfuls of nitrate of potassium given once or twice each day in the drinking water is also desirable. As the trouble abates, the medicines suggested before may be dropped and in their place a teaspoonful of sulphate of iron and a tablespoonful of ground gentian root may be given daily in a bran mash or oatmeal gruel.
—Intestinal worms may be classed as large and small. The large worms inhabit the small intestines, and the small ones the large intestines, the larger class of worms being more readily reached by worm destroyers than are the smaller ones, as the small intestines begin at the stomach and as remedies leave the stomach, the worm soon receives the dose prepared for it, while if one dose has to pass through about 60 feet of intestines before reaching the smaller worms in the larger intestines, much of the worm remedy is lost by mingling with the food, and diluted by mixing with the digestive fluids. Thus what is a remedy for the large species of worms will have little effect upon the smaller ones.
As a farmer’s dose for the larger species of worms, none, perhaps, is better than the following: Oil of turpentine, 2 ounces; extract or oil of malefern, one half ounce, mixed with 4 ounces of castor oil and 8 ounces of pure raw linseed oil, with half a pint of new milk, and given after the horse has fasted for about 14 hours. Repeat the dose in a week; then follow with two worm powders, common smoking tobacco, eight ounces; powdered worm seed, 6 ounces; powdered sulphate of iron, 4 ounces; mix with one-half pound each of salt and granulated sugar. Every morning before the horse is fed any other food, place a heaping tablespoonful of the powder in four quarts of wet wheat bran and allow the horse to eat it; continue for ten days and the horse will be practically rid of worms of the larger species. Colts should receive smaller doses in proportion to age.
The small worms need the worm powder to be given in the wheat bran every morning for fully two weeks. Then follow with an ounce dose of barbadoes aloes and a tablespoonful of ginger given by mixing with about 12 ounces of warm water and a gill of common molasses; wait a week and repeat the powder treatment and follow with the aloes. In a case of the very small or rectal worms (pin worms) always use rectal injections, a good enema being made by steeping for two hours one pound of quassia chips in a gallon of soft water; strain and add two ounces of common hard soap; use the whole at once, using at about blood temperature after the soap has dissolved. Repeat in three days and continue as long as worms are being brought away by the enemas.
—SeeStomach and Intestinal Worms in Sheep.
—SeeScab in Cattle.
—Until of recent date the disease in the human so common at certain seasons of theyear was unknown among animals, or, at least, if present had never been discovered by the veterinary profession. But be that as it may, we are now finding it in plenty among horses of all ages, from colts up to aged horses; very prevalent among sheep, and quite frequent among cattle. The early writers on veterinary science usually attributed the cause to gall stones. But that theory can hardly be tenable in this country, where we find it essentially more prevalent on low, marshy soils or on the hill lands that have been long unplowed, where animals are pastured, or hays are cut. The general symptoms of it are a general dullness, hanging of the head as though it ached, or pressing the head, if the animal be a bovine or sheep, against the barn or stall. The tongue will be found dry or covered with a thick, sticky slime. The membranes of the eyeball of a yellowish cast. In horses the tongue will usually have a black coating. The appetite in all animals is capricious. They will eat well one day and scarcely touch food the next. As a rule, they will manifest great thirst, yet will drink but little. There are exceptions to this, however. The voidings are not uniform. Sometime the urine is quite high colored; at other times not. But, as a rule, it is scanty. The feces are sometimes quite hard and covered with a shiny slime. At other times there will be extreme looseness of the evacuations. These last symptoms are to be well considered in using a treatment when the voidings are hard and slimy. In case it is a horse that is ailing, a physic of aloes should be given, one ounce being the dose for a thousand pounds of horse, and two teaspoonfuls of podophylin. Give this dissolved in water and pour down as a drench, and follow with a bitter tonic for from two to four weeks, or until thevoidings are normal and all scurf is removed from the tongue. As a tonic for this none is better than a mixture of powdered gentian root, six ounces, powdered golden seal 2 ounces, powdered sulphate of iron 4 ounces, well mixed in 1 pound of common salt. Give in the feed a tablespoonful in ground oats three times a day, until improvement takes place. Then drop to twice a day and later once a day. In case of the bowels being very loose always give a pint dose of a mixture of castor oil 4 ounces, pure raw linseed oil 12 ounces. Then follow with the tonic powder named. The symptoms in cattle are quite similar to those of the horse, except the bovine’s eyes usually discharge some, yet not profusely, and there are frequently puffy swellings beneath their lower jaws. In case their bowels are abnormally loose, give the oil as for the horse. If constipated give from one to two pounds of Epsom salts at one dose as the physic, with the podophylin added as for the horse, and follow with the same tonic powder. In the case of sheep, which are by nature constipated animals, nothing equals a ten-grain dose of calomel, followed the next day with a four or six-ounce dose of Epsom salts (sulphate of magnesia), and as sheep are reluctant to eat any tonics in their feed, we are compelled to pour their medicine down them. Mix together 4 ounces each of the tincture of gentian, golden seal, ginger and iron, and give a tablespoonful twice a day in a half pint of water. But always give the calomel, as it will clean out the liver of a sheep as no other known agent will. The symptoms are much the same as in cattle. Begin treatment early or success will not follow.
—The hog is mostly affected with these worms, although they have been foundin the dog also. Death does not, as a rule, follow the infestation unless in an aggravated form. Obviously there is no remedy.
KIDNEY WORMS IN THE HOGWhile worms are occasionally found in the kidneys, they do not frequently cause disease or death.
KIDNEY WORMS IN THE HOG
While worms are occasionally found in the kidneys, they do not frequently cause disease or death.
—A condition in which the knees bend forward as the result of contraction of tendons located along the back of the leg. In aggravated cases the tendons should be cut. If this is to be done only a skilled surgeon should be allowed to perform the operation.
—SeeFounder.
—Farm animals, especially those housed in stables more or less infested with insects and vermin, are commonly troubled with lice. Animals in good health resist the insects, but those already in a non-thrifty condition do not fare so well. Lice cause a good deal of annoyance to farm stock, inasmuch as they bite the skin, suck out blood, and thus cause considerable irritation. Lice can be seenwith the naked eye. Infestation, as a rule, takes place in filthy quarters, and the best means of disinfecting such places is by the use of a spray of kerosene. One of the best means of applying this to hogs consists in rubbing posts, which are constantly smeared with kerosene. In this way the hogs are induced to treat themselves. Infected hogs may also be treated by pouring the kerosene directly over the infested parts, like the neck, shoulder and back. Dipping tanks made of cement or wood are frequently located in the run-yards, in which is placed some disinfectant fluid. Hogs use these small tanks as wallows, and in this way they disinfect themselves.
For horses and cattle a good remedy is made as follows: Boil for an hour 8 tablespoonfuls of arsenic, 8 tablespoonfuls of soda ash and 16 tablespoonfuls of soft soap in two gallons of water. After being prepared by boiling, add enough water to make two gallons. When cool, wet the animal all over with a little of it, using a brush or currycomb to get it into the skin. Another good remedy is made of boiling stavesacre seeds, 1 part to 20 parts of water, for an hour and let it simmer for another hour; then add water to make it up to the original bulk. This applied to the affected parts brings quick relief. It is advisable to repeat the application in a week or ten days, so as to catch any new lice from any eggs that were not caught by the first application. A very common treatment is secured by mixing a pint of linseed oil, 8 tablespoonfuls of oil of tar, and 8 tablespoonfuls of sulphur. This is then rubbed on the affected parts once a day for two days and allowed to remain for a few days, after which it is washed off with soap and water. In serious cases,the application should be repeated within a week or so.
—These are parasites usually found in the liver or its ducts. At times they are present in great numbers, giving rise to a serious disease called liver rot. When the fertilized eggs are discharged in the excrement of diseased animals and fall in fresh water they hatch out and are taken into the body by sheep and cattle, either in the food or drink. In a short time thereafter they have entrenched themselves in the liver of cattle or sheep.