Part 5

MEDICAL TREATMENT.—The afterbirth should not be pulled away by force, as it may tear, leaving small portions unremoved that perhaps would result in Inflammation of the Womb or Whites. To remove the afterbirth insert the hand and carefully detach it from its attachments, being very careful that the cotyledons are not torn off. After this has been carefully removed, wash out the womb with Carbolic Acid solution about two and one-half per cent. An instrument can be made for this purpose very easily from a clean piece of hose about four feet long and an ordinary funnel. Sometimes it is necessary to give physics, as Aloin, two drams; Ginger, two drams. Place in a gelatin capsule and give with a capsule gun.

In addition to the above, stimulants are also advisable such as powdered Nux Vomica, powdered Capsicum, powdered Ginger, powdered Nitrate of Potash, equal parts four ounces. Make twenty-four capsules and give one capsule three times a day.

RHEUMATISM.

CAUSE.—Exposure, especially when the animal is permitted to lie on cold damp soils or floors. Another common cause is an animal exposed to cold drafts after perspiring or weakened after severe physical exercise.

SYMPTOM.—Stiffness when walking, variable appetite, constipation, hair unthrifty looking. Passage of urine is scant and of an amber color, usually slight elevation in temperature and the animal lies down a great part of the time. There are two forms of rheumatism—muscular and articular. The former affects the muscles of the body, while the latter affects the joints. There will be swellings that are tender on pressure, which may shift to different parts of the body.

TREATMENT.—Place the animal in warm dry quarters with a sufficient quantity of clean bedding. Feed foods that are easily digested, as wheat bran mashes and steamed rolled oats and vegetables. Keep pure, cold water within the animal’s reach at all times. The following prescription has been found very effective in the treatment of this disease: Sodium Salicylate, six ounces; Nux Vomica, two ounces; Pulv. Gentian Root, two ounces; Nitrate of Potash, two ounces. Mix and make into sixteen capsules and give one capsule three times daily with capsule gun. If the bowels are constipated give Aloin, two drams; Ginger, three drams. Place in capsule and give with capsule gun. When the joints or muscles become swollen and inflamed, the following liniment will be found very effective in reducing the swellings: Aqua Ammonia Fort., two ounces; Oil of Turpentine, three ounces; Sweet Oil, six ounces. Mix and apply by rubbing in well two or three times a day.

RINGWORM.

CAUSE.—Due to a vegetable parasite. It affects the hair and the outer layer of skin and is highly infectious, being transmitted from one animal to another.

SYMPTOMS.—The disease usually appears in the form of circular patches of the skin, which soon become denuded of hair. Sometimes a white sticky discharge and the formation of scaly, brittle crusts on the patches appear, silvery gray in color. They are generally confined to the head and neck. It is a common disease among young cattle in the Winter and Spring. This disease is attended with more or less itching and is communicable to man.

TREATMENT.—Remove the scabs or crusts with soap and warm water. However, the surface of the body should be well dried after washing each time. Apply Tincture of Iodine with a camel-hair brush to the spots denuded of hair. It is quite necessary that the barn and rubbing posts be disinfected by spraying or washing them with a twenty-five per cent solution of Carbolic Acid.

ROUND WORM.

CAUSE.—An animal swallowing the eggs of the parasite in food or water which has been contaminated with the feces of infected cattle. There are two species, the large Roundworm measuring from five to fourteen inches in length, the small Roundworm varying in size from one-quarter of an inch to two inches in length. Both the small and large Roundworms infest the intestines of cattle and calves. These worms, especially small Roundworms, irritate the mucous lining of the intestines, which may cause severe inflammation.

SYMPTOMS.—Anemia, appetite variable, diarrhoea, general weakness, dullness and excessive thirst; also a paleness of the visible membranes of the mouth, nose and eye. Worms frequently pass with the feces and can be readily seen by a close observer.

PREVENTIVE TREATMENT.—See prevention of Twisted Stomach Worm.

MEDICAL TREATMENT.—Withhold all food from eighteen to twenty-four hours. To calves, two to eight months old, give two teaspoonfuls of Turpentine in a pint of milk; to yearlings, give one tablespoonful. Place in gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun. To cattle one year old and over place one ounce in a gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun. This treatment is to be repeated twice during the intervals of ten days or two weeks, which insures the expulsion of the eggs of worms that escaped the first treatment. Also keep salt where cattle can lick frequently.

RUPTURE.

(_Abdominal Hernia_)

CAUSE.—This disease occasionally occurs in calves by receiving blows from the cow’s horns on the right flank. After such an accident a swelling forms near the last ribs. This swelling may be either hot and painful or soft to the touch. It can be made to disappear by careful pressure when the sides of the rupture through which it has passed can be felt. On removing the pressure the rupture soon regains its swollen appearance. Similar conditions may also occur in aged cattle, usually due to injuries, such as being kicked by a horse, etc., or due to a weakness of the muscles that are ruptured sometimes during difficult birth.

TREATMENT.—Feed the animal on laxative food and feed sparingly on bulky food such as hay, straw and grass. Round the edges of a block of wood a little smaller, but the same shape as the rupture. After wrapping with cloth nicely, place it over the rupture, then place bandage around the body. This permits the ruptured muscles to grow together, providing the animal is properly dieted as stated above.

Sometimes a rupture of long standing or a newly produced rupture may be treated by injecting strong solutions of Common Salt around the torn edges of the muscles. This causes the swelling and inflammation, which respectively forces the protruded intestines back and closes the opening. There is some danger attached to this method of treatment, and if attempted I would advise that great care be exercised.

SCUM OVER THE EYE.

CAUSE.—See Inflammation of the Eye.

SYMPTOMS.—The eye has a smoke-colored appearance.

TREATMENT.—Silver Nitrate, two grains, thoroughly dissolved in one ounce of Distilled Water. Apply with dropper two or three times a day. Feed the animal on food that is easily digested and confine the animal to a cool, clean, dark stall.

SORE THROAT.

(_Laryngitis and Pharyngitis_)

CAUSE.—Sudden cooling of the surface of the body, as when cattle are exposed to cold weather or cold rain or the inhaling of irritating gases.

SYMPTOMS.—The muzzle is dry, temperature slightly elevated and saliva dribbles from the corners of the mouth. The animal either does not swallow, or swallows with great difficulty, and holds its head in a stiff, straight position, moving it as little as possible. The eyelids are half-closed and bloodshot, and the animal occasionally grinds the teeth. After masticating the food the animal drops it out of its mouth as if to avoid the pain of swallowing, and also evinces great pain when pressure is applied from the outside. In acute attacks of sore throat, the animal coughs with great difficulty and breathes very noisily. The nostrils are dilated and nose extended.

TREATMENT.—Place the animal in as comfortable a place as possible, permitting plenty of fresh air, but avoiding drafts. Blanket the animal if the weather is chilly, also hand rub the legs and bandage with woolen cloths.

Administer Chlorate of Potash, two ounces; Nitrate of Potash, two ounces; Tannic Acid, one-half ounce; Molasses, eight ounces. Mix well and place one tablespoonful on the tongue every three or four hours. Feed soft food, as wheat bran mashes and steamed rolled oats, or boiled vegetables. Give drinking water with the chill taken off.

It is always necessary to apply liniments to the throat, and I would advise the application of Aqua Ammonia Fort., four ounces; Oil of Turpentine, four ounces, and Sweet Oil, four ounces. Apply and rub in well two or three times a day.

STRINGY MILK.

CAUSE.—Cows wading or standing in stagnant pools of water. Frequently stringy milk results from fungi entering the udder. This takes on an infectious form, and several cows may become affected at one time.

SYMPTOMS.—Although the milk appear perfectly normal when first milked, it becomes stringy after standing for a few hours. If a needle is inserted in the milk and slowly withdrawn, the milk will adhere to the point and have a stringy appearance. If the cow is examined carefully, the temperature will be found to be elevated a degree or two, the appetite poor and the nose dry.

TREATMENT.—Feed laxative food and see that they have fresh water to drink. Also place two drams of Soda Bisulphite once or twice a day in a gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun. Do not permit the cow to come in contact with stagnant pools of water that carry this infection. Perhaps the best plan is to fence out all such stagnant pools of water.

SUPPRESSION OF MILK.

(_Absence of Milk_)

CAUSE.—Usually due to poor health, debility, emaciated, chronic disease of the bag, or wasting of its glands from various diseases or impure food. Sometimes this condition is produced without any apparent cause.

TREATMENT.—Determine the cause, if possible, and remove it. Feed warm wheat bran mashes, steamed rolled oats or barley. Administer Pulv. Anise Seed, one-half ounce, two or three times a day. This has a very good effect in this particular condition. Also rub the bag and strip the teats often, and apply Oil of Lavender. The majority of cases respond to this treatment if not due to chronic disease of the bag.

TAPEWORM.

CAUSE.—Small portions of tapeworms, consisting of one or more segments, are occasionally seen in the droppings of infected cattle. The infection is undoubtedly taken in with the food or water, infection being spread by the eggs of the parasite, and being expelled with the feces of an infected animal. The eggs being swallowed by insects, worms or snails, which act as an intermediate host, and which when swallowed accidentally by cattle while grazing or drinking carry with them into the animal’s stomach the infectious stage of the tapeworm. Aged cattle do not seem to suffer much from tapeworms, but in calves these parasites cause scours and rapid emaciation.

SYMPTOMS.—Emaciation, diarrhoea, loss of flesh, ravenous appetite, paleness of the mucous membranes of the mouth and eyes, and the segments of the tapeworms can occasionally be seen in the droppings.

TREATMENT.—Withhold all food from eighteen to twenty-four hours, and to calves from two to eight months old give two teaspoonfuls of gasolene in a pint of milk. To yearlings, place one tablespoonful in a gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun. To cattle one year and over, place one ounce in capsule and give with capsule gun. Repeat this treatment two or three times during intervals of a week or two.

TEXAS FEVER.

CAUSE.—Due to a micro-organism (Pirophalasna Bigenium) which imbeds itself in the red blood corpuscles. This disease is transmitted or scattered by means of a tick which drops from the affected animal. The disease has various names, according to the locality in which it appears. Among them are: Spanish Fever, Red Water, Black Water, Red Murrian, Australian Cattle Tick Fever, etc.

SYMPTOMS.—Loss of appetite. The animal ceases to ruminate or does not chew the cud, and every sign of unthriftiness is displayed; a high temperature, and when the animal is standing the back is arched, but the animal however, prefers to lie down most of the time and shows desire for solitude. The urine is very dark in color, hence the name “Red or Black Water.” The disease is usually fatal, the animal dies within a few weeks.

TREATMENT.—My advice is, when this disease once develops, or an animal shows any of the particular signs that I have mentioned, examine carefully and immunize by the use of serums, disinfectants, etc.

TICKS.

Ticks are very difficult to kill, on account of their protected location, as ear ticks are not affected by dipping, and remedies strong enough for this purpose are liable to injure the animal, but these parasites may be expelled by pouring into the ear Carbolated Cottonseed Oil with favorable results.

TUBERCULOSIS.

CAUSE.—The bacilli of Tuberculosis thrive in animals, especially those in a weakened condition, or when exposed to atmospheric changes, unwholesome food, dark and poorly ventilated stables. They gain entrance into the body through the lungs or the intestinal canal. They lodge in various portions of the lungs or intestines, and multiply very rapidly, causing irritations and formations, nodules, cysts or abcesses. They are the means of the bacillus entering the blood, which carries the infection to other parts of the body, as the spleen, liver, udder, womb, etc. Cows affected with generalized tuberculosis, that is to say the infection being confined to not only a small portion of the lungs, but also to any of the above mentioned organs, etc., may give birth to a calf having general tuberculosis at birth, or shortly after, due to the cow’s blood circulating through the body of the calf before birth.

SYMPTOMS.—This disease may pass a casual observer unnoticed, although in some instances we notice a slight cough, unthriftiness, dullness. The coughing is best marked after taking a drink of water in the morning and then being exercised. Some animals keep up in good condition and look perfectly healthy while some get emaciated, have constipation, variable appetite, and sometimes growths or abcesses can be felt or seen in the udder or glands of the body and neck.

However, cattle showing any weakness, or the above symptoms should be tested for tuberculosis by the administration of tuberculin.

TREATMENT.—It is not advisable to treat tuberculosis. Thus far, medicine has failed to relieve the affected animal, or kill the bacillus of tuberculosis in a living animal. The infected animals should be disposed of on account of tubercular cows giving birth to tubercular calves, the milk being unfit for human consumption, unless it is thoroughly pasteurized. Infected cattle should be separated from healthy ones, as the disease spreads very rapidly. Drinking and feeding troughs are a means of spreading the infection, therefore, suspected cases of tuberculosis should be tested and if the animals react, they should be slaughtered, and if the disease is localized, passed for human consumption. The meat of animals suspected of having tuberculosis, or reacting from tuberculin test, should be well cooked.

TWISTED STOMACH WORM.

CAUSE.—Cattle become affected with this worm by grazing in pastures in which infected cattle have grazed and scattered their droppings. The worms in the stomach produce a multitude of eggs of microscopic size, which pass out of the body with the feces. In warm weather, these eggs hatch in a few hours; if the temperature remains about freezing point, they soon die. The eggs are also destroyed by dryness, but, on the other hand, moisture, if the weather is warm, favors their development. The twisted worm measures one-half inch to one and one-half inches in length.

SYMPTOMS.—General weakness, loss of flesh, anemia, dullness, capricious appetite, excessive thirst, paleness of the skin and mucous membranes of the mouth and eyes, and dropsical swelling, especially that of the lower jaw. Diarrhoea always accompanies this condition and if the feces is carefully examined the small worms may be seen wriggling about like little snakes, or when the animal dies, and the fourth stomach is opened, these worms can be seen in large quantities.

TREATMENT.—Preventative measures are important, as damp, marshy soil favors the development of the embryos. High sloping ground is preferable for pasture. If low ground is used it should be properly drained; burning over the pasture will destroy most of the young worms on the grass and on the ground. Cattle should be supplied with water from flowing streams or wells and not stagnant ponds.

MEDICAL TREATMENT.—Withhold all food for twenty-four hours, then administer Oil of Turpentine, placing it in an ounce capsule and give with capsule gun. Follow in six hours with a physic consisting of Aloin, two drams; Ginger, two drams. Place in capsule and give with capsule gun. When this worm develops in calves, give as follows: One dram Turpentine to a calf three months old, four drams to a calf six months old, six drams to a yearling. To cattle two years and over, give equivalent dose, or an ounce. The physic should be reduced in the same proportions as that of Turpentine.

VERMINOUS BRONCHITIS.

(_Lung Worms_)

CAUSE.—Due to worm or parasite called Strongylus Micrurus, a small thread-like worm two to four inches in length, found in the bronchial tubes, a portion of the lungs. The life history of this parasite is not known, but infection is apparently derived through the medium of pastures where infested cattle have grazed. Young cattle are more seriously affected than old animals. These parasites are especially common in low marshy pastures.

SYMPTOMS.—This form of bronchitis usually affects the entire herd; the animals become poor, unthrifty, hacking, coughing, especially at night, and sometimes animals actually cough up worms.

TREATMENT.—Various treatments have been recommended for Verminous Bronchitis, or Lung Worm, as injecting Turpentine into the windpipe or fumigating animals by placing them in a closed shed or barn and burning sulphur, compelling the affected animals to inhale the fumes. This treatment perhaps is the safest and the most effective. A person should remain in the enclosed shed and when the fumes become so strong that there is danger of suffocation, open the doors and windows. This treatment should be repeated every week until coughing ceases.

WARBLES OR GRUBS.

CAUSE.—By the heel-fly or warble-fly. They deposit their eggs on the legs of cattle during the fall. The animal, licking the parts, takes the eggs into its mouth. These eggs gradually migrate into the gullet, where they hatch and burrow through the tissues, and in the early spring will be found in the region of the back in the form of small lumps under the skin.

SYMPTOMS.—Warbles are frequently seen under the skin in the region of the back and over the loins, and are very tender to the touch. When they are fully developed they work their way through the skin, which usually occurs in the early part of the summer. Examine your cattle in the winter and spring for the presence of grubs. They can be easily found by running the hand over the loins, by abrupt swellings or bunches on the skin. Pressure on the swelling will perhaps cause the grubs to pop out.

TREATMENT.—Remove the grubs by making a small incision with a clean, sharp knife in the center of the swelling. Then press them out and into each cavity from which the grub has been extracted, or squeezed out, should be injected a five per cent solution of Carbolized Sweet Oil to prevent any further development of flies or grubs. Cattle sprayed with fly repellants during the spring and summer are very seldom bothered with warbles or grubs. However, this is not practical in range cattle; dipping instead should be resorted to, and it is surprising what results will be derived from fly repellants in a year or two. They will practically exterminate the pest, and consequently the cattle are thrifty and look much better.

WARTS.

CAUSE.—Warts may appear on various parts of the body, and are due to an abnormal growth of cells growing upon the outer surface of healthy skin, or they may grow upon skin that is deprived of the proper blood supply.

TREATMENT.—If the wart is located where there is hair surrounding it, cut away the hair, then wash the wart and surrounding parts with a five per cent solution of Carbolic Acid and clip the wart off with a sharp pair of scissors or knife. After the wart is removed, cauterize the cut surface with a hot iron. Caustic Potash or Silver Nitrate should be applied two or three times at the intervals of two or three days to insure the entire extermination of the wart. This treatment applies to all classes of warts located in various places.

WHITES.

(_Leucorrhea_)

CAUSE.—Continual chronic inflammation of the womb, or due to irritations from a retained afterbirth. Injuries or wounds inflicted by hands or instruments in difficult calving, diseases of the ovaries, etc.

SYMPTOMS.—A garish, white discharge from the womb. When cow is lying down it flows more abundantly, soiling the tail, etc. The general health may not be much affected at first, but if the discharge continues and is putrid, the health fails, the milk shrinks, and there is a great loss of flesh. In some cases heat is more frequent or intense than natural, but the animal rarely conceives when served, and if she does, is likely to abort.

TREATMENT.—Feed nitrogenous food. Wash the womb out with a solution consisting of five grains of Permanganate of Potash to one quart of water. This should be repeated once or twice a day. If the animal is constipated, give two drams of Aloin, three drams of Ginger. Place in gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun. Also place Potassium Iodide one dram, Hyposulphite of Soda one ounce in the drinking water two or three times a day. This not only diminishes the discharge, but has a good effect on the blood, particularly where there is more or less decomposition of the flesh.

WOLF IN THE TAIL.

This condition is imaginary, although the muscles of the tail relax or soften, especially those of its extremity, due to ill health; consequently the condition of the cow should be treated, and not the tail.

TREATMENT.—Remove the cause. Perhaps the animal has indigestion, or a cold, etc. Determine the malady by careful examination and treat the disease under its special heading.

It has been the custom among the so-called cow doctors to split the tail with a sharp knife, then fill the wound with salt and pepper and bandage with a cloth. This is a fallacy, and should not be practiced.

INDEX

Abdominal Hernia 62

Abortion, Contagious 26

Abortion (non-contagious) 8

Abortion, Infectious 26

Abscesses 7

Absence of Milk 64

Actinomycosis 50

Acute Cough 28

Afterbirth, Retained 58

Amourosis of the Eye 9

Anthrax 9

Apoplexy, Parturent 54

Ascities 32

Bacterial Dysentery 24

Bag Inflammation 43

Barrenness 10

Beef, Measly 54

Big Head 50

Black Leg 11

Black Quarter 11

Bleeding 12

Bloating 12

Blood Poison 14

Blood Suckers 50

Bloody Flux 15

Bloody Milk 16

Blue Milk 16

Brain Congestion 56

Bronchitis 17

Bronchitis, Verminous 69

Calf Cholera 17

Calf Scours 17

Calving 18

Casting the Withers 20

Catarrh 22

Cataract of the Eye 21

Chapped Teats 23

Choking 23

Cholera, Calf 17

Chronic Cough 28