Chapter 3

ABSCESSES

CAUSE: Bruises and injuries. They are also seen in complication with various other diseases, as Laryngitis, Pharyngitis, Tuberculosis, Lump Jaw, Blood Poison or Pyemia and Septicemia.

SYMPTOMS: Symptoms will vary according to the nature of the disease or injury. It may not be noticed at first, but upon careful examination swollen lines will be observed running from the point of swelling. In many cases a swelling is noticed which is hot, painful and throbbing, which enlarges rapidly in two or three days. The swelling and heat gradually disappear but the Abscess continues to grow. The hair falls from the point of swelling and in a short time breaks and discharges pus. The cavity gradually fills up and heals by granulation.

TREATMENT: In all cases, hasten the ripening process as much as possible by applying hot water packs or hot bran, flaxseed or vegetable poultices. It is common with Veterinarians to lance an Abscess as soon as possible, but this requires considerable skill and practice and I would advise stock owners to be very cautious when performing this operation, as there is great danger of cutting arteries which would cause excessive bleeding. A very good plan is to encourage the full ripening of an Abscess, as above stated. When opened, do not squeeze the Abscess to any extent, but press gently with clean hands or cloth to remove the core or clot. After this, just simply keep the Abscess open by washing with a three per cent Carbolic Acid solution, or Bichloride of Mercury, one in one thousand solution. Hyposulphite of Soda in ounce doses should be given two or three times a day in their drinking water. This will prevent the absorption of impurities from the abscess into the blood circulation.

ABORTION

(Non-Contagious)

CAUSE: Injuries from slipping or falling on icy roads, in box cars, and deep gutters; receiving blows on the body, keeping the animal in insanitary stables, eating poor food that may be irritating or poisonous, etc. In such cases, the cow's vitality is low so that the foetus dies and is expelled as a result. Losing large quantities of blood also produces Abortion, or a cow heavy with calf, on being placed in the same quarters with the cows that retain their afterbirth, is liable to abort. Intestinal worms, lung worms, liver flukes, causing an excessive drain upon the system or producing irritation of the digestive organs, in consequence of which cow gets very poor and emaciated. The above mentioned are perhaps the most common causes of "Non-Contagious Abortion."

SYMPTOMS: The cow is uneasy, becomes separated from the herd, the bag and vagina may be slightly inflamed and perhaps the latter discharging. If a cow heavy with calf craves the chewing and eating of dirt, rags, nails, etc., this is a sign of a lack of iron or phosphorus in her system and food containing these elements should be provided.

PREVENTIVE TREATMENT: Provide clean, warm, comfortable quarters, good food, pure water to drink, do not subject her to any injuries, do not permit her coming in contact with cows retaining their afterbirth.

The above mentioned is very important, especially if the cows are valuable and a large yield of milk is expected. If they have worms, treat the same as under their special heading. If they have a loss of blood or a lack of mineral matter in their system, the following is very efficient: Pulv. Ferri Sulphate, four ounces; Pulv. Nux Vomica, two ounces; Pulv. Fenugreek Seed, four ounces. Mix and make into sixteen powders. Give one powder two or three times a day in feed or place in a gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun.

AMAUROSIS OF THE EYE

CAUSE: Paralysis of the optic nerve.

SYMPTOMS: Pupil fully dilated and of a glassy appearance. This condition is sometimes called "Glass Eye." The cow carries the head high and steps high. This condition is very uncommon in cattle.

TREATMENT: Nothing can be done for a cow if she is blind, but this condition may be prevented if detected in its early stages of development by the proper feeding of nourishing food, good clean surroundings and the administration of nerve tonics, as Pulv. Nux Vomica, four ounces; Pulv. Gentian Root, four ounces; Potassium Iodide, three ounces. Make into twenty-four powders and place one powder in feed two or three times daily; or make into twenty-four capsules and give one capsule two or three times a day with capsule gun.

ANTHRAX

Anthrax is a very contagious disease and is communicable to all warm blooded animals and man.

CAUSE: Due to the presence of a germ called the Bacillus of Anthrax and is one of the oldest diseases attributed to germs. These Bacilli thrive in warm climates, although found in cold countries. The infection is carried to various parts of the world by box-cars, ships, hides, hoofs, horns, wool and hair taken from sick or dead animals affected with Anthrax. This, perhaps, is the most common method of spreading the disease.

SYMPTOMS: Loss of appetite, grinding of the teeth indicating great pain, trembling of the muscles, temperature elevated to 104 or 106 degrees F., breathing very rapid, pulse fast and weak, hair rough. There are some cases where the animals are seized quickly with the disease and die very suddenly. This form resembles apoplexy. Carbuncles or Abscesses are seen on the surface of the body in nearly all cases, also a bloody discharge from the mouth and nose. The animal may stamp the ground, rear in the air, run and finally go into convulsions and die. This is termed "the furious form of Anthrax."

TREATMENT: Prevention is the most important. Fields or pastures that are infected with this disease should be burned every summer if possible, to destroy the germs. The animals that succumb to the disease should be buried deeply and quicklime thrown upon them, also any blood stains upon the ground should have a strong disinfectant thrown upon them. The hide of such an animal should not be used as the person removing it is likely to contract the same disease, especially if an abrasion is present on the hand, or such a hide or any portion thereof is likely to spread the infection after reaching the tannery, etc.

MEDICAL TREATMENT OR SERUM TREATMENT: This is the only thorough method of eradicating the disease, and when this disease once becomes prevalent in a locality the services of a competent Veterinarian should be secured and all the animals inoculated.

BARRENNESS

(Failure to Breed)

CAUSE: Wasting or Atrophy, chronic inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the organs of generation, Whites, absence or excessive secretions of the organs of generation, contraction or displacement of the womb, horns being telescoped or twisted, cysts or growths of the ovaries, in-breeding or being a twin, are the predisposing causes of Barrenness.

TREATMENT: Unsuccessful as a rule. Unless the cow is very valuable, treatment is not advisable. A careful examination, however, is recommended. If due to contraction of the neck of the womb it can be readily dilated by the use of the hand, after being greased with Carbolated Sweet Oil before attempting to perform the operation.

BLACK LEG

(Symptomatic Anthrax--Black Quarter)

CAUSE: Due to germs. The Bacillus of Black Leg perhaps gains entrance to the blood by wounds of the skin or the mucous membranes lining the mouth and the intestines. This disease principally affects cattle, although sheep and goats may become affected with the same disease.

SYMPTOMS: This disease affects cattle that are in good condition between the ages of six months and two years. In most cases death is very sudden, and perhaps the animal is found dead. The first symptoms are high temperatures from 104 to 108 degrees F., loss of appetite, the animal stops chewing the cud, breathing considerably hurried, the joints of the limbs become swollen, also the chest and shoulders. All the swellings are painful on pressure and spread very rapidly over the body. The affected animals move with great difficulty and lie down frequently. If the hand is passed over the body, there is a peculiar crackling sound due to the gas developing under the skin. At the most distended portions of the swellings, the skin becomes dry and the animal apparently has no sense of feeling. If the skin is punctured at this place, there will be a dark-red, frothy discharge which has a very disagreeable odor. There will be a shivering of the muscles and the animal dies from convulsions.

TREATMENT: Remove non-affected animals to non-infected pastures, and confine affected animals to as small a territory as possible. The carcasses of the dead animals should be buried deep and covered with lime or burned, being very careful that all blood stains on the ground where the animals have been skinned are thoroughly disinfected. Inoculation is necessary, and is the best form of treatment in localities where Black Leg exists. Inoculate or vaccinate the calves when six months old or over, although after the animal reaches the age of two years or over they generally become immune from this disease.

BLEEDING

(Hemorrhage)

CAUSE: Sometimes bleeding follows dehorning, castration, and wounds due to various other causes.

TREATMENT: When bleeding from a large artery, it should be tied with a clean silk or linen thread or twisted with a pair of forceps or cauterized with a hot iron. Sometimes compression by the use of tightly bound bandages proves effective, although the former appliances are more practical. Tincture Chloride of Iron applied to small arteries or veins causes the blood to clot in the arteries or veins and hence stops the Hemorrhage. It is very essential that all wounds should be treated antiseptically and I cannot say that I favor washing a wound with water only in cases where the wound is very filthy, and I prefer powder applications in preference to any other antiseptics. The following will be found very effective in the treatment of the majority of wounds: Boracic Acid, two ounces; Iodoform, two drams; Tannic Acid, one-half ounce; Calomel, one dram. Powder finely and mix well. Place in sifter top can and apply two or three times daily.

BLOATING

A very common disorder in cattle and characterized by a puffed up appearance of the left flank. The cow has four stomachs of which the rumen is the largest, its capacity being about fifty gallons in the average cow, and it is this stomach which fills with gas when a cow bloats.

CAUSE: Eating green clover or alfalfa; even when a cow is accustomed to this diet, it may cause bloating if wet with dew or rain; cured alfalfa, moldy or frozen mangles will also produce bloating; the above mentioned foods undergo a process of fermentation which causes excessive formation of gas, and death may result very quickly and may be due to rupture of the stomach or the diaphragm (muscle separating the abdominal and lung cavities), but is more often due to suffocation caused by the distension of the stomach which becomes so large that it presses the diaphragm forward against the lungs in such a manner as to stop their movement and the animal smothers. When the cow falls, it indicates that one of these possibilities has occurred and death follows quickly.

SYMPTOMS: Cattle usually bloat suddenly and without warning; the left flank becomes abnormally swollen; back is arched, breathing labored; sometimes the tongue hangs out and the animal bellows. When rupture or suffocation occurs the animal reels, staggers, and falls, after which nothing more can be done.

TREATMENT: No time should be lost. Where the stomach is enormously distended with gas so as to cause the animals to stagger and breathe very rapidly, they should be gagged. This can be easily accomplished by taking a piece of wood about two inches in diameter, and eight inches to one foot long, placing it in their mouth and retaining it in that position by tying a string on each end and placing it back of the ears. If this does not give relief immediately, puncture the left flank about five inches downward and forward from the angle of hip bone. However, puncturing should not be resorted to only in cases where death threatens the animal, as abscesses, infection and severe hemorrhage may follow. A very reliable medical treatment for this condition should be in the medicine chest of every stockman, such as Pulv. Asafetida, Oil of Turpentine, each one ounce. Place in gelatin capsules. This is a very efficient remedy for the eradication of excessive fermentation of gases in the stomach or bloating.

BLOOD POISON

(Pyemia-Septicaemia)

CAUSE: Due to a septic infection taken into the blood, frequently found in cows with retained afterbirths, following inflammation of the womb or intestines, wounds and bruises of the skin and frequently found in calves affected with Joint Ill.

SYMPTOMS: High temperature 103 to 107 degrees F., pulse rapid and feeble, breathing increased, grinding of the teeth, the animal refuses to eat in most cases and ceases to chew the cud, although there may be great thirst present. Abscesses may form in various parts of the body, the membranes of the eyes and mouth will be injected with blood, giving them a dark-red appearance, although in the latter stages of Blood Poison this may change to a yellowish tinge. Constipation or Diarrhoea may be connected with the disease. The animal dies by general emaciation from four to six days after the first symptoms are noticed.

TREATMENT: Unsuccessful, as when the infection once becomes absorbed in the blood it is always certain that death will follow. If due to injuries or wounds, wash them with Bichloride solution, one part to one thousand parts of water, but if due to retained afterbirth or inflammation of the womb, inject one gallon of distilled water containing five per cent Carbolic Acid. If in young calves, treat the same as under the heading of Joint Ill. If due to inflammation of the intestines, give Hyposulphite of Soda, two ounces; Potassi Iodide, one dram, two or three times a day in their drinking water. When abscesses form, lance them with a clean, sharp knife. If the animal is constipated place two drams of Aloin, two drams of Pulv. Gentian Root in a capsule and give with capsule gun. If Diarrhoea is present give Gum Catechu, two drams; Protan, three drams; Zinc Sulphocarbolates, one grain. Place in gelatin capsule and give with capsule gun. Feed warm wheat bran mashes, steamed rolled oats, vegetables and green grass, if possible.

BLOODY FLUX

(Dysentery)

CAUSE: Chilling of the outer surface of the body. Improper feeding, as contaminated food or water, sometimes connected with parasitic diseases of the intestines.

SYMPTOMS: Dysentery is a sign of some irritation of the intestines terminating into increased contractions of muscular fibers of the bowels. The fecal matter, if frequently expelled, at first consists of a thick feces, but as the disease progresses the fecal matter becomes very thin and watery and tinged with blood and very offensive. When the first signs are noticed the animals show no constitutional disturbances, but later they exhibit abdominal pain by looking around to the flank. At this stage they are very weak, throwing the feet well together, giving the back an arched appearance, and are very uneasy although they may lie down frequently. Temperature elevated from one to three degrees. The animal becomes emaciated and eventually dies.

TREATMENT: Determine the cause and remove it if possible. Keep the animal quiet. Give pure water to drink in small quantities but often. If the animal will eat, feed steamed rolled oats, etc. Flaxseed tea is very beneficial, as it is soothing to the intestines and assists in removing the irritations. Pour one quart of boiling water on one-half pint of pure Flaxseed, allowing it to cool, then compel the animal to drink it. The following prescription will be found very effective in all forms of Diarrhoea: Tannic Acid, one ounce; Protan, two ounces; Gum Catechu, two ounces; Beechwood Creosote, four scruples; Zinc Sulphocarbolates, eight grains. Make into eight capsules and give one capsule every three or four hours with capsule gun.

Location of Parts of Swine 1. Mouth 2. Nostrils 3. Face 4. Eyes 5. Ears 6. Jaws 7. Jowl 8. Neck 9. Shoulder 10. Fore flanks 11. Chest Floor 12. Pasterns 13. Dew Claw 14. Sheath 15. Belly 16. Side or ribs 17. Heart girth 19. Loin 20. Rump 21. Coupling 22. Rear flanks 23. Tail 24. Thighs 25. Hocks