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
Chronic Dysentery 24
Congestion of the Brain 56
Congestion of the Lungs 25
Congestion of the Spinal
Cord 56
Congestion of the Udder 40
Conjunctivitis 44
Colic 25
Contagious Abortion 26
Cough, Acute 28
Cough, Chronic 28
Cowpox 29
Cud, Loss of 53
Dehorning 31
Diarrhoea 30
Dropsy 32
Dysentery 15
Dysentery, Bacterial 24
Dysentery, Chronic 24
Eczema 32
Eczema, Epizootic 35
Epizootica Eczema 35
Ergot Poison 33
Ergotism 33
Esophagus Obstruction 23
Eversion of the Womb 20
Eye Amourosis 9
Eye Cataract 21
Eye Inflammation 44
Eyelid Laceration 49
Eye Scum 62
Failure to Breed 10
Fluke, Liver 34
Fluke, Lung 34
Foot and Mouth Disease 35
Foot Rot 38
Foul in Foot 38
Founder 39
Garget 40
Grubs 69
Hard Milkers 41
Heart Sack Inflammation 45
Hematuria 57
Hemorrhage 12
Hernia, Abdominal 62
Hollow Horn 41
Horn, Hollow 41
Indigestion 42
Infectious Abortion 26
Infectious Aphtha 35
Inflammation of the Bag 43
Inflammation of the Eye 44
Inflammation of the Heart Sack 45
Inflammation of the Kidneys 45
Inflammation of the Penis 46
Inflammation of the Womb 47
Johne’s Disease 24
Joint Ill 48
Kidney Inflammation 45
Laceration of the Eyelids 49
Laminitis 39
Laryngitis 63
Leeches 50
Leucorrhea 71
Loss of Cud 53
Liver Fluke 34
Lumpy Jaw 50
Lung Congestion 25
Lung Fever 52
Lung Fluke 34
Lung Worms 69
Mammitis, Simple 43
Mange 53
Measly Beef 54
Milk Fever 54
Milk Suppression 64
Milk, Stringy 64
Navel Ill 48
Normal Calving 19
Obstruction of the Esophagus 23
Paralysis 56
Parturent Apoplexy 54
Penis Inflammation 46
Pericarditis 45
Pharyngitis 63
Pneumonia 52
Poison, Ergot 33
Pyemia 14
Red Water 57
Retained Afterbirth 58
Rheumatism 59
Ringworm 60
Round Worm 61
Rupture 62
Scabies 53
Scours in the Calf 17
Scours, White 17
Scum Over the Eye 62
Septicemia 14
Simple Mammitis 43
Sore Throat 63
Spinal Cord Congestion 56
Stomach Worm 68
Stringy Milk 64
Suppression of Milk 64
Symptomatic Anthrax 11
Tapeworm 65
Teats, Chapped 23
Texas Fever 65
Ticks 66
Tuberculosis 66
Twisted Stomach Worm 68
Udder Congestion 40
Umbilical Pyemia 48
Umbilical Septicemia 48
Variola 29
Verminous Bronchitis 69
Warbles 69
Warts 70
Whites 71
White Scours 17
Wolf in the Tail 72
Womb Eversion 20
Womb Inflammation 47
Wooden Tongue 50
Worm, Round 61
Worm, Stomach 68
Worm, Tape 65
Worms, Lung 69
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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. P. 26, changed “Potassium Io-” to “Potassium Iodide”.
2. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.
3. Retained anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as
printed.
4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
5. Enclosed bold font in =equals=.