fields in which there is a strong growth of volunteer grain. It is always
better to keep them from such pasturage while it is wet with dew, and they
should be taken out when they have eaten a moderate quantity. When cattle
are fed upon pulp from sugar beets, germinated malt, etc., they should be
fed in moderate amounts until they have become accustomed to it, as any of
these feeds may give rise to severe bloating.
An excessive quantity of any of the before-mentioned feeds may bring on
this disorder, or it may not be caused by excess, but to eating too
hastily. Sometimes the quality of the feed is at fault. Grass or clover
when wet by dew or rain frequently disorders digestion and brings on
tympanites; frozen roots or pastures covered with hoar frost should also be
regarded as dangerous. When feed has been eaten too hastily, or when it is
cold and wet, the digestive process is imperfectly performed, and the feed
contained in the paunch ferments, during which process large quantities of
gas are formed. The same result may follow when a cow is choked, as the
obstruction in the gullet prevents the eructation or passing up of gas from
the stomach, so that the gas continues to accumulate until tympanites
results.
_Symptoms._--The swelling of the left flank is very characteristic, as in
well-marked cases the flank at its upper part rises above the level of the
backbone, and when struck with the tips of the fingers emits a drum-like
sound. The animal has an anxious expression, moves uneasily, and is
evidently distressed. If relief is not obtained in time, it breathes with
difficulty, reels in walking or in standing, and in a short time falls and
dies from suffocation. The distention of the stomach may become so great as
to prevent the animal from breathing, and in some instances the case may be
complicated by rupture of the stomach.
_Treatment._--If the case is not extreme, it may be sufficient to drive the
animal at a walk for a quarter or half an hour; or cold water by the
bucketful may be thrown against the cow's sides. In some cases the
following simple treatment is successful: A rope or a twisted straw band is
coated with pine tar, wagon grease, or other unsavory substance and is
placed in the cow's mouth as a bit, being secured by tying behind the
horns. The efforts of the animal to dislodge this object result in
movements of the tongue, jaws, and throat that stimulate the secretion of
saliva and swallowing, thus opening the esophagus, which permits the exit
of gas and at the same time peristalsis is stimulated reflexly.
In urgent cases the gas must be allowed to escape without delay, and this
is best accomplished by the use of the trocar. The trocar is a
sharp-pointed instrument incased in a cannula or sheath, which leaves the
sharp point of the trocar free. (See Pl. III, figs. _5a_ and _5b._) In
selecting the point for using the trocar a spot on the left side equally
distant from the last rib, the hip bone, and the transverse processes of
the lumbar vertebrÊ must be chosen. Here an incision about three-fourths
of an inch long should be made with a knife through the skin, and then the
sharp point of the trocar, being directed downward, inward, and slightly
forward, is thrust into the paunch. (Pl. I.) The cannula or sheath of the
trocar should be left in the paunch so long as any gas continues to issue
from it. If the cannula is removed while gas is still forming in the paunch
and the left flank becomes considerably swollen, it may be necessary to
insert it again. It is well, accordingly, to observe the cannula closely,
and if gas is found to be issuing from it, it should not be removed. When
gas issues from it in considerable quantities the sound accompanying its
escape renders the exact condition obvious. It is occasionally necessary to
keep the cannula in the stomach for several hours. When this is necessary a
piece of stout cord should be passed round the neck of the cannula
immediately below the projecting rim and then be passed round the animal's
body and tied in a secure knot, and a careful attendant must remain with
the cow during the entire period that the instrument is in place. The rim
surrounding the mouth of the cannula should be in contact with the skin.
Whenever the person in charge of the cow is convinced that gas has ceased
to issue from the cannula the instrument should be removed.
The trocar is to be used only in extreme or urgent cases, though everyone
who has had experience in treating indigestion in cattle realizes that he
has saved the lives of many animals by its prompt application.
When the tympanitic animal is not distressed and the swelling of the flank
is not great, or when the most distressing condition has been removed by
the use of the trocar, it is best to use internal medicine. Two ounces of
aromatic spirits of ammonia should be given every half hour in a quart of
cold water; or half an ounce of chlorid of lime may be dissolved in a pint
of tepid water and the dose repeated every half hour until the bloating has
subsided; or 1 ounce of creolin in 2 quarts of tepid water may be given at
one dose or carefully injected through the cannula directly into the paunch
to stop fermentation and the consequent formation of gas. It is generally
necessary to give a moderate dose of purgative medicine after bloating has
subsided, as animals frequently show symptoms of constipation after attacks
of indigestion. For this purpose 1 pound of Glauber's salt may be used.
The animal should be fed carefully upon easily digested food for several
days after the bloating has subsided, so that all fermenting matter may
pass out of the stomach.
CHRONIC TYMPANITES.
Cattle, especially those that have been kept in the stable all winter, are
liable to suffer from chronic tympanites. In this form they bloat up after
feeding, but seldom swell so much as to cause any alarm. The chronic form
of indigestion may also follow an acute attack like that previously
described. This is also a symptom of tuberculosis when the lymphatic glands
lying between the lungs are so enlarged as to press upon and partly occlude
the esophagus. It may develop in calves as a result of the formation of
hair balls in the stomach.
_Treatment._--Treatment should be preceded by a moderate dose of purgative
medicine: 1 pound of sulphate of magnesia (Epsom salt) or sulphate of soda
(Glauber's salt), half an ounce of powdered Barbados aloes, 1 ounce of
powdered ginger, 1 pint of molasses. The salts and aloes should be
dissolved by stirring for a few minutes in 2 quarts of lukewarm water, then
the molasses should be added, and after all the ingredients have been
stirred together for about 10 minutes the dose should be administered.
After the operation of the purgative it is generally necessary to give some
tonic and antacid preparation to promote digestion, which is imperfectly
performed in such cases. The following may be used: Powdered gentian, 3
ounces; powdered bicarbonate of potash, 3 ounces; powdered ginger, 3
ounces; powdered capsicum, 1 ounce. Mix and divide into 12 powders, one of
which should be given three times a day before feeding, shaken up with a
pint and a half of water. It is also advantageous in such cases to give two
heaped teaspoonsfuls of wood charcoal, mixed with the animal's feed three
times a day. The animal should also go out during the day, as want of
exercise favors the continuance of this form of indigestion. If the dung is
hard, the constipation should be overcome by feeding a little flaxseed
twice daily or by giving a handful of Glauber's salt in the feed once or
twice daily, as may be necessary. Roots, silage, and other succulent feeds
are useful in this connection. If tuberculosis is suspected as the cause of
chronic bloating, a skilled veterinarian should make a diagnosis, using the
tuberculin test if necessary. Until it is settled that the cow has not
tuberculosis, she should be kept apart from the other members of the herd.
DISTENTION OF RUMEN OR PAUNCH WITH FEED.
This form of indigestion is caused by the animal gorging itself with feed,
and arises more from the animal's voracious appetite than from any defect
in the quality of the feed supplied to it. The condition is, however, more
severe if the feed consumed is especially concentrated or difficult of
digestion. In cases of this kind there is comparatively no great formation
of gas, and the gas which is formed is diffused through the stomach instead
of accumulating in a layer in its upper part. On pressing the flank with
the closed fist the indent of the hand remains for a short time in the
flank, as if the rumen were filled with a soft, doughy mass.
This form of indigestion should be treated by stimulants, such as aromatic
spirits of ammonia.
If the formation of gas is not great and the distention with solid material
is somewhat limited, the animal may be drenched through a piece of ordinary
garden hose, one end inserted in the mouth, and the other end fitted with a
funnel, giving 1-1/2 pounds of Epsom salt or Glauber's salt dissolved in 2
gallons of water, at a single dose. Immediately after this treatment the
left side of the animal, extending below the median line of the abdomen,
should be powerfully kneaded with the fist, so that the impacted food mass
will be broken, allowing the water to separate it into small portions which
can be carried downward for the process of digestion. But if the treatment
fails and the impacted or overloaded condition of the rumen continues, it
may become necessary to make an incision with a sharp, long-bladed knife in
the left flank, commencing at the point where it is usual to puncture the
stomach of an ox, and prolong the incision in a downward direction until it
is long enough to admit the hand. When the point of the knife is thrust
into the flank and the blade cuts downward, the wall of the stomach, the
muscle, and the skin should all be cut through at the same time. Two
assistants should hold the edges of the wound together so as to prevent any
food from slipping between the flank and the wall of the stomach, and then
the operator should remove two-third [sic] of the contents of the rumen.
This having been done, the edges of the wound should be sponged with a
little carbolized warm water, and, the lips of the wound in the rumen being
turned inward, they should be brought together with catgut stitches. The
wound penetrating the muscle and the skin may then be brought together by
silk stitches, which should pass through the entire thickness of the muscle
and should be about 1 inch apart. The wound should afterwards be dressed
once a day with a lotion and the animal covered with a tight linen sheet,
to protect the wound from insects and dirt. The lotion to be used in such
case is made up as follows: Sulphate of zinc, 1 dram; carbolic acid, 2
drams; glycerin, 2 ounces; water, 14 ounces; mix. It is clear that this
operation requires special skill and it should be attempted only by those
who are competent.
IMAGINARY DISEASES (HOLLOW HORN; LOSS OF CUD; WOLF IN THE TAIL).
It would appear quite in place here, in connection with the diseases of the
stomach and bowels of cattle, to consider the three old fallacies or
superstitions known by the above names, since these names, whenever and
wherever used, seem to be invariably applied to some form of digestive
derangement or disease having its origin in the stomach and bowels.
HOLLOW HORN.--In the first place it should be noted that the horns of all
animals of the ox tribe are hollow. The horn cores are elongations of the
frontal bones of the skull, and the frontal sinuses, which are the larger
of the air spaces of the head, are prolonged into the horn cores. When a
cow is sick, if the horns are hot it is an evidence of fever; if they are
cold it indicates impaired circulation of the blood; but these
manifestations of sickness are to be regarded as symptoms of some
constitutional disorder and do not in themselves require treatment. The
treatment should be applied to the disease which causes the abnormal
temperature of the horns. The usual treatment for the supposed hollow horn,
which consists in boring the horns with a gimlet and pouring turpentine
into the openings thus made, is not only useless and cruel, but is liable
to set up an acute inflammation and result in an abscess of the sinus.
LOSS OF CUD.--The so-called loss of cud is simply a cessation of
rumination, frequently one of the first indications of some form of
disease, since ruminants stop chewing the cud when they feel sick. Loss of
cud is a symptom of a great many diseases, and when it is detected it
should lead the observer to try to discover other symptoms upon which to
base a correct opinion as to the nature of the disease from which the
animal suffers. No local treatment is required.
WOLF IN THE TAIL.--This term also seems to be vaguely applied to various
disturbances of the digestive function, or to some disease which is in
reality in the stomach or bowels.
VOMITING.
Vomiting is not to be confounded with rumination, though some writers have
advanced the opinion that it is merely a disordered and irregular
rumination. It is not of common occurrence in cattle.
_Symptoms._--Animals which vomit are frequently in poor condition. After
having eaten tranquilly for some time the animal suddenly becomes uneasy,
arches the back, stretches the neck and head, and then suddenly ejects 10
to 12 pounds of the contents of the rumen. After having done this the
uneasiness subsides and in a short time the animal resumes eating as if
nothing had happened.
_Cause._--The cause of this disordered state of the digestive system in
cattle is usually obscure, but has in some cases been traced to a partial
closure of the opening into the second stomach or to a distention of the
esophagus. It has been found to occur when there was cancerous disease of
the fourth stomach, and experimentally it has been shown that a suspension
of digestion or great derangement of this stomach produces considerable
nervous disorder of the rumen and sometimes vomiting or attempts to vomit.
TREATMENT.--Easily digested feed and plenty of water should be given. Fear
and excitement, chasing, or hurrying animals after they have eaten heartily
are liable to bring on this result. In order to overcome irritation which
may produce vomiting the following draft should be given: Hydrate of
chloral, half an ounce; water, 1 pint. The dose must be repeated when the
condition of the animal seems to require it. As a rule, treatment is not
successful.
DEPRAVED APPETITE (PICA).
Cattle suffering from this disease have a capricious and variable appetite
as regards their ordinary feed but evince a strong desire to lick and eat
substances for which healthy cattle show no inclination. Alkaline and
saline-tasting substances are especially attractive to cattle having a
depraved appetite and they frequently lick lime, earth, coal, gravel, and
even the dung of other cattle. Cows in calf and young cattle are especially
liable to develop these symptoms. Animals affected in this way lose
condition, their coat is staring, gait slow, and small vesicles containing
yellow liquid form under the tongue; the milk given by such cows is thin
and watery. Such animals become restless and uneasy, as is indicated by
frequent bellowing. The disease may last for months, the animal ultimately
dying emaciated and exhausted. Depraved appetite frequently precedes the
condition in which the bones of cattle become brittle and fracture easily,
which is known as osteomalacia.
_Cause._--From the fact that this disease is largely one of regions, it is
generally believed that some condition of the soil and water and of the
local vegetation is responsible for it. It is more prevalent some years
than others, and is most common in old countries, where the soil is more or
less depleted. Cattle pastured on low, swampy land become predisposed to
it. It occasionally happens, however, that one individual in a herd suffers
though all are fed alike; in such cases the disease must arise from the
affected animal's imperfect assimilation of the nutritive elements of the
feed which is supplied to it.
_Treatment._--The aim in such cases must be to improve the process of
digestion and to supply the animal with a sufficiency of sound and
wholesome feed. The following should be given to the cow three times a day,
a heaping tablespoonful constituting a dose: Carbonate of iron, 4 ounces;
finely ground bone or "bone flour," 1 pound; powdered gentian, 4 ounces;
common salt, 8 ounces; powdered fenugreek, 4 ounces; mix. In addition to
this, 3 tablespoonfuls of powdered charcoal may be mixed with the feed
three times a day, and a piece of rock salt should be placed where the
animal can lick it at will. German veterinarians have had brilliant results
from the treatment of this disease with subcutaneous injections of
apomorphin in doses of 1-1/2 to 5 grains for three or four days.
HAIR CONCRETIONS.
Hair concretions, or hair balls, result from the habit which some cattle
have of licking themselves or other animals. As a result the hairs which
are swallowed are carried around by the contractions of the stomach and
gradually assume the form of a small pellet or ball. This increases in size
as fresh quantities of hair are introduced into the stomach and adhere to
the surface of the ball. These balls are found most frequently in the
reticulum or second stomach (Pl. II, B), though sometimes in the rumen. In
calves hair balls are generally found in the fourth stomach. There are no
certain symptoms by which we can determine the presence of hair balls in
the stomach, and therefore no treatment can be recommended for such cases.
In making post-mortem examinations of cattle we have sometimes found the
walls of the reticulum transfixed with nails or pieces of wire, and yet the
animal had not shown any symptoms of indigestion, but had died from
maladies not involving the second stomach.
INDIGESTION (DYSPEPSIA, OR GASTROINTESTINAL CATARRH).
Tympanites, already described, is a form of indigestion in which the chief
symptom and most threatening condition is the collection of gas in the
paunch. This symptom does not always accompany indigestion, so it is well
here to consider other forms under a separate head. If indigestion is long
continued, the irritant abnormal products developed cause catarrh of the
stomach and intestines--gastrointestinal catarrh. On the other hand,
however, irritant substances ingested may cause gastrointestinal catarrh,
which, in turn, will cause indigestion; hence, it results that these
several conditions are usually found existing together.
_Causes._--Irritant feed, damaged feed, overloading of the stomach, or
sudden changes of diet may cause this disease. Want of exercise predisposes
to it, or feed which is coarse and indigestible may after a time produce
it. Feed which possesses astringent properties and tends to check secretion
may also act as an exciting cause. Feed in excessive quantity may lead to
disorder of digestion and to this disease. It is very likely to appear
toward the end of protracted seasons of drought; therefore a deficiency of
water must be regarded as one of the conditions which favor its
development.
_Symptoms._--Diminished appetite, rumination irregular, tongue coated,
mouth slimy, dung passed apparently not well digested and smelling bad,
dullness, and fullness of the flanks. The disease may in some cases assume
a chronic character, and in addition to the foregoing symptoms slight
bloating or tympanites of the left flank may be observed; the animal
breathes with effort and each respiration may be accompanied with a grunt,
the ears and horns are alternately hot and cold, rumination ceases, the
usual rumbling sound in the stomach is not audible, the passage of dung is
almost entirely suspended, and the animal passes only a little mucus
occasionally. Sometimes there is alternating constipation and diarrhea.
There is low fever in many cases.
The disease continues a few days or a week in the mild cases, while the
severe cases may last several weeks. In the latter form the emaciation and
loss of strength may be very great. There is no appetite, no rumination,
nor peristalsis. The mouth is hot and sticky, the eyes have receded in
their sockets, and milk secretion has ceased. In such cases the outlook for
recovery is unfavorable. The patient falls away in flesh and becomes
weaker, as is shown by the fact that one frequently finds it lying down.
On examining animals which have died of this disease it is found that the
lining membrane of the fourth stomach and the intestines, particularly the
small intestine, is red, swollen, streaked with deeper red or bluish lines,
or spotted. The lining of the first three stomachs is more or less
softened, and may easily be peeled off. The third stomach (psalter)
contains dry feed in hard masses closely adherent to its walls.
In some cases the brain appears to become disordered, probably from the
pain and weakness and from the absorption of toxins generated in the
digestive canal. In such cases there is weakness and an unsteady gait, the
animal does not appear to take notice of and will consequently run against
obstacles; after a time it falls and gives up to violent and disordered
movements. This delirious condition is succeeded by coma or stupor, and
death ensues.
_Treatment._--Small quantities of roots, sweet silage, or selected grass or
hay should be offered several times daily. Very little feed should be
allowed. Aromatic and demulcent drafts may be given to produce a soothing
effect on the mucous lining of the stomachs and to promote digestion. Two
ounces of camomile flowers should be boiled for 20 minutes in a quart of
water and the infusion on cooling should be given to the affected animal.
This may be repeated three or four times a day. When constipation is
present the following purgative may be administered: One pound of Glauber's
salt dissolved in a quart of linseed tea and a pint of molasses. After this
purgative has acted, if there is a lack of appetite and the animal does not
ruminate regularly, the powder mentioned in remarks on the treatment of
chronic tympanites may be given according to directions. The diet must be
rather laxative and of an easily digestible character after an attack of
this form of indigestion. Feed should be given in moderate quantities, as
excess by overtaxing the digestive functions may bring on a relapse.
Ice-cold water should be avoided.
INDIGESTION FROM DRINKING COLD WATER (COLIC).
This disorder is produced by drinking copiously of cold water, which
arrests digestion and produces cramp of the fourth stomach, probably of the
other stomachs, and also of the bowels.
_Causes._---It is not customary for the ox to drink much water at once. In
fact, he usually drinks slowly and as if he were merely tasting the water,
letting some fall out at the corners of his mouth at every mouthful. It
would therefore seem to be contrary to the habits of the ox to drink
copiously; but we find that during hot weather, when he has been working
and is consequently very thirsty, if he drinks a large quantity of cold
water he may be immediately taken with a very severe colic. Cows which are
fed largely on dry hay drink copiously, like the working ox, and become
affected in precisely the same manner. In such cases they are seized with a
chill or fit of trembling before the cramps come on.
_Symptoms._--There is some distension of the abdomen, but no accumulation
of gas. As the distension and pain occur immediately after the animal has
drunk the water, there can be no doubt as to the exciting cause.