Common Diseases of Farm Animals Part 2

Administration of Drugs.--Drugs may be administered by the following channels: by way of the mouth, in the feed or as a drench; by injecting into the tissues beneath the skin or hypodermically; by rubbing into the skin; by the air pa.s.sages and the lungs; and by injecting into the r.e.c.t.u.m.

If the animal is not too sick to eat and the drug does not possess an unpleasant taste, it may be given with the feed. If soluble, it may be given with the drinking water, or in any case, it may be mixed with ground feed if this method is to be preferred. In all cases the medicine must be well mixed with the feed. This is especially important if there are a number of animals to be treated, as there is more certainty of each animal getting the proper dose and the danger of overdosing is avoided. If the young animal is nursing the mother, we can take advantage of certain drugs being eliminated in the mother's milk and administer the drug to the mother.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 6.--A good kind of a dose syringe.]

DRENCHES.--In the larger animals a bulky drench is sometimes difficult to administer, and we should, in all cases, count on a portion being wasted.

_Horses_ are sometimes difficult to drench, and it may be advisable to confine the horse in some way. Small drenches can readily be given with a syringe (Fig. 6) or a small bottle. In giving bulky drenches it is most convenient to use a long-necked, heavy gla.s.s bottle. The horse should be backed into a narrow stall and the head elevated by placing a loop in the end of a small rope over the upper jaw, pa.s.sing the rope back of the nose piece on the halter and throwing it over a beam, and raising the head until the mouth is slightly higher than the throat. If the horse refuses to swallow, a tablespoonful of clean water may be dropped into the nostril.

This forces it to swallow. A drench should never be given through the nose, as it may pa.s.s into the air pa.s.sages and cause a fatal inflammation of the lungs.

_Cattle_ can be easily drenched by taking hold of the nostrils with the fingers, or snapping a bull ring into the part.i.tion between the nostrils and elevating the head.

_Sheep_ may be drenched either in the standing position, or when thrown on the haunches and held between the knees. Care should be exercised in giving irritating drenches to sheep, especially if the drench be bulky.

_A herd of hogs_ may be quickly and easily drenched if they are confined in a small pen, and the loop of a small rope placed around the snout, well back toward the corners of the mouth. A small metal dose syringe should be used. If the drench is bulky and the hog difficult to hold, it may be necessary to elevate the head and raise the forefeet from the ground. The drench should not be given until the hog is quiet and well under control, as there is some danger of the medicine pa.s.sing into the air pa.s.sages and doing harm. It may be necessary to mark the hogs that have been drenched with a daub of paint, or in some other manner in order to be able to distinguish them from the untreated animals.

The administration of drugs enclosed in a gelatin capsule, or mixing them with syrup, honey or linseed oil, and rolling the ma.s.s into the form of a cylinder is commonly practised. The _capsule_ or _ball_ may then be shot into the pharynx with a balling gun. A ball may also be given to the larger animals by carrying it into the back part of the mouth with the hand, and placing it on the back part of the tongue. In the horse this method of administration requires some practice. The tongue must be pulled well forward, the head held up, and the tongue released as soon as the ball is placed on the tongue, so that it may pa.s.s back into the pharynx.

The administration of drugs by _injecting beneath the skin_ (Fig. 7) is suitable when the drug is non-irritating and the dose is small. Drugs administered in this way act promptly and energetically. The alkaloid or active principle of the drug is commonly used. A fold of the skin is picked up with the fingers and the needle is quickly introduced, care being taken not to p.r.i.c.k or scratch the muscular tissue, as this causes some pain and makes the animal restless. In order to avoid abscess formation at the point of injection, the skin should be cleansed with a disinfectant and the syringe and needle sterilized before using.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 7.--Hypodermic syringes.]

Drugs are not absorbed through the unbroken skin, but when applied with friction, or when the outer layer is removed by blistering, absorption may take place. Liniments, blisters and _poultices_ are the preparations used.

_Volatile drugs_, such as chloroform and ether, are absorbed quickly by the enormous vascular surface of the lungs. This cla.s.s of drugs is administered for the purpose of producing general anaesthesia. _Anaesthetics_ are indispensable in many surgical operations.

The administration of a drug in the form of _medicated steam_ is quite useful in combating some respiratory diseases. In steaming large animals a pail about half full of boiling-hot water to which has been added about an ounce of coal-tar disinfectant, or whatever drug is required, is held within about one foot of the animal's nostrils. It is usually advisable to throw a light cover over the head and pail in order to direct the steam toward the nostrils. Dogs can be placed on a cane-seated chair and a pail or pan of boiling-hot water placed under it, and a sheet thrown over all.

Drugs are administered by way of the r.e.c.t.u.m when the animal can not be drenched, or the drug can not be given in any other way and when a local action is desired. An _enema_ or _clyster_ is a fluid injection into the r.e.c.t.u.m and is employed for the following purposes: to accelerate the action of a purgative; to stimulate the peristaltic movement of the intestines; to kill intestinal parasites; to reduce body temperature; to administer medicine; and to supply the animal with food. An enema may be administered by allowing water to gravitate into the r.e.c.t.u.m from a height of two or three feet or by using an injection pump. In the larger animals several feet of heavy walled rubber tubing carrying a straight nozzle at one end should be used. In administering an enema, the r.e.c.t.u.m should be emptied out with the hand and the nozzle of the syringe carried as far forward as possible. The operator should be careful not to irritate or tear the wall of the r.e.c.t.u.m.

Size of the Dose.--The doses recommended in the treatment of the different diseases, unless otherwise stated, are for mature animals. The dose for a colt one year of age is about one-third the quant.i.ty given the adult, two years of age one-half, and three years of age two-thirds. In well-matured colts a larger dose may be given. In cattle, the doses recommended are about the same. In the smaller animals the size of the dose may be based on the development and age of the animal. When the drug is administered at short intervals or repeated, the size of the dose should be reduced. The physiological action of some drugs may be changed by varying the size of the dose.

QUESTIONS

1. Give a general description of preventive treatment.

2. By what channels may drugs be administered?

3. How are drenches administered?

4. How are solid drugs administered?

5. What kind of drugs are administered hypodermically?

6. What is an enema?

7. What proportion of the dose of a drug recommended for the adult may be given to immature animals?

PART II.--NON-SPECIFIC OR GENERAL DISEASES

CHAPTER IV

DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The organs that form the digestive tract are the mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, intestines and the annexed glands, viz.: the salivary, liver, and pancreas. The development of these organs differs in the different species of animals. For example, solipeds possess a small, simple stomach and capacious, complicated intestines. Just the opposite is true of ruminants. The different species of ruminants possess a large, complicated stomach, and comparatively simple intestines. In swine we meet with a more highly developed stomach than that of solipeds and a more simple intestinal tract. Of all domestic animals the most simple digestive tract occurs in the dog. These variations in the development of the different organs of digestion, together with the difference in the character of the feed and method of feeding, cause a variation in the kind of diseases met with in the different species. The complicated stomach of ruminants predispose them to diseases of this portion of the digestive tract. Because of their complicated intestinal tract solipeds are p.r.o.ne to intestinal disease.

DISEASES OF THE MOUTH

GENERAL DISCUSSION.--The mouth is the first division of the digestive tract. It is formed by the lips, cheeks, palate, soft palate, tongue and teeth. Here the feed is acted on mechanically. It is broken up by the teeth and moved about until mixed with the saliva and put into condition to pa.s.s through the pharynx and along the oesophagus to the stomach. The mechanical change that the feed is subject to is very imperfect in dogs. In the horse it is a slow, thorough process, although greedy feeders are not uncommon.

The first mastication in the ox is three times quicker than in horses, but the process of rumination is slow and thorough.

STOMAt.i.tIS.--Simple inflammation of the mouth is frequently met with in horses. Ulcerative or infectious inflammation commonly occurs in young, and occasionally in old, debilitated animals. This form of sore mouth will be discussed along with other infectious diseases, and the following discussion will be confined to the non-infectious form of the disease.

_The causes_ are irritation from the bit, sharp teeth, irritating drenches, roughage that contains beards or awns of gra.s.ses and grains, and burrs that wound the lining membrane of the mouth. Febrile, or digestive disorders, or any condition that may interfere with feeding, may cause this disorder. In the latter cases the mucous membrane of the mouth is not cleansed by the saliva. Particles of feed may decompose and irritating organisms set up an inflammation. Putrid or decomposed slops, hot feeds, irritating drenches and drinking from filthy wallows are common causes of inflammation of the mouth in hogs.

_The symptoms_ vary in the different cases and species. Slight or localized inflammation of the mouth is usually overlooked by the attendant. Lampas of horses may be considered a local inflammation involving the palate.

Lacerations of the cheek or tongue by the teeth, or irritating feed, usually result in a slight interference with prehension and mastication and more or less salivation. Salivation from this cause should not be confused with salivation resulting from feeding on white clover.

In generalized inflammation of the mucous membrane, the first symptom usually noticed is the inability to eat. On examining the mouth we find the mucous membrane inflamed, hot and dry. A part may appear coated. In a short time the odor from the mouth is fetid. Following this dry stage of the inflammation is the period of salivation. Saliva dribbles from the mouth, and in severe cases it is mixed with white, stringy shreds of epithelium and tinged with blood. In less acute forms of the disease, we may notice little blisters or vesicles scattered over the lining membrane of the lips, cheeks and tongue.

The acute form of stomat.i.tis runs a short course, usually a few days, and responds readily to treatment. Localized inflammation caused by irritation from teeth, or feeding irritating feeds, does not respond so readily to treatment.

_The treatment_ is largely preventive and consists largely in removing the cause. When the mouth is inflamed, roughage should be fed rather sparingly, and soft feeds such as slops, mashes, or gruels given in place of the regular diet. Plenty of clean drinking water should be provided. In the way of medicinal treatment antiseptic and astringent washes are indicated. A four per cent water solution of boric acid may be used, or a one-half per cent water solution of a high grade coal-tar disinfectant. The mouth should be thoroughly irrigated twice daily until the mucous surfaces appear normal.

DEPRAVED APPEt.i.tE

A depraved appet.i.te is met with in all species of farm animals, but it is especially common in ruminants. It should not be cla.s.sed as a disease, but more correctly as a bad habit, or symptom of innutrition or indigestion.

The animals affected seem to have an irresistible desire to lick, chew and swallow indigestible and disgusting objects.

_The common cause_ of depraved appet.i.te is the feeding of a ration deficient in certain food elements. A ration deficient in protein or in salts is said to cause this disorder. Lack of exercise, or confinement, innutrition, and a depraved sense of taste may favor the development of this disease. For example, when sheep are housed closely they may contract the habit of chewing one another's fleeces. Lambs are especially apt to contract this habit when suckling ewes that have on their udders long wool soiled with urine and faeces.

_The first symptom_ is the desire to chew, lick or eat indigestible or filthy substances. Horses and cattle may stand and lick a board for an hour or more; cattle may chew the long hair from the tails of horses; sheep may nibble wool; sows may within a short time after giving birth to their pigs, kill and eat them; chickens may pick and eat feathers. Innutrition may accompany the abnormal appet.i.te, as very frequently the affected animal shows a disposition to leave its feed in order to eat these injurious and innutritions substances. In ruminants, the wool or hair may form b.a.l.l.s and obstruct the opening into the third compartment, causing chronic indigestion and death.

_The treatment_ consists in the removal of the cause. Feeding a ration that meets the needs of the system, clean quarters and plenty of exercise are the most important preventive lines of treatment. In such cases medicinal treatment (saline and bitter tonics) may be indicated. It is usually advisable to remove the affected animals from the herd or flock in order to prevent others from imitating them.

DISEASES OF THE STOMACH

There is a remarkable difference in the development of the stomachs of solipeds and ruminants.

The horse's stomach (Fig. 8) is simple and has a capacity of three or four gallons. The left portion is lined with a cuticular mucous membrane, and the right portion with a glandular mucous membrane that has in it the glands that secrete the gastric juice. The most important digestive change in the feed is the action of the gastric juice on the proteids and their conversion into the simpler products, proteoses and peptones.