Special Report on Diseases of Cattle Part 2

Choking usually happens from attempting to swallow too large an object, such as a turnip, potato, beet, apple, or pear, though in rare cases it may occur from bran, chaff, or some other finely divided feed lodging in and filling up a portion of the gullet. This latter form of the accident is most likely to occur in animals that are greedy feeders.

_Symptoms._--The symptoms vary somewhat according to the part of the gullet or throat in which the obstruction is. In most cases there is a discharge of saliva from the mouth; the animal coughs frequently, and when it drinks the water is soon ejected. The cow stops eating and stands back from the trough, the expression is troubled, breathing is accelerated, and oftentimes there is bloating as a result of the retention of gas in the paunch. These symptoms, however, are not always present, for if the obstacle does not completely close the throat or gullet, gas and water may pa.s.s, thus ameliorating the discomfort. If the obstruction is in the neck portion of the gullet, it may be felt as a lump in the left jugular gutter.

_Treatment._--If the object is in the throat, it is advisable to put a gag in the animal's mouth, and, while the head is held in a horizontal direction by two a.s.sistants, to pa.s.s the hand into the pharynx, grasp the foreign body, and withdraw it gradually and steadily. When the substance is lodged in the upper part of the gullet, pressure should be made by an a.s.sistant in an upward direction against the object while the operator pa.s.ses his hand into the pharynx, and if the a.s.sistant can not by pressure dislodge the substance from the gullet, the operator may by pa.s.sing his middle finger above and partly behind the substance gradually slide it into the pharynx and then withdraw it by the mouth.

The presence of an obstructing substance in the cervical (neck) portion of the gullet may be ascertained by pa.s.sing the hand along the left side of the neck, when a hard and painless swelling will be found to indicate the presence of the foreign body. In such cases we must endeavor by gentle and persevering pressure with the thumb and next two fingers to slide the obstructing substance gradually upward to the pharynx. To facilitate this it is well to give the animal a half pint of raw linseed or olive oil before the manipulations described are commenced. When the substance has been brought into or nearly into the pharynx, then the mouth gag should be used, the tongue drawn partially forward with the left hand, and the right should be pa.s.sed backward into the pharynx to withdraw the obstruction.

When bran or chaff causes the trouble it is best to give a small quant.i.ty of oil to lubricate the walls of the gullet, and then by gentle and persevering pressure, to endeavor to separate and divide the ma.s.s and to work it downward toward the stomach. This will be a.s.sisted by pouring small quant.i.ties of oil and water down the animal's throat. It is not advisable to use the probang to push down any soft material, such as oats or chaff, as this generally condenses and renders firmer the obstructing substance by pressing its particles or elements together, so that it forms a solid, resisting ma.s.s which can not be moved.

In some cases the foreign body, either because it is in the chest portion of the esophagus, and so beyond reach, or because too firmly seated, can not be dislodged from the neck by pressing and manipulating that part externally. In such event we must resort to the use of the probang. (Pl.

III, figs. 2 and 3.) A probang is a flexible instrument and adapts itself to the natural curvature of the gullet, and if used cautiously there is not much risk of injury. Before pa.s.sing the probang, a gag which has an aperture at each end, from which straps pa.s.s to be buckled at the back of the head below the horns, is introduced into the mouth. (Pl. III, fig. 4.) The probang should then be oiled, and, the head and neck being held in a straight line by two a.s.sistants, the tongue must be partly drawn out of the mouth, the probang cautiously pa.s.sed along the roof of the mouth into the pharynx and thence into the gullet, through which it is pa.s.sed down. If resistance is met, gentle and continuous pressure must be used, under the influence of which the object will generally in a short time pa.s.s into the stomach. One must be careful not to pa.s.s the probang into the larynx and thence into the windpipe, as an animal may readily be killed in this way.

This accident is indicated by efforts to cough and by violently disturbed breathing. If such symptoms arise the probang must be withdrawn at once. To avoid a wrong pa.s.sage, the end of the tube should be pressed very slowly through the throat until its presence in the esophagus is a.s.sured. After it is once in the esophagus care is still necessary, because the walls of this tube may easily be torn.

Some writers have advised that when the obstruction is lodged in the cervical (neck) portion of the gullet it should be struck with a mallet, to crush it and thus alter its shape, so that it may easily slip down into the stomach. If the obstructing substance is hard, this will be a dangerous operation, but if soft--as in the case of a ripe pear, for example--this procedure may be safely adopted.

In all cases, if pressure applied on the neck fails to move the obstruction and the probang also fails to move it, it may be divided by a subcutaneous operation, or the gullet may be opened and the obstructing substance removed through the wound. In such cases the a.s.sistance of a veterinarian or a surgeon must be obtained.

WOUNDS AND INJURIES OF THE GULLET.

Sometimes the walls of the gullet may be more or less lacerated or abraded by the rash and too forcible use of the probang, and the animal consequently swallows with pain and difficulty. In such cases dry feed must be withheld for five or six days, so as to allow the injured parts to heal, and the diet must be limited to linseed tea, hay tea, and thin oatmeal gruel and mola.s.ses. The same kind of diet must be fed after the operation of cutting into the gullet has been performed.

Sometimes the gullet is ruptured and lacerated to such an extent that treatment of any kind is hopeless. This has been known to occur when the handle of a pitchfork or buggy whip has been pushed down a cow's throat to remove an obstruction. When such treatment has been applied it is best to slaughter the animal without delay, as the flesh may be utilized so long as there is no fever or general disease, and remedial treatment would be hopeless. In this connection it may be mentioned that whatever subst.i.tute may be used for a probang, which sometimes is not at hand, it should be flexible and should possess a smooth surface. A piece of new rope, with the end closely wrapped and waxed and then oiled, or a piece of thin garden hose, or a well-wrapped twisted wire may be used in emergencies.

DISEASES OF THE STOMACHS.

ACUTE TYMPANITES (HOVEN, OR BLOATING).

Tympanites is a distention of the rumen or paunch with gases of fermentation, and is manifested outwardly by swelling in the region of the left flank.

_Causes._--Tympanites may be caused by any kind of feed which produces indigestion. When cattle are first turned into young clover they eat so greedily of it that tympanites frequently results. Turnips, potatoes, cabbage, or the discarded pulp from sugar-beet factories may also cause it.

Middlings and corn meal also frequently give rise to it.

Care is necessary in turning animals into fields of clover or stubble 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 quant.i.ty. 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 quant.i.ty 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. Gra.s.s or clover when wet by dew or rain frequently disorders digestion and brings on tympanites; frozen roots or pastures covered with h.o.a.r 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 quant.i.ties of gas are formed. The same result may follow when a cow is choked, as the obstruction in the gullet prevents the eructation or pa.s.sing up of gas from the stomach, so that the gas continues to acc.u.mulate 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 vertebrae 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 quant.i.ties 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 pa.s.sed round the neck of the cannula immediately below the projecting rim and then be pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.s 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 b.a.l.l.s 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 mola.s.ses. The salts and aloes should be dissolved by stirring for a few minutes in 2 quarts of lukewarm water, then the mola.s.ses 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 capsic.u.m, 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 appet.i.te 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 acc.u.mulating 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 ma.s.s.

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 ma.s.s 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 a.s.sistants 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 st.i.tches. The wound penetrating the muscle and the skin may then be brought together by silk st.i.tches, which should pa.s.s 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 superst.i.tions 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 s.p.a.ces 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 const.i.tutional 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 APPEt.i.tE (PICA).

Cattle suffering from this disease have a capricious and variable appet.i.te 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 appet.i.te 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 appet.i.te 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 a.s.similation 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 const.i.tuting 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.