WNEN A COW ABORTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 174, 25 July 1928, Page 19

WNEN A COW ABORTS.

Abortion disease develops in cattle through infected feed and drinking water. Therefore it is very important that the cow that aborts should be handled very carefully in order to prevent this infection contaminating the feed and drinking water of the other cattle. As soon as the aborting cow has been discovered ehe should be moved to quarters away from the rest of the herd. The' aborted foetuc and other materials should be removed and should be either burned or buried in quicklime, and the bedding should be thoroughly disinfeoted and removed to some field or yard where the cattle will not be kept. The place where the cow has aborted should be thoroughly and completely cleaned and disinfected. Under no condition should the cow that has aborted be placed back in the herd until there is no longer any discharge noticeable. This cow ehou'ld not be bred until the second heat period following her return to normal. Many cattle owners make a practice of breeding cows that have aborted even though they are discharging, but this is a very dangerous practice, as the disease is likely to be spread to other cattle through the use of the bull for breeding purposes, and while the disease itself is not spread by the bull through the act of service, there is a possibility that the bull himself may become infected and ruined as far as breeding value is concerned. There is no possibility that the cow will get with calf while in this condition, therefore there absolutely no use in breeding her. The most important factor in the control or eradication of abortion disease in cattle is proper handling of the cow that has aborted. If cleaning and disinfection is thoroughly done, and the animal is removed from the herd and kept away from the herd as long as there is any discharge, this will go a long way toward eradicating and controlling the disease. As a general thing the aborting cow is an active spreader of the disease for fron. four to six weeks after aborting. As a general thing, if the cow is well fed and cared for, ehe will breed in three or four months after aborting. No attempt should bo made to breed her earlier than this.—"Live Stock Journal" (England).