MAMMITIS OR GARGET

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 40, 10 November 1917, Page 10

MAMMITIS OR GARGET

Hdiv TO TREAT IT. Mammitis or garget is very common among dairy cows, especially heavy pro--ducers (aaya '."Hoard's Dairyman"). It really is an inflammation of the udder which may have any one of several r causes. Exposuro to cold, an extremely narrow ration, millc being left in the udder too long without being drawn, or injuries to the udder such as kicks or blows may cause the inflammation. . If exposure :to oold has been the : cause, you will perhaps first notice that the cow is seized with a-fit of shivering : and seems chilled;:hor linir etaids erect and horns, ears,' 1 tail,' and legs' will seem ' cold. After this comes a;reaction to the other extreme." The: animal appears feverish, with hot, dry rduzzle, rapid breathing, and pobr. app'etite. With other causes these symptoms may pot appear at (ill,-and, the first sign of sickness which you notice will be a hot, firm swelling of. the udder, sore to the touch. As this gets worse the pain ■will cause the cow to 6tratlale with her < hind legs, and if she lies down at all, to ' do.:so in such; a way as to protect the sore part of the udder. Sometimes this : swelling seems to affect the surface of the udder so that if you press against :it ■ little -pits or pockets will appear, ' while in other cases hard masses can be r felt in the inside. . • [ In all cases the milk flow falls off, ' and often instead of milk there will bo •' a watery -fluid containing traces of blood and masses of clotted casein. Later it YOUR Protection in Supplying Us -with your, crcam is greater than with - almost any other Company, because you ... need not tie yotxraelf to us in any way,, and wo again are dependent on your goodwill towards us. for tho continuation of ' your support. If our results are not • satisfactory you 'will, of course, leave üb. i We again are here, to retain your supply and confidence. Consequently, we must .give you Good Results. We solicit your ; support, and hope you will give ns a trial at any rate. We reply promptly to any 'questions you require answered. Write '.us. Maoriland Dairy Co., Ltd., P.O. Box 185. Wanganul.'

may even give off a very disagreeable odour. Sometimes "garget will disappear almost entirely and with little or no treatment after two or three days, and milk will be secreted in. that part of the udder as usual. However, we more often find that-most of the swelling remains and becomes a permanently hardened massi Garget ofton causcs the loss of one or more quarters. The treatment of the disease depends somewhat upon the case. If the cow is found shivering and apparently cold, she should be given plonty of warm water to drink and have heat applied to her body. A good way to do this last is to throw over her a, rug or blanket wrung out of hot water. Giving a pint of whisky or brandy or an ounce of ground ginger may help to stop the chill. Afterwards rub the animal dry and • blanket, her. " •' . . However, as stated above, this chill may not occur, in which caso we must begin treatment with the udder itself. Draw the milk'frequently and bathe the udder with hot water for twenty minutes at a time; rub it dry, and then apply an ointment made by dissolving two tablespoonfuls of camphor gum in a cup of melted lard. Add to this an ounce of fluid extract of belladonna. Do this three times a day. If tne udder is very large, support it with a wide piece of cloth with holes cut out for the teats. . Contagious Garget or Mammitis. There are two forms of garget—simple garget which we have just spoken of and the contagious—the difference between them being just what wo would natural- j ly expect, namely, that one will spread ! from one animal to anotheV wheroas the i other will not. ! Contagious mammitis or garget is ! spread from one cow to another mainly j by the -milkers- who milk healthy cow's ■' after milking diseased ones. Suppose, for example, that you lave one cow with this disease and milk her first.; While milking you perhaps get a few drops of milk on your hands. The bacteria or germs-'which cause the disease get on your hands in this way, when you start to milk the next cow you pass them along to, her. Soon the whole line may become infected. About tho, same treatment should bo followed with contagions mammitis/ as with that which is non-contagious, but it cannot usually be cured. However, you can prevent its spread. Put those cows that have it by themselves and milk them last. Also after milking each of them wash your hands thoroughly in some good disinfectant such as i per cent, boric acid solution. The' milk from these diseased cow 9 should, of course, not be used.