CONTAGIOUS ABORTION

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVIII, Issue 297, 1 December 1928, Page 12

CONTAGIOUS ABORTION

THE BILLY GOAT REMEDY.

There are some dairy farmers who fere firmly convinced that the scourge of contagious abortion will not appear in their herds if a billy goat is permitted to run with the cows. On one successful farm in the Trafalgar district in Victoria where an excellent herd of Jersey cattle has been developed, a large goat used to run with the herd, and it is remarkable that the herd was regularly free from abortion and other calving troubles. Whether the goat had any influence in the matter is not definitely known, but it is remarkable that similar meas

ures have been claimed to have proved effective in Scotland. Writing in the “Scottish Farmer,” a farmer who signed himself “Desperation” assked for a cure for abortion. A week later an "Old Dairy Farmer” from Fifeshire replied as follows: —“Science has certainly gone a long way, but in one thing it has failed—a cure for abortion. Why should ‘Desperation’ not try the billy goat—our grandfather’s eure, I wrote some time ago and gave my experience; I again give my latest. I came to this farm four years ago, taking over the 45 eows. Contagious abortion has been in this herd for the last twenty years, and every year nearly half of them aborted. Everything had been tried, including inoculation, and the owners had even gone the length of not bulling the cows and putting them out, but whenever breeding was started again, abortion was as bad as ever. I got a billy goat and let him go about the byres as he pleased. A few cows aborted just after I got him, but the trouble then stopped, and not

one has aborted for the last three

years. A billy goat is inexpensive, | the price being less than the cost of a vet. for one visit.” About a month later “Desperation” again wrote and expressed “great faith in the billy goat,” and gave his experience with a herd of 50 cows. “Abortion made its first appearance last November.” he stated, “just before the beginning of the calving season, and I had cases of abortion every week up till 16th January, when I purchased a billy goat and let him run at will through the byres. Since then I have had only two eases—the last one being on Bth February. The ealves in both these cases were in a decomposed condition, which showed that the trouble must have been well advanced iu both eases before the billy goat was introduced. Since the Bth February six eows have calved healthy ealves. I got 13 cows to calve within the next few months, and they appear as if they would carry their calves up to the ’full time. I must add that about four weeks before I got the billy goat 1 had all the cows dosed by a man who claims to cure abortion. It the Cows are clear oi the disease now, as 1 think they are, it is questionable whether the honour is due to the goat or the man. Personally I have great faith in the “bitty.” I do not know whether wisely or not. but 1 have, now had all my 20 aborted eows inoculated with the vaccine of the Ministry of Agriculture.”