DISEASES OF STOCK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19158, 26 October 1925, Page 14

DISEASES OF STOCK.

DYSPEPSIA iH CALVES. CAUSES AND REMEDIES. Paradoxical as it may seem, many "overfed" calves die of starvation. Underfeeding on good food is safest for health and best for growth. Milk is an excelierifc medium for all bacteria to grow upon; it must, therefore, be closely protected from the time it is drawn until fed. Factory milk is to be avoided. Heavy feeding on skim milk results in dilatioii of the stomach wall, producing atomy and consequent restriction of the gastric and other juices which aid its digestion. Cold milk lowers the body temperature, as seen by the tremors and dazed appearance. On no account feed it below lOOdeg. I'abr.; 101-102deg. is the ideal. In Nature animals suck on an average 12 to 15 times in the course of 24 hours, the milk being at blood heat and taken in small amounts.

.An excess of natural milk will produce bad results, too. When the milk reaches trie stomach it is converted by acids into small pellets of curd capable of easy digestion When bulk feeding, and notably when the feed is cold and low in quality, the curd forms into a solid block, which is not digested before the next drink—probably forced down, because "the little Jopl" won't drink, and retrogressive changes take place in the central and densest part of the curd block, forming a focus of bacterial growth, which in turn acts upon the gastric intestinal mucosae, setting up acute indigestion, colic, gastritis, "diarrhoea, or dysentery. The usual treatment is an astringent drench or gruel, which makes matters worse. Aperient doses are required to evacuate the effete material in the alimentary canal and medicinal paraffin, or salad oil, are both soothing and antiseptic. Sim!? u laxative may "brighten up" a sub-

• ••et for a few days, and then the case is lis bad as ever. This is due largely to the activity of I lie bacteria inhabiting the digestive iract. In addition to the aperients, loz. to 20?.. at a time, such antizyniotics as the following are called for:— :..,z formalin in rainwater. giving 1 teaspoon of this every four hours in a small cup of barley water; <,>:■ 20 grains of boraeic acid, 2 drams each, baking sod;', and carbolic crystals; 1 dram glycerine, 1 pint boiling rainwater. Dose, 1 dessertspoon in 1 cup well boiled, thin linseed gruel, three times daily. The return to feeding must be gradual using poor milk,, lime water, and cod liver oil, 2 pint, half pint, loz. respectively four times daily. These cases should always be isolated in case of local causes not operating, but unknown disease.