GOING DOWN BEHIND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3511, 28 June 1921, Page 9

GOING DOWN BEHIND.

TREATMENT OF PIGS. It has always puzzled farmers to account for some of their pigs losing the power of their hindquarters. There are several causes of such partial paralysis or paraplegia. One of the commonest is rickets (laehitis), which is similar* to bowed legs of children, and an evidence of incomplete nutrition, or failure of the pig to make perfect use of the nutrients of its ration. '1 he first cause may be called malnutrition ana the second imperfect metabolism. Worms are a common contributory cause, as they pi event proper absorption, assimilation, and chemical changes of food nutrients. The ci "" ■ • '-i ' ver, are Ihe follow-' ing:—lnsanitary housing, which weakens s.j.c... ...» iii.,..v:nig imparity of the blood ; lack of exercise, which prevents purificaton of the blood and removal of waste matters by excretion; insufficiency of milk, which contains one of the most requisite vitamines; failure to feed the leaves and stems of cereal or leguminous plants which contain another necessary vitamine, and deficiency in inineial or earthy matters which go to build up strong bone. To these causes may be added hereditary tendency to rickets derived from inbred, pampered, under-exercised or inadequately or incor rectly fed ancestors. -—Use Robust Boars and Sows.— In cold climates where snow abounds it is difficult to enforce sufficient exercise, hence hogs are kept indoors too much. If at the same time growing pigs are not fed mixed rations, including milk, various grains and meals, and also clover, lucerne, cow pea, or Soy bean hay as roughage, rickets naturally occurs, or constipation ensues, and causes paralysis. Prolonged excessive feeding of com to growing animals has long been recognised as a fertile cause of weak bones in pigs. To avoid weak bones and tendency to paralysis in young pigs, only robust, strong boned, active, nonakin boars and sows should bo mated, and throughout gestation the sow should be made to take daily exercise and allowed to help herself to lucerne or clover hay. She should also be supplied with enough prntemrich tankage to balance any corn that is allowed her, besides roots or silage to regulate her bowels. If outdoor exercise cannot well be taken (says an expert, in the Rural New Yorker) shelled corn and wholo oats may be scattered upon a big barn floor or clean swept ground, and covered with litter, in which the sow will root and so obtain exercise. When farrowing time comes the sow so fed and exercised will have little difficulty in bringing tortu uer pigs, and will have plenty o f milk for their reception. Afterward she should occupy a clean colony house with her pigs on a succession of green grazing crops from early spring until autumn. —Most Critical Period.— This management will tend to prevent not only rickets in pigs, but, that form of paralysis which commonly affects sows that nave lieen nursing a big litter of pigs. Such sows that “go down behind’’ are weakened and made nervous by the drain and strain of nursing, and unless the pigs are weaned at once will likely to die or have to be destroyed. They are always pampered, overfed, and under-exercised sows, and in many instances have become constipated from stuffing- with corn. Weaning time is the next critical period for pigs. While grazing with r *’c r D-ns tb< v sho-'fi ~ prepared for this trying period by taking an abundance ot mixed feed, especially milk slop and meals at first, and at all times should be allowed free access to slaked lime, wood ashes, and wood or corncob charcoal. Intestinal worms should also be controlled by timely administration of the remedies that often have been prescribed here. It is quite commonly believed by farmers that kidney worms cause paralysis in swine, but [ never liavo been able to corroborate this idea by post-mortem examination of affected hogs. Many pigs that appear perfectly healthy are found to harbour these worms, and I am inclined to the (relief that where they are discovered in an affected animal thev may be merely incidental, and not the. true cause of the condition. However, Dr ,T. W. Connawav. in Circular 66 of the Missouri Collego of Agriculture, on paralysis of the hindquarters in swine, cites these worms as a true cause of that condition when present in large numbers in the fatty tissues around the kidneys or in the kidneys themselves. He believes that the worms produce inflammation and at times abscesses in the tissues •where they lodge, and impair the function of the nerves of the region by action of their poisonous products (toxins).

—Expelling Worms.— When kidney worms are suspected Dr Connaway advises external use of strong liniment and internal administration of turpentine, as follows: —To a 2001 b pig give a tablespoonful of pure turpentine in half a pint of raw linseed oil or cotton-seed oil or milk. The following worm remedy is also useful:—Santonin, six grains, and calomel four grains to each 1001 b <of live weight, following a physic. Repeat the treatment in 10 days. Paralysis may also result from injuries to the back. In that event recovery may take place in time if the pig be given a i i- res;, end '--’■fit Dxntive si on besides rubbing the loins with a stimulating linament, such as a mixture oi equal quaiitiiies of turpentine, aqua ' ammonia and cotton seed or linseed oil. When due to constipation and blocking of the rectum with hard feces, rectal injections of warm water containing powdered slippery elmbark, or soapy water and glycerine, should be given every three or four hours, after admiiiistering a 2oz to 4oz dose of Epsom or Glauber salts in warm water. Kittle pigs should have a dose of castor oil in milk. Lumbago from rheumatism is another possible cause. It may occur where pigs are allowed to bed in wet or damp places. Treat by giving a physic and rub liniment into the loins. If bad cases, rub in oil of wintergreen and give five grains of salol every three hours. Aspirin in 10-grain doses may also prove beneficial. In my opinion there i. another cause of paralysis, and that is auto-inioxi<aition of seif-poisoning by toxins absorbed from the liver or intestines. It is very similar to. azoturia in a horse, affects adult pigs that have long been heavily fed ch protein-rich rations in the absence of exercise and are then turned out. It usually proves incurable, but may be prevented by enforcing exercise daily, keeping the bowels active at ail times and feeding balanced, laxative rations, including legume hay.