MORTALITY IN COWS

Waipa Post, Volume 37, Issue 2191, 2 August 1928, Page 5

MORTALITY IN COWS

TREATING GAS IN RUMEN. Mr C. V. Dayus, Government veterinarian, touched on the treatment of dairy cows suffering from fermentation of gas in the rumen (first stomach) during the course of his address to the Morrinsville branch of the New Zealand Farmers' Union on Saturday (says the Star). The causies could be traced to the cow lying prone, eating succulent wet clover or roots, or getting a small swede or turnip stuck in the throat, said Mr Dayus. The danger in the use of the usual remedies was drenching when the cow was too tight. If the' cow was drenched when drtfmtight it was probable that the beast would drop dead. The cow's life would be saved by puncturing where the distention was most marked. Most farmers* used a pocket knife, but the instrument should be turned in the wound to alloAV the gas to escape. A drench should then be used to check further trouble. A good mixture was a pint of linseed oil of turpentine, or linseed oil and kerosene, or kerosene or baking powder (six tablespoons, in a quart of warm water). Of these the first was the best.