ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXVI, Issue 3, 20 March 1923, Page 191

ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES.

IN order to ensure reply to questions, correspondents must give their name and address, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith Letters should be addressed to the Editor. VAGINITIS IN COWS. ' v . A. 8., Kamo :- ' Last season a great many of my cows aborted, and they do not appear to be getting in calf this year. When in season 1 notice a slight discharge of blood whether they have been served or not. Last year several cows came back to the bull regularly, but proved to be in calf all the time. I have syringed the cows carefully with permanganate of potash, and.also with carbonate of soda, just before service, but they do not seem to be holding. Can you advise a remedy ? The Live-stock Division : We are of opinion that your herd is affected with abortion disease, giving rise to the abortions last season. However, from the symptoms you describe, it is evident that the cows are now suffering from vaginitis (inflammation of the vaginal passage). This condition is contagious and may be spread by the bull. As regards treatment, we have had good results from the use of .sulphocarbolate of zinc, used as a vaginal douche at a strength of i dram dissolved in a quart of hot water and cooled to blood-heat. The cows should be washed out with this every second day for a fortnight. Some long-standing cases do not yield readily to treatment. Keep the affected cows separate from the healthy. Remove the bull if he is running with the cows, and wash him also with the same solution. -While under treatment the cows should not be served. z CASTRATION OF HORSES. “ Learner,” Rissington :- Will' you please give me some information on castration of horses ?-1 can tie them down, but am not an expert with the knife. The Live-stock Division :

The animal should be fasted for at least twenty-four hours prior to the operation, but water should be available. After the horse has been thrown and secured on his back, the. sheath and scrotum should be well washed with a warm antiseptic solution and dried with a soft cloth. The operator stands directly behind the animal and, grasping one testicle firmly, renders the skin over it tense. Next a bold longitudinal incision should be made through the skin, when the testicle should appear through the wound. The testicle may be removed by any of the emasculative instruments. The operation is repeated-on the other testicle, and the horse allowed to rise. Care must be taken that there is no rupture present before operating. The operation can be more easily understood if it is once seen performed by a capable man. CONTAGIOUS MAMMITIS AND INFECTION. “ Mammitis,” Waitahuna : Can you tell me if a cow which has contagious mammitis and is dried off is likely to infect others with whom she is running ? If she had another calf and was allowed to suckle it would it grow up a healthy'animal ? The Live-stock Division : There is no likelihood of a cow suffering from contagious mammitis and subsequently dried off infecting others running in the same paddock. If she were to have another calf and rear it there would be no danger of the calf becoming infected, as the quarter would, in all probability, be dried off.

COW WITH CATARRH. “ Catarrh,” Albany : Could you advise me how to treat a cow suffering from catarrh ? Her eyes and nose are constantly running, and the trouble seems to irritate her nose a great deal, as she is constantly rubbing it, very often making it bleed. The Live-stock Division : . < A careful examination of the nose should be made to determine if any foreign —piece of wood, brier, &c. —has become fixed there, setting up the irritation. If nothing of this nature can be found, you might try syringing each nostril daily with a solution made by dissolving 30 grains of sulphate of zinc in a pint of water. The eyes should be bathed with a lotion made by dissolving a teaspoonful of boracic acid in a cupful of warm water.

GREASY HEEL IN HORSES. H. Hargreaves, Karamea, Westport :- Please inform me whether greasy heel in horses is a contagious disease. The Live-stock Division: ■ . . ' Greasy heel is a diseased condition, principally in that region of the pasterns of horses in which the oil-glands (which secrete- oil to keep the part flexible) are involved, and it is not contagious. The predisposing causes of this disease are many, and include the influence of constant dampness, the trouble occurring in horses grazing on swamps or working in soft muddy ground when the mud is allowed to accumulate and is not brushed out daily when dry. Digestive derangements and weak circulation are also predisposing causes. As the disease advances, fungi and micro-organisms of various kinds are found present, and though they tend to aggravate the trouble they have not so far been proved essential factors in causing the disease.

HEIFER WITH DRIPPING TEATS. “ Subscriber,” Okoroire :• —- I have a three-year-old heifer just calved, and its two back teats drip milk continuously. Would rubber bands prevent this ? The Live-stock Division : There is no reliable preventive for the trouble you describe. Rubber bands would have to be so tight that the circulation would be interfered with, and this is undesirable;

. REDWATER IN CATTLE. • “ Redwater,” Mangamaire : Will you please let me know if feeding cows on swedes or turnips will cause redwater ? What are the recognized causes of this complaint, and the treatment for it ? The Live-stock Division : Redwater in cattle is usually caused by too lavish and too constant feeding on roots. The usual symptom is a red colouration of the urine. The following treatment is recommended : Give the affected animal 1 lb. common salt in 4-oz. doses at four-hour intervals. Remove the animat from roots altogether for a time, placing it in a fresh pasture, and giving hay, bran mashes, linseed mashes, &c. After the bowels have moved freely from the salt ■ drenches, give one of the following powders night and morning in a bottle of gruel: 2 drachms ferri carb, sacch., 1 oz. cinchona, 2 drachms gentian. . 1

COWS RETURNING TO BULL. F. Hall, Edendale : ■. - * Can you give a reason for cows returning to the bull every three weeks for two or three periods and then getting in calf ? The cows were douched with J eyes Fluid (1-60) after calving. The Live-stock Division : Failure of conception in cows may be the result of a number of conditions, and in the absence of particulars or an examination of the animals it is difficult to say exactly what may be the cause in your case. As conception occurred after the second or third visit to the bull it is probable that at the earlier periods an undue acid condition of the genital passage has existed which spontaneously disappeared later. This condition has a devitalizing effect on the spermatozoa, and prevents conception by retarding their activity. An alkaline douche, made by dissolving 5 oz. of baking-soda in | gallon of water, used shortly ' before service, is in most cases followed by good results. Retention of the afterbirth, with the consequent septic discharge from the womb, will also account for failure to conceive, especially at the first or second period of oestrum. The fact that the bull may be at fault should not be overlooked. This frequently occurs where he is turned out with the herd, a state of temporary impotency being brought about by overwork. .

ROARING IN HORSES. R. S., Murchison : Would you kindly inform me if there is any cure for a roaring horse ? The symptoms in this case are as follows : After pulling for a distance the animal (a mare) nearly chokes ; ' the noise she makes is like that made by a Paradise duck, and seems to be in the windpipe, being worse at some times than at others. When spelled for a moment she makes a couple of belching noises and then ceases roaring. The Live-stock Division : True “ roaring ” in horses is caused by paralysis of the left vocal cord in the larynx. The larynx is situated at the top of the windpipe between the two branches of the lower jaw. The noise is caused by the vibration of the vocal cord when the animal expires (breathes out). The only treatment for true roaring is an operation which is not always successful in removing the noise, nor is it always successful in restoring the animal’s usefulness. It is needless to say that the operation can only be performed by a qualified veterinary surgeon who has a thorough knowledge of the anatomy, &c., of the region of the.throat. Very often horses make a noise when pulling, and this noise is made when the animal inhales (breathes in) ; but the noise can also be heard on exhaling. This is caused by a badly fitting collar. The bottom of the collar presses on the windpipe, thereby constricting the lumen of the windpipe and causing a state of partial suffocation through the animal being unable to take in sufficient air to purify the blood. The same thing may happen when the throat-lash of the bridle is buckled up tight so that the windpipe or larynx is compressed. Again, if a horse’s nose is drawn into the chest, as when a tight bearing-rein is used, the opening at the end of the windpipe through which the air passes is constricted and a noise is caused, while the horse, when ' pulling hard, partially suffocates and stops in his work. Another cause of horses making a noise is on account of growths, commonly polypi (narrow-based tumours) in the nose or back of the throat. The only treatment for • these is a surgical removal by a veterinarian. If the noise is caused through pressure ,on the windpipe by the throat of the collar, a collar must be used which has room for the hand to be placed between the windpipe and the throat of the collar when the animal is pulling.

Notice. —An answer cannot be given to “ L. J. 5.,” Poukawa, regarding grubs in loganberries, unless the full name is supplied., See general notice under heading of “ Answers to Inquiries.”