TREATMENT OF MILK FEVER IN DAIRY COWS.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 43, Issue 3, 21 September 1931, Page 211

TREATMENT OF MILK FEVER IN DAIRY COWS.

Dealing with the subject of milk fever in the annual report of the Livestock Division for 1930-31, Mr. J. Lyons, Director, states : “ During the past season a considerable number of cases were treated -with solutions of calcium injected intravenously and subcutaneously, . with satisfactory results. The salts used were calcium chloride and calcium gluconate. The former is somewhat difficult to use, and must be injected intravenously if the destruction of the surrounding tissue is to be avoided. The gluconate can be injected intravenously or. beneath the skin of the neck or shoulder without any danger to the surrounding tissues. As stated, both methods of treatment can be recommended with confidence. It is doubtful, however, if the calcium treatment will ever supersede the old method. of inflation of the udder which has been in vogue for the past thirty-odd years. Nearly every dairy-farmer keeps a milk-fever pump in his shed which he is capable of applying, whereas calcium salts are somewhat difficult to obtain, and are beyond his means of application. It can be claimed for the new method of treatment that there is no danger of contaminating the udder, the secretion of milk is not interfered with, nor has the tedious process of freeing the udder from air to be undertaken. The use of lime in the drinking-water as a preventive for milk-fever is gaining ground among dairy-farmers and the results will be observed.”