The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1893-05-16
THE FARM AND HOME.
HOW TO AVOID PARTURIENT
APOPLExY IN COWS.
MIX Fever-Stin Neck in sheep-Science
and Observation-Disclosures In Fields
Farm Notes and Home
Hints.
Parturient Apoplexy.


death of any of the animal kind from
parturient apoplexy or milk fever
would gladly avoid repetition of the
scene, for of all the various aches and
pains. this appears to be the worst.
In such cases. the peritoneum is in
volved. and peritonitis causes the
most excruciating pains possible for
lower animals or human beings. I
would rather see a COW of mine drop
dead than see her in this agony, al.
though she should even recover,
writes Galen Wilson in the Country
Gentleman. 1t is mercy to the
faithful beasts so to care for them as
to avoid the difficulty. With this
thought in mind, have taken some
pains to collate what others have
said upon the subject and report it
here, together with what personal
experience l have had with the dis
ease.
The difficulty is most likely to
aflict COWS in "good habit" and
flesh, and usually good mixers. 1t
seems to attack the best, as birds
pick at the best fruit. Upon post
mortems it is generally revealed
that the stomach is more or less i'm
pacted with dry food, and often with
grain food at that. That the dis
ease is incurable when well-fxed is
as certain as it is avOidable in most
! :ases. 1t is sometimes the result
Of taking cold Immediately after calv-
ing. This can surely be prevented
by proper care at the time; and so it
can, in large measure. by not allow
ing food to become impact in the
stomach and by guarding against
constipation of the bowels. Some as
sert that only dry food is likely to
impact. This is a mistake. l had
COW die of the disease in June. when
on fresh grass: but she was in good
flesh and a deep mixer. The grass
in her stomach had dried and inn
pacted. She had not had grain feed.
At such times there is unusual inter-
nal heat, which dries out and i'm
pacts the food. This indicates that
q febrifuge or cooling, loosening To-
ton should be administered season
ably.
An English writer, after having
lost several valuable cows by this dis
ease, studied UP on the question and
adopted precautionary measures, the
substance of which give below, and
his animals escaped after that. He
kept his COWS on short rations eight
OF ten days previous to calving. What
food was given was of a cooling, re-
Taxing nature. just before calving
he gave q pound of salts and a pint
of treacle in three pints of tepid water
mixed with wheat bran, into a thin
cruel. This acted freely. After calv-
ing, she was given a pail of water
with the chill taken off. She was fed
nothing until six or eight hours after
bran mash with linseed meal added.
He used old ..fusty" bedding lest she
should eat that If hec uaacr was
painfully distended before calving. he
MIXED out enough occasionally to re-
lieve her. She was not permitted to
eat her cleansing" as COWS are apt
to do. and for the purpose, probably
of a natural physic. The bran and
clinical performed that service. It
was noticed that cows did not eat the
cleansing unless constipation of the
bowels was present.
And now comes what l regard an
important point in after treatment.
The calf was left with the COW three
days and she was not stripped at all.
IS is the usual custom. He drew no
milk for the three days; but permit
ted the calf to run with her that time
and help itself at will. Here is q
cogent reason for it in his own words:
"By milking Q COW clean, just after
cslving. you cause an unnatural flow
Of the milk and all sorts of complica-
tions ensue. Whereas. by following
natures laws no excessive strain Is
put on the system" The COW, Of
course. was brought on to full feed
gradually.
There is great danger to be appre-
hended in milking q COW up to calv-
ing and continuing her full feed up
to that time, especially if she is .
deep mixer. Better let her rest .
month and be on short rations. This
is also better for her offspring.
The following are the preventive
measures adopted by the late E. F.
Rowditoh, as he reported them to .
Western paper on inquiry:
I'm answer to your question about
the best treatment for milk fever, I
would say that l formerly used to
have trouble and loss from this dis
eAse, but for about ten years have
hardly had Q case. and no losses,
owing, I believe. to the following
rules, which are always strictly car
ried out on my farm:
'.As soon IS the COW is dry before
c2lving, usually four to six weeks. I
begin to feed old-prooess oil meal, in
CreAsing the quantity from q pint DOR