The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1893-02-23
THE FARM AND HOME.
HOW TO AVOID PARTURlENT
4 APOPLExY IN COWS.
MILK Fever-Stif Neck In Sheep-Scence
and Observation-Disclosures in Fields
Farm Notes and Home
s t Hints.
Parturient Apoplexy.

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
and peritonitis causes the
most excruciating pains possible for
lower animals or human beings. [
would rather see COW of mine drop
dead than see her in this agony, al
though she should even recover,
writes Galen Wilson in the Country
Gentleman. It is a 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 I have had with the dis
ease.
The difficulty is most likely to
flesh, and usually good mixers. It
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 incur able when well-fixed is
as certain as it is avoidable in most
cases. 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. / had
COW die of the disease in June, when
on fresh grass; but she was in good
flesh and deep mixer. The grass
in her stomach had dried and i'm
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
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
or ten days previous to calving. What
food was given was of cooling, re-
Taxing nature. Just before calving
. he gave pound of salts and pint
of treacle in three pints of tepid water
mixed with wheat bran, into 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
calving and then was given liberal
bran mash with linseed meal added.
He used old "fustyn bedding lest she
should eat that. If her udder 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
oilmeal performed that service. 1t
was noticed that COWS did not eat the
cleansing unless constipation of the
bowels was present.
f. And now comes what | regard an
important point in after treatment
The calf was left with the cow three
days and she was not stripped at all
as is the usual custom. He drew ne
milk for the three days; but permit
ted the calf to run with her that time
and help itself at will. Here is :
cogent reason for it in his own words
''By milking a COW clean, just afte7
calving, you cause an unnatural flow
of the milk and all sorts of complica
tions ensue. Whereas, by following
natures laws no excessive strain i
put on the SYSTEM" The COW, o
course, was brought on to full fee,
gradually.
There is great danger to be appre
hended in milking COW up to calv
ing and continuing her full feed Ii
to that time, especially if she is
deep mixer. Better let her rest
II month and be on short rations. Thi
is also better for her offspring.
The following are the preventiv
measures adopted by the late f.
Bowditch, as he reported them to
Western paper on inquiry:
'In answer to your question abou
the best treatment for milk fever,
would say that [ formerly used
have trouble and loss from this di
ease, but for about ten years hav
hardly had case, and no losse
owing, believe, to the followin
rules, which are always strictly ca
ried out on my farm:
GAS soon as the COW is dry befol
calying, usually four to six weeks,
begin to feed old-process oil meal, il
creasing the quantity from a pint pr
day, gradually, till I get up to tw
quarts per day, and continue TIL
amount till the calf is dropped. IL
"As soon as the calf is born, civ
If. in quart of warm water, with tt
addition of tablespoonful of grour
ginger or teaspoonful of cayenl
pepper, dose of salts, varying tt
quantity from pound, for sma
Il. +,pnvoor-Ol1 to nearly two rO,,n1c f.