A CALF DISEASE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1451, 28 May 1912, Page 8

A CALF DISEASE.

LARGE DEATH ROLL REPORTED. An'infectious disease of a serious nature which is' causing considerable concern among stock-owners in the district, owing to. the large death roll among young calves is, says the "Northern Advocate, l>nrapie"ia or intestinal worms or wasters. The afflicted beasts show symptoms of. wasting or-flat-sidediitos, and prior_ to death they are subject to scouring, .lnc disease is brought about by very small worms,, and is attributable largely Ho tnc linsoksonable .weather. Quite <i large number ot calves have died iroin the disease, and as a result a' lull in the market for young calves has been felt. On incjuiry locally we find tint tinTemedy is to transfer the stock to dry and hotter pasture, and give them good feed. A few doses of lysol diluted with plenty of new milk is advisable. > The trouble in" question commonly prevails on wet ■lands where there is not good enougli drainage. • Reporting on the disease in question some time ago, Messrs. Gilrutii und lieakes, of the Agricultural Department, stated that by far the greatest mortality occurred among calves and yearling cattls, and, they added, there could be little doubt but that the method of rearing hand-fed calves generally adopted in New Zealand, particularly in the dairying districts, are to a considerable extent directly responsible for the animals so oaaly. becoming victims (0 the ell'octs of parasitic invasions. 111-fed ju.'t at the period of life when it was most necessary tu solidly build up the growing and developing system, the animals, when placed under unfavourable winter conditions, were incapable ot' successfully resisting tho attacks of the parasites. The disease under notice is also found in lamhs and hoggets, and a paper on the subject was written by Mr. C. J. Reakes in 1910. Mr. Reakes dealt with the matter under the heading "Parasitic Gastritis of Sheep." According to Jlr. Reakes, indications ot •parasitic gastritis are easily observable, diarrhoea, accompanied by general lassitude, wasting and progressive anaemia briny . tho most prominent symptoms Affected animals often display a marked propensity to lick at the soil, especially at hillsides; and it is a common occurrence, on making a post-mortem examination, to find a quantity of sandy material in' tho stomach <uid intestines. Whenever young sheep are found to be scouring—except in a natural manner, on spring grass, for instance, when they will be bright and otherwise healthy—parasitic gastritis may bo suspected as being the cause. One point to be borne in mind is that parasitic bronchitis (lungworm) h often found associated with parasitic gastritis in the same animal, and, in much of the trouble occurring some years since and ascribed to lungworm alone, the stomach-worm was probably an important factor.

THE TREATMENT REQUIRED. Treatment of the trouble must be carried out thoroughly if any reasonably good results are to be hoped for. One essential is a complete change of pasture. If the trouble develops in a flock, it may be assumed that they have been gTazmg in a pasture contaminated by the presence of the parasites or their ova (eggs). It is of no uso attempting to treat them and endeavouring to get rid of the mature .worms infesting them if they are continually taking/in a fresh supply from the pasture. The animals should be at once removed to the driest and best-drained land available, where, if possible, the only water-supply obtainable is artesian or pure running water. One or two feeds daily of good, nutritious, easily-digested iood (crushed oats, oaten chaff, pollard, good hay, etc.) must bo given. This is the most importahF'feature of' the treatment of this disease; Often the dry feed is not eaten readily when good grass is plentiful, but every effort should be made to induce the animals to take it. Sprinkling with salt and water will assist in this, and the salt in itself will prove beneficial. "Medical treatment alone is of little value; but if combined with a proper dietary, it assists to , a; considerable extent in "bringing about recovery in- , cases where the.nnimal is not too'badly, affected. Many drugs have been used in the past, but the majority were more or less useless. For a long period turpentine, combined with olive or Unseed oil/was almost a standard remedy, but it. has altogether failed to prove its efficacy after a'much longer trial than was warranted by its actual merits. Ot the drugs which, have, given good results in varying degree, thymol and various coal-tar derivatives, particularly creosote and lysol, have %een the most successful. Of those, Mr. Reakes considers lysol the most ctßcacious, provided it be used with care and judgment. 'Ihe dose for lambs over six months old is half a drachm; for hoggets, three-quarters of a drachm; for two-tooths, one drachm. (A .drachm is equal to a teaspounfnl.) Unless welldiluted, lysol, while be ng swallowed, causes 'considerable irritation to the mem--brane of the throat, and it should therefore never bo given in too strong solution. The best material with which to mix it is milk or very thin grueWbout a tl id of a pint with each dose. As should always be the rule when- administering liquid medicine to animals, care must bo taken ■hot to pour.it too quickly into the mouth, and to leave tho jaws, and particularly the ton-lib, free as possible under the cir- " umstances, in order that no undue restraint is exercised upon the nnimal s natural efforts to shallow. *£f.«« ot tt ie p sMtS>?^ fnVther series of four doses may be gnen. treatment of the disease should nevei be lost sight of. /■