DEPRAVED APPETITE IN CATTLE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1642, 8 January 1913, Page 10

DEPRAVED APPETITE IN CATTLE.

.SWHAT IS THE CAUSE? ~ ' i. ; '. ■ ' .-.Several",cases .of cattle chewing 'tones, pieces of (lrniri pipe, etc., have occurred •ofjlttte,' and it is. interesting, to ,turu to the official summing-up. of the reasons for this depraved appetite. The technical term for tho condition is "pica," which, according to the Live Stock and Meat Division ,o£ the Department of Agriculturo, is often scon in cattle, ' They will chew bones,'old leather, and all manner of things. They will.often be seen licking ; at clay banks,: old stumps, and also the clothes of their attendants. In manycase's if they can get at them they will chew and. swallow linen and cotton goods liiing in drying-grounds. Often thisunnatural craving appears to be purely and simply a habit, the animal apparently being ih good - health. may, however,' le-ad, to■ serious, consequeiices: thus, :'if . bones and suchlike. are swallowed -they may lie in the first stomach for a long time, setting up a condition of chronic indigestion. If a cow will swallow one ar-ticle-like this; she will swallow others, 'and you never/can,.tell what sort of- a collection she has,in her.-rumen.- Again, clothes often,have pins or needles left in them', and, if swallowed, being sharppointed, may -make their _ way to the heart and set up pericarditis, which, invariably leads to the death of the animal. The cauSe of this unnatnral craving is not well understood,'but it may be put down to a want of something, necessary'to the'animal; economy: which sho is endeavouring to' supply' herself with. It is often seen in cows in the - later stages of pregnancy. ' Here' the extra' drain put upon the animal in..order to furnish salts, etc., for..the nourishment, of .the foetus may\be. tho cause. "Whilo it is usually only seen in ' one. or two cows in - a herd, it may affect the whole lot of them, or even the whole of, th« cattlo in a district. On the Continent of Europe and in 'America whole areas, are 'subject to the condition appearing in the -animals grazing on them. Here the cause "of the condition is put down to deficiency of lime and phosphates in.-the soil, not only in those soils naturaUy wanting in these, but:also where they have been exhausted bv repeated cropping and v;here ho compensation has- been returned to . the land 'in'the form of manure. <Light-sandy and peaty organicsoils are thoso upon which cattle are mostly affected.. In-treating animals see that fch-o gracing'.pastures are kept free from such rarticles' as the cows 1 ! are likely to pick, up, and, if necessary, a top-dressing of such an artificial manure as basic slag should be applied to them. Individual cows should have a .mild purgative to begin'withi A drench composed of 12oz. of Epsom salts, with lor. each of powdered' ginger 'and; gentian, may be given in 1 a quart of'thin oatmeal, gruel. The animals, if at grass, should be given, some extra food; and bran, which contains a' good percentage of phosphoric acid, is one of the best and cheapest. It may bo given, ill a daily.meal with catchtiff; every other day !or so-ipixing loz. of bicarbonate of soda with the meal. It would naturally, be thought, seeing tlie animals are usually so fond of che\ving bones, that bouemeal would .be a good thing to give them. Experience, however, shows that it does little good.