HEALTH OF STOCK.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4782, 28 November 1924, Page 4

HEALTH OF STOCK.

SOME OF TILE TROUBLES. At a meeting o£ district committeemen of the N.Z. Coroperative Dairy Company at Hamilton Mr R. Alexander, stock inspector of the Department of Agriculture, addressed the gathering, by invitation, cm some of the prevalent troubles of dairy cow.;. The troubles in cows’ udders were due to many causes, said Mr Alexander, and many ofl these causes were the farmer’s own fault. A common cause of trouble was that the cows caihe out of the shed and dropped in the deep mud of a neglected yard. The mud clung to the udder, and if there was the least scratch or sore an udder trouble .was at once set up, exaggerated if there were germa, and there generally were, in the mui. And this mud adhering to the udder was a frequent cause of mammitis. Another reason for udder trouble was changing the cows on to fresh and rougher pastures, which probably set up digestive troubles. Sometimes a cold night with the cows having no shelter would cause udder trouble. The co.ws lying in a wet pljace or, where there was no shade, the strong sun shining on the udder were othei causes. When a cow came in wrong it was well to give a mild drenca, because the cause was generally stomach derangement. It was not as well understood as it should be that cows were very liable to i: .digestion, and this indigestion was at the root of many of their troubles. The cow's diet should be (studied much more carefully than it was at the present time ; in fact, some farmers ignored it altogether. A good thing to apply to the udder where this was hard and inflamed was a mixture given to him by an old Scotch farmer. This was: lib of clean rendered mutton tallow, % pint castor oil,, 4 or soz. of kerosene, and 2oz of boracic acid. The kerosene and castor oil should be mixed togethei and boracic acid then added to this mixture. The tallow should be brought to very near boiling point, and into this the mixture should be gradually poured, stirring well all the time until cool. This mixture wais also good for greasy heels or sore shoulders of horses, as well as for warts on cows’ teats. When applying the mixture it should be rubbed in very thoroughly in the case of udder troubles, where massaging is a most important matter. No one could' say whether mammitfe was the contagious or the ordinary form unless a sample of the matter from the affected quarter was taken and a bacteriological examination made. This could be done by forwarding the sample to the Veterinary Laboratory at Walljiceville or to the Department of Agriculture at Hamilton. The sample should be put in a thoroughly clean bottle, which should have been previously boiled, as well as the cork to be used. There was no really definite cure for contagious . abortion. So far as washing cows ottt he (Mr Allexander) considered that if the cows were all right they should not be washed oUv at ay. There was altogether too much washing out. of cows. He advised farmers that when things were light they should leave well alone. If there was abortion, then it was desirable to wash out the cows with any mild disinfectant, and wash them out every few days. That was all that could be done. The cause of abortion, Mr Alexander frankly stated, was not known .to him.

Vaginitis, said Mr Alexander, had been noticed to have been more common among heifens this season than among cows, but why he could not say. Farmers having this trouble in their herds should obtain a pamphlet written on the subject issued by the department. Copies of this could be secured free of charge from the Hamilton office.

In speaking of speying Mr Alexander said this was the only right and proper way of getting rid of the cull cows. But he thought the Testing Association should not aim at too high a minimum standard. The operation was a simple one, but should be done by an experienced man. The cows only required to be put in the ordinary milking-shed bail and sometimes did not even require to be legroped. The milk yield was affected very'little. If the cows were put on a bare paddock the day before the operation would have hardly any effect on them. This also applied in the case of dehorning.