DISEASES IN CATTLE.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 129, 22 April 1926, Page 6

DISEASES IN CATTLE.

VETERINARY DEMONSTRATION. Lecture at Matamata. Under the auspices of the Matamala Jersey Breeders’ Club, which every year arranges an educational day on some phase of dairy cattle farming, a very able and instructive lecture was given at Mr. R. Madiil’s slaughterhouse and 1 farm on Hinuera road, on Saturday, by Mr. C. V. Dayus, M.R.C.V.S., Government Veterinary Surgeon, who was assisted by" Mr. H. Cleland, Government Stock Inspector. Two diseased cattle of different breeds were lectured upon, both! before and after slaughtering, and the symptoms, causes, and to some extent the treatment were explained to a very large gathering of farmers of the district, and also pupils of the Matamata Junior High School, who were paraded in charge of Captain A. J. Cross. STERILITY. Mr. Dayus first flwelt upon the very 1 common trouble of sterility. The coming back again and again to the bull of cows was a source of worry and loss to many farmers in the Waikato, and what he would tell them under this head was the result of investigations by many authorities in several countries, over a term of years. The trouble was so common in New Zealand that it was looked upon as a matter of course, and its full seriousness was not full apprehended. Some of the losses incurred were:— (1) The feeding of barren cows. (.2) The deterioration taking place. (3) Missing .the opportunity of breeding from some desirable strain of good butter-fat producers and of proven high-quality ancestry. (4) Reduction of the milk supply. (5) The drain on the male animal through the multiplicity of services during a short period on cows not likely to hold. GO-OPERATION NEEDED. One thing was clear, namely, that the problem could best be solved by the closest co-operation between the scientific investigator and the farmer, It was only within comparatively recent years that >he farmers had kept nu'k and butter-fat records, the value of which were too well-known to dilate upijn. But very few farmers kept any proper breeding records. These would he invaluable in elucidating some of the problems of sterility. One of the greatest difficulties scientists met with was the absence of records of the number and dates of services given to sterile cows. It was also important to have d'ata concerning the behaviour of the dam after parturition; the period between calving and seasoning; how long she held. About these things very few farmers could supply any information. However, some of the reasons he had given provided good arguments against the common but very bad practice of running the bull with the herd, and so wearing the animal out uselessly. SOME CAUSES. Mismanagement, or the unskilled or careless use of instruments and socalled' cures, was also responsible for much loss and continued infertility. In-brecding was another cause of sterility. Breeding from animals that were too young, with the idea of having the smallest carcases to maintain, v/as another source of trouble. All these factors combined to weaken the genital organs and make them nonproductive. MALE USUALLY SOUND. , Very rarely indeed was the male at i fault; it was nearly always to the female that the trouble was traced, though over-work might make the male temporarily unreliable, and the internal economy of the herd was upset. Climatic conditions also had’ to be reckoned with. Farmers had frequently told him that cows not in calf by November often went on to March before becoming pregnant. Moreover, cows suffering from certain complaints might go to the bull at all ' stages during pregnancy, owing to ir- 1 ritation. Abortion was really merely I a symptom, the real trouble being- inflamation of the vaginal canal. Nearly all forms of abortion were contagious. In very few cases was abortion due to ' an accident; although farmers often j said that abortion had .occurred after an accident, such as getting foul of a gate or fence, or after being chased by a dog, the causes were previously j existing and were merely aggravated'

by the accident, the disease being due to inflammation in the first place. Any disease of the mother which led 1 to the separation of the foetal membrane must be followed by abortion. This was known as Bang’s Disease (discovered by Professor Bang, of Denmark, in 1897). It was an organism in the blood. A bull serving a cow having the disease might possibly transmit it to other cows, provided the latter had any wound or abrasion in the vagina, but the disease was mostly spread by ingestion, or the putting of food into the stomach, the uncleanliness being taken up from the field. Expulsion usually occurred within from five to seven months after conception, this estimate being taken from a large number of averages, although a cow might abort within a week of maturity. If the after-birth'that came away with' the caif, instead of being red I and healthy looking, was a nasty, dirty yellow, and the membrane gave the impression of being dropsical, it !was diseased. SO-CALLED CURES.

“ It does not matter what you see in the farmers’ papers about all the quack cures for abortion,” said Mr. Dayus, “ they are no good. I have vaccinated about 2000 cows, and I can tell you that living vaccine is dangerous. It should not be used. You introduce carriers, and those cows are sent all over the country, spreading the disease. Pregnant cows cannot be done either. At Wallacev.dle we are experimenting with dead vaccine. If any tiling comes of it, it would only by way of assistance, and- not a cure. I hope something effective will eventuate, but the question resolves itself into a matter of control. Diseased cows should be isolited; the foetus should be destroyed by burning, and rot by burying, and wherever it drops the paddock shou J be limed, and the shed and utensils also limed occasionally. It is absolutely useless to use i strong solution;. harm is done by strong so’.uti f-s than ever good Is j achieved. Sai-e'/ it must have occurI ivJ to you chac if these so-called cures I were effective there would now be no mere disease among cattle in New Zealand. Permanganate of potassium (Condy’s crystals) is the best thing to use-, in a mild solution. It tas the power of oxidising organic matter. The best strength is one ‘easpoonfui 1 1 one gallon of water, preferably dissowed in the fir-t place in a small quantity of v/aiec. The instruments should be tlie fit mil and hose, and 'he hose should afterwards be held dawn ard the liquid thus syphoned oa* again, this proc-js of irrigation beingrepeated several times instead of allowing the liquid to remain in for any length of time. You keep on irrigation instead of allowing the solution to settle. Do not wash out the internal passage of abortive cows, for such a practice will only extend the trouble. And no aborted cows should be sent to the bull for at least two months. Give the cow a chance to clean up instead of spreading the disease.” r OOLISH GREED. New animals purchased should always be isolated for a time, Mr. Dayus continued. The hull should not be allowed to run with the cows, nor be excessively used. Neither should aborting cows be put in the saleyards as dairy cattle, for by doing so the trouble was spread from farm to farm, from year to year. The natural tendency was for the disease to work itself out in time. A cow might abort for two, or perhaps even three years, but seldom further, hut by selling the animals the disease was kept up for an indefinite period. Also, heifer calves should be kept, as they may have acquired a certain degree of immunity from vaginitis and other diseases. Also, it was wise to have the agglutination blood test made. In-the demonstrations the lecturer showed why it was of no use irrigating a cow after she was in calf, as the solution could not possibly get past the sealed passage to the part where the disease was located. In the cow suffering from tuberculosis it was shown how the pus had collected into a hard ball in the region of the throat; once this ball of matter burst it was ejected, and was liable to prove a source of contagion to other cattle depasturing on the same ground. In the beast suffering from granular vaginitis, the inflammation was very apparent. In answer to a question, Mr. Dayus explained that tire calf of a tubercular cow would not be diseased when born, as it was not fed by the blood stream of the mother, but if it v/as left with its mother and drank her milk, then it would be liable to taka the disease. Asked whether there was any truth in the assertion that a bull which was a twin (a heifer and a bull calf having

been found in one of the cows slaughtered) it would be impotent, Mr. Dayus intimated that such was the belief in our grandmother’s day, but modem experience proved the contrary. Mr. M. Shaw, president of the Jersey Breeders’ Club, thanked the people for their attendance. On account of the generous way the farmers had supported the club in the matter of the recent show prize-money, the club felt it a obligation to run another educational day for the benefit of all interested. Previously the demonstrations had been purely on the dairy cow, but this year it wall thought desirable to have a change. He hoped they had all found the day interesting and informative. (Applause). Mr. Walter McGill moved a hearty vote of thanks to the demonstrator, to

Mr. McGill and his assistant, and to tr.e Jersey Breeders’ Club. The day hj-1 been most valuable and instructive, and he hoped it would be the forerunner of many' other equally educative demonstrations. (Applause.)