CALVING TROUBLES WITH DAIRY COWS.

Shannon News, 28 April 1925, Page 4

CALVING TROUBLES WITH DAIRY COWS.

The months of July and August are the most critical for the average dairy farmer, for the less calving troubles with his cows the better outlook for the season. One of the most common complaints is the retention of the' membranes after the birth of the calf. In the normal case of parturition these should be expelled by the "after pains," or natural strainings which follow. A number o£ so-called "roses" are spread over the placenta, and dovetailed, so to speak, into the uterus. They roughly resemble a full-blown rose with its petals any when ripe for separation these petals let go. It is because they have l not ripened a,t the exact time that [ they retain their hold. They are delicately constructed and full of bloodvessels, and, if forcibly removed, hemorrhage follows. Flooding, or post-purtum haemorrhage, this bleedmo- is known as, and many an animal has been killed by roughly tearing away the placenta prematurely. If separation does not take place naturally, no force should be employed for at leas'. 24 hours, when gentle traction more often than not succeeds in bringing away the mass. The operator,, before exerting any great pull upon the placenta, should reflect on tne .special case he has to deal wtih. If the cow has gone her full time, he | will have less fear of doing damage, but if a premature birth or abortion, his aid must be of a gradual kind, increasing the traction day by day. A decomposing placenta is calculated to give rise to feverish symptoms, and sometimes to actual blood-poisoning, when animals retain them, although ma'ny cows appear to be none the worse for their being so left. Each day that it remains the cow-keeper should lift the cleansing and disinfect that portion in particular upon which he has reposed. Syringing a quart or two of a weak, warm disinfectant after the first two days is free from ,the objection of setting _up labour pains, as it may do if practised immediately after parturition. The attachment of a weight of some sort is a practice of great utility, as well as antiquity. A small bag, can be first soaked in a disinfectant and then filled with sand or small gravel to make it weigh as much as may seem to meet the case. To prevent friction below the vulva or between the thighs, those parts can be lubricated with carbolised vaseline or other simple antisceptic ointment.