One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered Part 70

Apply the following: Honey, 2 ounces; yellow wax, 4 ounces; tar, 2 ounces; olive oil, 8 ounces. Melt, mix and apply once daily.

Stiff Joints.

I have a horse that was bruised on the ankle about two years ago. This is now producing an enlargement of the bone and stiffness of the joint.

Apply the following liniment: Sulphuric ether, 1 ounce; tinct. iodine, 1 ounce; pulv. camphor, 1 ounce; alcohol, ounces; turpentine, 2 ounces; oil of cedar, 2 ounces.

Treatment for Nail Puncture.

Our horse got a nail in his foot. It was a wire nail, rusty, entering about one inch from the point of the frog, and just puncturing far enough to reach a sensitive part of the hoof. It occurred six days ago; the nail was pulled at once, the hoof cut open, and thoroughly cleaned with turpentine (the first thing we could get), then later filled with iodine. Since then I have kept on a flaxseed poultice.

The treatment with turpentine and iodine was proper and should prove a success. If the foot becomes tender and inflamed, it will be because all dirt was not removed from the wound, and the poultice should be taken off, all foreign matter removed from the wound, and the treatment repeated. In case of similar accidents, other disinfectants could be used in place of turpentine or iodine.

Pregnancy of Mare.

Is there any way to tell when a mare is in foal? I have had a veterinarian and he could not tell me.

There is no very good way to tell whether a mare is in foal for some time. Practically speaking, the safest way to do is to have her bred every time she comes in heat until she takes the stallion no longer.

Even then some mares will come in heat a couple of times after getting in foal. If the s.e.xual excitement speedily subsides and the mare persistently refuses the stallion for a month, she is probably pregnant, though not surely so. Also if a vicious mare becomes gentle after service it is an excellent indication of pregnancy; likewise pregnant mares will very often put on fat rapidly after conception and will be unable and unwilling to do as hard work as before. Enlargement of the abdomen, especially in its lower third, with slight falling in beneath the loins and hollowness of the back are significant symptoms, though they may be entirely absent. Swelling and firmness of the udder, with the smoothing out of its wrinkles, is a suggestive sign, even though it appears only at intervals during gestation. A steady increase of weight (1 1/4 pounds daily) about the fourth or fifth month is a useful indication of pregnancy. The further along the mare is in gestation the more p.r.o.nounced the symptoms become. In the early stages it is naturally much more difficult to detect, especially with the great differences in different mares. Cessation of heat and changes of disposition are about the best signs in early stages.

Diseased Uterus of Mare.

I have a brood mare that has given me two fine colts, but for the last two years I have not been able to get her with foal. She takes service and then refuses service for three or four months, and about the time I come to the conclusion that she is safe with foal she will pa.s.s off great quant.i.ties of mattery substance. I have had her thoroughly washed out with Lysol previous to breeding, but so far she has repeated this performance each time about three or four months after service.

This is a disease of the ovaries or uterus; perhaps mumification of a foetus. Irrigate with a normal salt solution (teaspoon salt to each pint of warm water) only daily. Insert the solution through the neck of the womb into the uterus. Give internally 1/2 ounce daily of Fowler's Solution of a.r.s.enic.

Deep-Seated Abscess.

I have a mule which has a swelling on the throat about where the throatlatch touches. It just seems to be swollen hard and not sore. I am using caustic liniment to fester it so it will come to a head and I can open it, but the liniment does not seem to do much good. The mule is losing flesh and does not eat much.

This mule should be operated upon at once by a qualified veterinarian.

The application of liniments or blisters are useless; the knife only will effect a cure. The fact that the mule is losing flesh makes the case serious.

Cure for c.o.c.ked Ankles.

I have a 4-year-old mare that has c.o.c.ked ankles, and would like to know what treatment to give her.

c.o.c.ked ankles are due to an inflammation of the tendons back of the ankle and a drawing up or contraction in consequence. Put on heel calks one inch, no toe, to rest and relieve the back tendons from strain.

Apply the following liniment at night, after which put on cold-water swabs and let them remain all night: Soap liniment, 8 ounces; tincture iodine, 2 ounces; oil cedar, 4 ounces; sulphuric ether, 2 ounces. Mix and apply once daily.

Dehorning.

Which is the best way to dehorn cows and calves?

The best time to dehorn cows is in the spring, before the fly season starts. It is best not to have a cow too far along in calf before dehorning, as she is very apt to lose her calf. It is also better to dehorn before your cows freshen, because when cows are milking and are dehorned they will go back in their milk a great deal for the first month after the dehorning has taken place. Calves can be dehorned by blistering the little b.u.t.tons before they adhere to the skull. This is very simple and not painful. First clip the hair about the horns and wet the little loose b.u.t.ton and apply caustic potash, in stick form, by rubbing it on the damp horn. Remember, this must be done before the horn adheres to the skull. Also remember not to use water enough to run the lye away from the b.u.t.ton and rub until the skin reddens. Also, look out to keep your end of the potash stick dry or you may dehorn the tips of your fingers.

Paralysis During Pregnancy.

I have a cow that will freshen in a few days. About six days ago she seemed weak in her hind legs and on going downhill would drag or stumble for 10 or 12 feet, then catch herself and go on rather wobbly.

Pregnant animals about to bring forth their young sometimes show a paralysis or loss of power in their hind parts due to pressure of foetus. Nature corrects this after birth.

b.l.o.o.d.y Milk.

What can be done to stop b.l.o.o.d.y milk?

Milk each teat in a separate gla.s.s jar, let stand to ascertain which teat the red specks are coming from, then milk the teats clean and inject the infected teat with equal parts of hydrogen dioxide and water.

After a few hours inject 4 drachms of ferric chloride in 1 ounce of water. Then milk clean.

To Cleanse Cows.