The Veterinarian

C >> Chas. J. Korinek >> The Veterinarian

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WOLF IN THE TAIL

This condition is imaginary, although the muscles of the tail relax or
soften, especially those of its extremity, due to ill health;
consequently the condition of the cow should be treated, and not the
tail.

TREATMENT: Remove the cause. Perhaps the animal has indigestion, or a
cold, etc. Determine the malady by careful examination and treat the
disease under its special heading.

It has been a custom among the so-called cow doctors to split the tail
with a sharp knife, then fill the wound with salt and pepper and bandage
with a cloth. This is a fallacy, and should not be tolerated.

DISEASES OF SWINE

Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

[Illustration: Photograph of pig with numbers referring to
the parts named below.]

Location of Parts of Swine
1. Mouth
2. Nostrils
3. Face
4. Eyes
5. Ears
6. Jaws
7. Jowl
8. Neck
9. Shoulder
10. Fore flanks
11. Chest Floor
12. Pasterns
13. Dew Claw
14. Sheath
15. Belly
16. Side or ribs
17. Heart girth
19. Loin
20. Rump
21. Coupling
22. Rear flanks
23. Tail
24. Thighs
25. Hocks

CHAPTER III

HOG REGULATOR AND TONIC

Nux Vomica, one pound; Hardwood Charcoal, two pounds; Sulphur, two
pounds; Common Salt, three pounds; Sulphide of Antimony, one and
one-half pounds; Glauber Salts, two pounds; Bicarbonate of Soda, four
pounds; Hyposulphite of Soda, four pounds; Nitrate of Potash, one pound;
Quassia, one-half pound; Gentian Root, one pound; Iron Sulphate, one
pound; pulverize and mix well.

To everyone hundred pounds of hog weight, give one tablespoonful in feed
or swill once or twice daily. For hogs weighing two hundred pounds, the
dose would be two tablespoonfuls; for a hog weighing fifty pounds,
one-half tablespoonful.

Hogs, like other animals, require tonics, bowel regulators and worm
expellers. For these purposes, I have prescribed under a number of the
diseases of hogs, which I cover in this chapter, the above general tonic
and regulator which I have used in my personal practice with marked
success, especially serving the purpose of aiding hogs in their
convalescence from debilitating diseases and in their recovery from a
general run-down condition.

Aside from its general tonic and regulative effect, this prescription
contains nerve tonics, intestinal antiseptics, laxatives, worm
expellers, and aids digestion, etc.

If regularly given to hogs, and sanitary conditions are maintained, this
tonic and regulator will largely fortify them against contagious
diseases.

ABORTION

CAUSE: Sows may abort at any state of pregnancy by slipping, falling,
receiving kicks, or by being caught while crawling through or under
fences. Sows may also abort when allowed to crawl into quarters where
there are other hogs. Contagious diseases, such as Cholera and
Pleuropneumonia also produce abortion. There is also a contagious form
of abortion in sows, but this is very uncommon, as the disease spreads
very slowly.

SYMPTOMS: There is no warning given, as a rule; the sows expel their
pigs before any signs of abortion are noticed.

In other cases the sows refuse to eat, become uneasy, shivering and
trembling of the muscles, and straining or labor pains are noticed. As a
rule, when a sow aborts, she will not prepare a bed, as she would
normally.

TREATMENT: Preventive is the only safe and sure treatment, although when
the first sign of abortion appears, and there are no signs of the
membranes coming away, remove the sow to quiet, warm, clean quarters by
herself, and if straining, give one dram of Chloral-Hydrate in her
drinking water every two or three hours.

When a sow aborts, burn the pigs and afterbirth, and disinfect the pens
with a Coal Tar disinfectant. Keep this up for several days, and do not
breed until all discharges from the vagina have ceased flowing.

ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINE TO HOGS

To administer medicine to hogs may seem easy, but, nevertheless, it is a
difficult task. Never lay a hog on his back to drench him, as in so
doing there is great danger of strangling. The proper method is to stand
or set him on end, holding him up by the ears, and by the use of a
bottle with a piece of hose drawn over its neck, give the medicine very
slowly, so as not to allow a large quantity to accumulate in the mouth
or throat at one time. There is always danger of some of the liquid
escaping into the lungs and causing the hog to strangle, and thus it may
produce pneumonia. However, this is the best method of giving hogs
medicine by force.

Hogs will generally take medicine in their feed or drinking water,
unless they are very sick, or the medicine is extremely disagreeable to
the taste.

BAG INFLAMMATION

CAUSE: Injuries, obstructed teats, accumulation of milk in the sow's bag
after the loss of part of or all of her litter. Difficult birth, slight
wounds in the bag permit invasion of germs, which is frequently the
common cause of bag inflammation.

SYMPTOMS: Heat, pain and swelling in one or more teats. The general body
temperature is elevated one or two degrees above normal. The sow perhaps
refuses her feed, although she will drink water in large quantities.

TREATMENT: Feed soft, sloppy food and vegetables. Give Epsom Salts, two
to four ounces, in milk or feed. It is also well to milk the sow by
hand, relieving her of the milk three or four times a day. This is very
necessary. Camphorated Oil is very soothing, and I would recommend its
use freely only over affected teats.

BLACK TOOTH

CAUSE: Black Tooth, so called in swine, is principally due to injuries
to the teeth received by chewing hard matter, such as bone, etc., which
causes them to decay.

SYMPTOMS: Toothache. Toothache in swine is similar to that exhibited by
man, in showing loss of appetite, salivation, or slobbering, hanging the
head mostly to the side which is affected, loss of fear of man, and
offensive breath. If the hogs are fed on strongly acid food for any
length of time, their teeth may become dark colored. As the teeth are
not materially injured; so long as decayed tooth substance cannot be
noticed, and while the appetite and chewing facilities of the hog do not
appear to be diminished, no interference will be necessary.

It is customary with some people to examine the teeth of hogs, and if
one tooth is found darker colored than the others, it is supposed to be
the cause of the hog not doing well, if he is in a poor condition, and
the tooth is hammered off flush with the jaw, leaving the broken roots,
lacerated gums and nerves to increase the hog's suffering. If the hog
recovers, it is often concluded that this was a case of Black Tooth.

My advice is, if you are determined to have the tooth out, extract it
properly. Do not break it off. When your hogs are not thriving, give
them the regulator and tonic prescribed on the first page of this
chapter.

BLOOD POISONING

(Pyemia Septicemia)

CAUSE: Due to the toxic substance produced by germs that invade wounds,
bruises, abscesses, or womb following farrowing, if lacerated.

SYMPTOMS: The seat of injury becomes swollen, pus may adhere to the
hair, temperature elevated, appetite poor, hog moves about very slowly,
becomes separated from the rest of the drove, lies around in some cool,
quiet place, eventually becomes very weak and poor and dies, if good
attention is not given.

TREATMENT: Separate from the other hogs and remove to a clean,
comfortable place and wash the seat of injury with some good
disinfectant, as a five per cent Carbolic Acid solution. In case of
abscess, open it low so as to assure good drainage. Keep clean, cool
water before your hogs at all times. Give mashes made from wheat bran
and hot water, or any good, substantial food that is easily digested
containing regulator and tonic prescribed on the first page of this
chapter.

BRONCHITIS

CAUSE: Lung worms, poorly ventilated sleeping quarters, sleeping in
straw stacks, in manure heaps, overheated, filthy pens, where the
animals inhale irritating gases given off the bodies of other hogs, and
from filth. Smoke and dust are very common producers of bronchitis.

SYMPTOMS: Breathing fast, appetite poor, slight rise in temperature and
coughing. The hog is dull and stupid, refuses food, but drinks water
frequently.

TREATMENT: Preventive; avoid the above named causes, but when hogs
become affected, move them to clean, well ventilated quarters, avoiding
dust and gases, disinfect bedding and floors with some good
disinfectant, as Crude Carbolic Acid, sprayed. Also give large doses of
the hog regulator and tonic, as prescribed on the first page of this
chapter. Feed vegetables, or any easily digested food, and hot wheat
bran mashes.

In case the disease is due to lung worms, confine the animals in a
closed shed and permit them to inhale the steam from Turpentine and
water for a few minutes, by placing water and Turpentine in a tin
receptacle holding about two gallons, and inserting heated bricks or
stones into the solution.

CASTRATION

This is generally understood by every stockraiser, yet there are some
points many do not know. For instance, you should use in this operation
an antiseptic solution, as Carbolic Acid or Bichloride of Mercury. Wash
thoroughly with antiseptic yours hands and knife, also the seat of
operation and make your incision as low as possible to permit the pus to
drain out nicely. If this is not practiced, the pus will become absorbed
into the blood, producing blood poison, which may produce death, or at
the best will cause the hog to become stunted, whereas, if the operation
is performed properly, the hog will thrive, regardless of the shock from
the operation. I may add that it is much better to castrate pigs or hogs
when their stomach and intestines are empty, and it is always good
practice to feed laxative and easily digested foods sparingly after this
operation.

CHOKING

CAUSE: Vegetables, such as potatoes, etc., roots, as carrots, turnips
and sometimes pieces of bone or glass, lodge in the gullet. Paralysis of
the muscular fibres of the gullet is a very common cause of choking in
swine.

SYMPTOMS: The hog is unable to swallow, producing frothing at the mouth
and, if the obstruction cannot be dislodged, death occurs in a very
short time. Sometimes the obstruction in the gullet may be felt from the
outside with the hand.

TREATMENT: The administration of small doses of Raw Linseed or Olive
Oil, or Lard, will assist in dislodging the obstruction. Also careful
manipulation of the gullet from the outside with the hand assists in
either forcing it into the stomach or bringing it out through hog's
mouth. If vomiting can be produced, it will dislodge the obstruction. If
immediate results are not obtained from the above treatments, I would
recommend butchering the hog for meat immediately.

COLD IN THE HEAD

(Nasal Catarrh)

CAUSE: Exposure to cold; a very common condition in cold, wet weather
when hogs are allowed to sleep in manure heaps, straw stacks, or pile up
together, when they become overheated and later chill. Nasal Catarrh may
also be due to inhaling dust or irritating gases.

SYMPTOMS: The animal is stupid and feverish, coughing and sneezing
frequently; appetite is poor, eyes watery and inflamed; a discharge of
mucus from the nose will terminate in yellow pus and the nose, if
examined, is found to be inflamed and ulcerated.

TREATMENT: The best and safest treatment is to provide clean sleeping
quarters, avoid overcrowding in dusty, dirty sheds, especially during
cold weather. Pigs affected with cold in the head should be fed on
laxative food, such as boiled carrots, potatoes, apples, hot wheat bran
mashes and steamed rolled oats.

MEDICAL TREATMENT: Confine the affected hogs to a shed, close windows
and doors and any large cracks; then compel them to inhale steam from
the following mixture: Turpentine, eight ounces; Pine Tar, one pint;
Water, two gallons. Place in tin receptacle in center of shed and heat
the above solution by adding hot bricks or stones to the mixture
occasionally. Compel the hogs to inhale this steam for at least thirty
minutes twice a day. Give Chlorate of Potash in twenty grain doses three
times a day in feed or drinking water. This treatment is very successful
if the inflammation has not extended to the lungs.

DIARRHOEA IN YOUNG PIGS

(Scours)

CAUSE: Decomposed foods, slops, etc., fed to the mothers, causing them
to give toxic milk. Poorly ventilated, filthy, cold and damp pens,
insufficient exercise, lack of sunlight, raising pigs by hand or with
other sow.

SYMPTOMS: Frequent movement of the bowels, the passage being of a
grayish-white color and the odor very disagreeable. At this stage of
the disease, reliable remedies must be given or the pig will die very
soon.

The discharge from the bowels becomes very thin, the tail and legs
become soiled, loss of appetite, the pigs become weak and dull, hair
rough and it is difficult for them to move about. In very young pigs,
treatment is of little value.

TREATMENT: As Scours in pigs is a disease frequently caused by faulty
food and insanitary surroundings, a preventive treatment is of great
importance, and much better results are thus obtained than by the use of
medical agents. Medical treatment consists in first cleaning away the
irritant present in the bowels. For this purpose give one to two
tablespoonfuls of Castor Oil. At the time of farrowing all sows should
receive a light diet and be kept in clean, dry quarters. The pigs should
be allowed pure air, sunshine and exercise. If the sow appears hot and
feverish, give one to three ounces of Castor Oil in milk or swill. Avoid
feeding decomposed, moldy food, or sour milk. To check the diarrhoea in
pigs, use the following after the irritant is removed or cleaned out as
above stated: Zinc Sulphocarbolates, thirty grains; Protan, two ounces;
Pulv. Gentian Root, two ounces. Make into sixty capsules or powders and
give one, three or four times a day. The sow should receive a dose about
eight times the size of that of the pigs.

[Illustration: Photograph of three pigs.]
CHESTER WHITES.
Owned by C. A. Slepieka, Tobias, Nebr.

HOG CHOLERA

CAUSE: By the Bacillus Sius; contaminated food, stagnant water, filth,
etc., all have a tendency to aid its progress. I have seen farms,
although located in sections where Cholera was prevalent, not in the
least troubled with the malady, perhaps due to careful feeding of clean
foods, care in watering, cleanliness about the pens and sheds and
disinfecting occasionally, but no doubt a better explanation is that
those hogs received tonics, containing worm expellers, at least four
times a year. Many a case of supposed Hog Cholera is due to worms
irritating and producing inflammation of the intestines, followed by
diarrhoea. A person not familiar with the disease calls this "hog
cholera." In other cases, hogs which are fed swills from restaurants,
hotels, etc., containing soap, washing powders, small particles of
glass, etc., will die with symptoms leading a person to think they had
Hog Cholera, but if a thorough investigation is made the true cause of
death can easily be discovered.

SYMPTOMS: In true Hog Cholera, the temperature will be elevated two to
four degrees above normal. There will be a loss of appetite, vomiting,
diarrhoea, although there may be constipation when the hog is first
affected. The hog wanders off by itself to some cool, quiet place and
lies down. When it walks it will stagger and show great stiffness in its
hind parts, due to soreness of the intestines. The hair will have a
roughened appearance, the back arched, the eyes inflamed and discharging
pus, red blotches will show themselves back of the ears, inside the legs
and on the abdomen. At this stage the diarrhoea is watery, dark and
tinged with blood, and very offensive in odor, breath is very fast and
labored. The hog grows very weak and dies.

TREATMENT: Prevention must always be borne in mind. Do not feed filthy
food. Always feed good, wholesome food, and give clean water to drink.
Watch the condition of hog's bowels and regulate them by feeding. Burn
manure and bedding and disinfect carefully. Do not permit your hogs to
drink out of running streams of water, especially if Hog Cholera is in
your neighborhood. When buying hogs, it is well to keep them off by
themselves for two or three weeks, as they may be diseased. Do not
permit neighbors, their stock or dogs on your premises when Hog Cholera
is raging, as the infection of Hog Cholera can be spread very rapidly by
matter from the affected hogs adhering to the shoes of man, to the feet
of stock and dogs, etc.

I am positive that if this method were properly practiced by all hog
raisers and feeders, Hog Cholera would be a very rare disease.

SERUM TREATMENT: This is successful in some cases, and in others
unsuccessful. The latter perhaps is due to poor serums, or the disease
being so far advanced in its progress that the hogs are beyond recovery.
Serum treatment is very expensive and, as it requires a strictly septic
operation of injecting the serum, the average hog raiser or grower is
not qualified to administer the treatment properly. An additional and
necessary expense is the services of a Veterinary Surgeon. Therefore, I
strongly urge adoption of preventive measures as stated. Use some good
disinfectant, such as Crude Carbolic Acid, which destroys the Bacillus
of Hog Cholera. Also administer hog regulator and tonic as prescribed on
first page of this chapter. This will expel worms, tone the system,
regulate the bowels and fortify your hogs against Hog Cholera.

INDIGESTION

CAUSE: Worms are perhaps one of the most common causes. Unwholesome,
irritating food or swill containing soap or washing powder have a
tendency to derange the process of digestion.

SYMPTOMS: Abdominal pain, vomiting, back arched, breathing rapid and
temperature elevated from two to three degrees. There may be diarrhoea
or the animal may be constipated. Vomiting, as a rule, relieves acute
attacks by expelling the irritant from the bowels. When it takes a
chronic form, the hogs become stunted.

TREATMENT: Endeavor to find out the cause and remove it. If constipated,
give Calomel, fifteen to twenty grains, or, if diarrhoea appears, give
hog regulator and tonic as prescribed on first page of this chapter.
Feed with hot wheat bran mashes. This will expel all worms and aid
digestion.

JAUNDICE

(Yellows)

CAUSE: Liver flukes, intestinal worms, gall stones, lack of exercise,
overfeeding, or a stoppage of the bile duct.

SYMPTOMS: The white portions of the eyes take on a yellow color, as do
the membranes of the mouth, back arched, hair looks rough, vomiting,
temperature elevated, constipation, although diarrhoea is sometimes
noticed. The urine is passed frequently, and is of a dark amber color.

TREATMENT: This disease requires careful feeding and plenty of exercise.
Give Calomel, ten to twenty grains, then follow with large doses of
regulator and tonic as prescribed on first page of this chapter. It is
important in this disease, especially if due to worms. Feed clean swill
and vegetables. Give hogs all the pure water they will drink.

KIDNEY CONGESTION

CAUSE: Hogs are subject to various injuries about the kidneys, due to a
large number of hogs piling up, exposure to cold, wet rains, etc.

SYMPTOMS: Small quantities of dark colored urine are passed frequently,
appetite poor, no energy to move about. Hogs lie around a great deal; at
times they may be paralyzed and drag their hind quarters.

TREATMENT: Apply cloths or blankets wrung out of hot water over the
loin; also give Potassium Acetate in twenty grain doses four or five
times a day in drinking water. Feed soft, sloppy food, containing
regulator and tonic as prescribed on the first page of this chapter. It
contains nerve stimulants, just what is required in paralysis.

[Illustration: Photograph of pig.]
GRAND CHAMPION DUROC BOAR.
Economy Stock Farm, Shenandoah, Iowa.

KIDNEY WORM

CAUSE: Damp, filthy surroundings seem to favor the growth of embryos of
this worm. They are taken into the digestive canal with the food and
eventually pass to the region of the kidneys, where they find conditions
favorable in which to multiply.

SYMPTOMS: May produce paralysis of the hind quarters, in which case the
animal would not exhibit such marked tenderness on being pressed over
the loins with the fingers as it would if the weakness of the hind
quarters was due to a sprain or to rheumatism of the loins. Occasionally
hogs may suffer from the presence of one or more worms in the kidneys;
but the ailment is rarely fatal, becoming so only after a long time of
suffering resulting in a degeneration of one or both kidneys. It is
almost impossible to diagnose the presence of worms in the kidneys of
hogs, except by chance through a microscopic examination of the urine.
If worms are found in the kidneys of a hog that has died or been
slaughtered for food it may then be reasonably supposed that other hogs
of the same herd not acting normal are infected with worms of the same
species.

TREATMENT: Teaspoonful doses of Turpentine in milk three times a week is
the only treatment I could recommend. Preventive measures is the only
practical method of treating a disease of this nature. Give your hogs
pure water and food. Disinfect pens occasionally and keep them clean.

LICE ON HOGS

Dip, spray or scrub your hogs with some good Coal Tar disinfectant, but
whatever remedy is used it should be applied more than once which, of
course, causes considerable work where there is a large number of hogs
infested, unless dipped, which is more quickly done. The reason for
repeated applications being necessary is that although the lice which
hogs pick up from the ground, bedding and rubbing places, may be killed
by first application, it often does not affect the nits, which remain
intact and hatch within a week or ten days. A new crop of Lice appears
on the hog from this source. Remove all manure and bedding from pens and
sheds and burn it. Disinfect floors and spray sides of shed, pens and
rubbing places with disinfectants, one part to seventy-two parts of
water, once a month and you will be handsomely repaid for your labor.

LUNG FEVER

(Inflammation of the Lungs)

CAUSE: Sudden changes, exposure to storms, piling up of hogs during cold
nights, or sleeping in manure heaps, old straw stacks, etc.

SYMPTOMS: Pig or hog is taken with shivering spells, is stupid, his back
is arched, loss of appetite, temperature elevated two to four degrees
above normal, short hurried breathing, generally accompanied with cough,
which is deep and hoarse. As a rule the hog is constipated.

TREATMENT: Place in good, clean, warm, well ventilated quarters, free
from drafts. Keep water before them at all times, adding Saltpeter, one
teaspoonful to every gallon of water. If constipated, do not give
physics; give injections of soap and warm water; also administer about
one-half teaspoonful of Pine Tar on the tongue with a wooden paddle.
This adheres to the tongue and gradually dissolves and gives excellent
results, as it is very soothing to the organs of breathing. During the
convalescent stage, give hog regulator and tonic as prescribed on first
page of this chapter.

LUNG WORMS

CAUSE: By threadlike worms varying in length from one-half to one and
one-half inches and of a brownish-white color. They are found in the
windpipe and tubes leading into the lungs. The adult worms in the lungs
produce large quantities of eggs, which are coughed up with mucus and
become scattered over premises where other hogs are permitted to walk.
The hogs inhale the dust containing the eggs into their lungs, where the
eggs find moisture sufficient for their development.

SYMPTOMS: Severe coughing spells. Large quantities of mucus will escape
from the nose and mouth. The hog becomes stunted, although he may eat
fairly well, but if not relieved, the worms collect in the Bronchi and
produce sudden death due to suffocation. The worms may set up an
inflammation of the lining membranes of the lungs, which is sometimes
taken for Swine Plague, or Cholera. This disease is not uncommon,
especially in old, filthy, poorly drained hog houses and pastures.

TREATMENT: Confine the affected hogs to a shed; close the windows and
doors and any large cracks, then compel the hogs to inhale steam from
the following mixture: Turpentine, eight ounces; Pine Tar, one pint;
Water, two gallons. Place in tin receptacle in center of the shed and
heat the above solution by adding hot bricks or stones to the mixture
occasionally. Compel them to inhale this steam for at least thirty
minutes twice a day. Feed wholesome food to which add hog tonic as
prescribed on first page of this chapter. A strong, vigorous hog may
have worms, but it retains its vitality so long as it is well fed.

MANGE

CAUSE: By the Sarcoptes Scabei. This parasite burrows under the outer
surface of the skin.

SYMPTOMS: The parasite usually manifests itself on the skin under the
armpits, thighs and inside of the fore legs. At first small red blotches
or pimples appear, and these gradually spread as the parasites multiply
and burrow under the skin.

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