Common Diseases of Farm AnimalsCraig, Robert Alexander
Science
Common Diseases of Farm Animals
Craig, Robert Alexander
Veterinary medicine
_The ration fed_ and the method of feeding are not only important in
considering the causes of diseases of the digestive tract, but diseases of
other organs as well. The feeding of an excessive, or insufficient quantity
of feed, or a ration that is too concentrated, bulky and innutritious, poor
in quality, or spoiled may produce disease.
_An impure water supply_ is a common cause of disease. A deep well that is
closed in properly and does not permit of contamination from filth, does
not insure a clean water supply if the trough or tank is not kept clean.
_Farm Buildings_.--If stockmen would make a more careful study of the kind
of farm buildings most suitable to their needs, the selection of the
location, the proportions, the arrangement of the interior and the lighting
and ventilation, there would be a great saving in losses from disease, and
the cost of building in many cases would be lessened. Your neighbor's
building that you have taken for your model may not be suitable for your
needs. It may be more expensive than your financial condition permits. It
may be poorly lighted and ventilated and not suited to the site that you
have selected.
_Biological Products_.--There are a number of biological products that may
be used in the prevention and control of disease. Some of these products,
such as tuberculin and malein, enable the owner to rid his herds of
tubercular cows and glandered horses before these diseases have become far
enough advanced to be recognized by the visible symptoms alone. Black leg,
anthrax and hog-cholera vaccines are valuable agents in the control of
disease. In the treatment of fistula and infectious abortion, bacterins may
be used. There are many other germ diseases and infections for which
vaccines and bacterins may be used. However, we must not depend wholly on
these agents in the control of disease. We must possess a knowledge of the
manner in which the infection is spread, for without this knowledge we
would be unable to prevent its dissemination over a wide area.
Medicinal Treatment.--The average stockman or veterinarian is more familiar
with the treatment of disease with drugs than he is with the preventive
measures just described. This statement does not imply that a knowledge of
medicinal therapeutics is not of the greatest importance in the treatment
of disease. The ultimate object of all drugs is both to prevent and cure
disease, but the injudicious use of a drug does neither. A discussion of
this subject cannot be entered into here, and because of its largeness it
is not advisable to discuss it further than a brief summary of the methods
of administering drugs.
Administration of Drugs.--Drugs may be administered by the following
channels: by way of the mouth, in the feed or as a drench; by injecting
into the tissues beneath the skin or hypodermically; by rubbing into the
skin; by the air passages and the lungs; and by injecting into the rectum.
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