Common Diseases of Farm AnimalsCraig, Robert Alexander
Science
Common Diseases of Farm Animals
Craig, Robert Alexander
Veterinary medicine
SYMPTOMS OF BOT-FLY DISEASES.--The larvae of the bot-fly of the horse do
not cause characteristic symptoms of disease. Work horses that are groomed
daily are not hosts for a large number of "bots," but young and old horses
that are kept in a pasture or lot and seldom groomed may become unthrifty
and "pot bellied," or show symptoms of indigestion.
Cattle suffer much pain from the development of the larva of the _H.
lineata_. During the spring of the year, the pain resulting from the
presence of the larvae beneath the skin and the penetration of the skin is
manifested by excitement and running about. Besides the loss in milk and
beef production, there is a heavy yearly loss from the damage to hides.
The parasitic life of the bot-fly of sheep results in a severe catarrhal
inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the sinuses of the head, and a
discharge of a heavy, pus-like material from the nostrils. The irritation
produced by the larvae may be so serious at times as to result in nervous
symptoms and death.
TREATMENT OF BOT-FLY DISEASES.--The treatment of the different bot-fly
diseases is largely preventive. This consists in either the destruction of
the eggs or the larvae.
The different methods of destroying the eggs of the bot-fly of the horse
are clipping the hair from the part, scraping off the eggs with a sharp
knife, or destroying them by washing the part infested with eggs with a two
or three per cent water solution of carbolic acid. This should be practised
every two weeks during the period when the female deposits the eggs.
Housing the cattle, or applying water solutions of certain preparations to
the skin that may keep the female from depositing eggs, may be practised
for the prevention of the ox-warble. The most practical method of ridding
cattle of this pest is to destroy the larvae. This can be done by examining
each animal and locating the swelling or warble and injecting a few drops
of kerosene into the opening in the skin. A better method is to enlarge the
opening in the skin with a sharp knife, squeeze out the grub and destroy
it. This should be practised in late winter and early spring.
The application of pine tar to the nostrils of sheep is the most practical
method of preventing "grub in the head." This should be practised every few
days during the summer months. A very good preventive measure is plenty of
shade for the flock. Valuable animals may be treated by trephining into the
head sinus and removing the "grub."
LICE.--The sucking lice belong to the genus _Hoematopinus_, and the biting
lice of mammals belong to the genus _Trichodectes_. Different species of
sucking and biting lice occur on the different species of farm animals.
Poultry act as hosts for many different species of biting lice belonging to
the following genuses: _Lipiurus, Goniodes, Goniocotes_ and _Menopon_.
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