CAUSE.—Sheep that are overdriven are subject to Lung Congestion in acute
or chronic form and sometimes Pulmonary Apoplexy, and especially when in
a plethoric condition are predisposed to inflammation of the lungs. The
exciting cause is very much the same as in different diseases of the air
passage and it is not uncommon for the inflammation to extend from these
parts of the lungs. However, there are a number of causes in addition to
those already mentioned. It frequently results when sheep are accustomed
to warm, comfortable quarters and are changed to cold, drafty pens, or
shipping some distance in open stock cars during cold weather. In fact,
any sudden chilling of the body is a common cause of lung disorders.
Giving fat sheep too much exercise when they are not accustomed to it is
a very frequent cause of Congestion and Inflammation of the Lungs. This
may occur when they are chased by dogs, etc., or when driven to a distant
market at too rapid a gait. Exercise during the hot summer months is
apt to cause congestion of the lung substance, as well as heat stroke.
Dipping sheep during cold weather may chill the body and result in this
disease.
SYMPTOMS.—If due to severe exercise, the animal appears greatly exhausted
and the Congestion of the Lungs is marked. Death may occur at this stage
of the disease. Inflammation of the Lungs usually begins with a chill and
is followed by a high fever. The sheep stand most of the time and may eat
nothing, or very little. The breathing is hurried at first, but when the
lungs become badly involved, it is also labored. The character of the
pulse beat varies, depending on the extent of the inflammation and the
stage of the disease. In most cases the pulse is full and quick during
the early stages of the disease. A very weak pulse is present in severe
and fatal cases of Pneumonia. The visible mucous membranes have a red
colored appearance and there may be a slight discharge from the nostrils.
The expression of the face is anxious and distressed in severe cases and
rigors and chilling of the body occur. The respiratory sounds are more or
less normal. The cough at first is deep and dry; later it becomes loose
and moist. It may be accompanied by a hemorrhage during this stage of the
disease. Other respiratory sounds are revealed by placing the ear to the
side of the chest walls and listening to the sound of the lungs. This
cannot be practiced in long wooled sheep with satisfaction, as the chest
walls are so thick that the lung sounds are deadened, or the noise made
by the animal hides the respiratory murmurs in the very early stages of
Inflammation of the Lungs. A crepitating or crackling sound can be heard
in the diseased parts and louder sounds than normal in the healthy areas.
Later when the engorgement of the lung substance occurs and the air
cells become filled with an inflammatory serum, the respiratory sounds
are deadened, but on returning to the normal, a rattling sound occurs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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