Milk Fever 125 



born. Cases have been known to develop immediately before calving, 

 and several weeks after calving, however such cases are rare. Milk 

 fever is never seen in heifers and is rarely seen in aged daws. Cows 

 having a large digestive capacity and three to seven, years old and re- 

 ceiving an abundance of food are the ones most often attacked. Quick 

 and easy birth of the calf are favorable to the development of milk 

 fever. 



Milk fever is more likely to, occur in a warm stable or in the sum- 

 mer time especially after an electrical storm. One attack of milk fever 

 does not make a cow immune to following attacks. The exact cause of 

 milk iexex is net known. Some believe the disease is due to a poison de- 

 veloped in the udder by bacteria. Some believe the symptoms are due 

 to poison developing in the uterus. 



SYMPTOMS 

 Milk fever is a very easy disease to distinguish, since there is no 

 similar disease foTIio,wing ea^y calving.- Occasion.'^lly it majy require 

 th»ee or four days for the. symptoms to fully develop, but the symptoms 

 usually fully develop within 30 hours. The cow shows unmistakeable 

 signs of paralysis, particularly in the organs of locomotion, bowels and kid- 

 nevs. That is, the cow reels, staggers and may even fall to the ground. 

 Passages ^do not come from the bowels or kidneys, and the cow bloats. 

 The head is swung around to the side or stretched out flat on the ground. 

 In some cases, a sticky discharge comes from the nostrils. TIhe eyes 

 are dull and bluiired. The animal ihay become entirely insensible. The 

 cow persists in keeping the head turned around to the side when she is 

 down. Colicky pains and nervousness are often evidenced. 



TREATMENT 



To reduce the feed prior to, and for a few days after calving in 

 heavy milkers aids in preventing the disease. CaKing in cool places 

 mav aid in the prevention of milk fever. 



The treatment for milk fevc^r consists in keeping the udder tightly 

 inflated with sterile air till recovery takes place. Milk fever outfits con- 

 sisting of an air pump rubb'rr tube and teat tube and may be bought of 

 veterinarv supplv houses or mail order houses. For such an ,outfit to be 

 safe to u?e, it should have a place for sulrgical cotton in it. That is, air 

 c^.ntains bacteria and these must be filtered out or reduced in number by 

 pumping the air that goes into the quarters of the udd^r through sterile 



