22 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



Percussion is sometimes practiced with the aid of a special per- 

 cussion hammer and an object to strike upon known as a plexime- 

 ter. A percussion hammer is made of rubber or has a rubber tip, 

 so that when the pleximeter, which is placed against the side of the 

 animal, is struck the impact will not be accompanied by a noise. 

 A percussion hammer and pleximeter can be purchased from any 

 veterinary instrument maker. 



ADMINISTKATIOJST OF MEDICINES. 



Medicines may be administered to cattle in many ways. The 

 channel and method of administration depend on whether a general 

 or local effect is desired, the condition of the animal, and the nature 

 of the medicine that is to be given. It is the easiest method, and 

 therefore customary, to give ordinary remedies by the mouth, either 

 with the food, or with drink, or separately. There are, however, 

 some conditions in which medicines administered in this way will 

 not act promptly enough, or wherein a desired effect of the medicine 

 on a distant part of the body is wholly lacking, unless it is applied 

 in some other way. 



The various methods of administering medicines to cattle will 

 be considered below. 



By the Mouth. The simplest way to give medicines by the 

 mouth is to mix them with the food or water. This can be done 

 when the medicine is in the form of a powder or fluid, if but a 

 small quantity is to foe given, if it does not have a taste that is dis- 

 agreeable to the animal and is not so irritant as to injure the lining 

 membranes of the mouth and throat. 



The usual method of administering bulky or unpalatable doses 

 is to mix them with a fluid vehicle, such as water, milk, molasses, 

 or beer, and give from a bottle. A dose given in this way is known 

 as a drench. In administering a drench the head of the animal 

 should be elevated a little by an assistant. This is best accomplished 

 when standing on the left side of the cow's head, by grasping the 

 nose with the thumb and fingers of the right hand inserted in the 

 nostrils ; then with the left hand 'beneath the chin the head is fur- 

 ther raised and supported. If the animal is unruly, it may be tied 

 in a stall or placed in a stanchion. The medicine can now be poured 

 into the mouth by inserting the neck of the bottle between the lips 

 on the right side. Care must be taken to avoid getting the bottle 

 beween the back teeth. The mouth of the bottle should be inserted 

 as far as the middle of the tongue and the contents poured slowly. 

 If the cow coughs, the head must at once be lowered to permit the 

 fluid to escape from the larynx. If one persists in giving medicine 

 during coughing, some of the dose may pass down the windpipe 

 to the lungs and cause a severe or a fatal pneumonia. This accident 

 is especially to be guarded against when the throat is partly par- 

 alyzed or insensitive, as in parturient paresis (milk fever). In this 

 disease it has often happened that drenches have been poured into 

 the lungs, thus killing the cow. 



