164 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



The bull, no matter how vigorous or how ardent his sexual in- 

 stinct, can not be made to pay any attention to a cow which is not 

 in heat; hence indications of pregnancy can be had from both the 

 male and female side. When she has conceived, the cow usually be- 

 comes more quiet and docile, and lays on flesh and fat more rapidly, 

 especially during the first four months of gestation. The stimulus 

 to digestion and nutrition created by the demands of the growing 

 fetus, added to the quieter and more uneventful life, contributes to 

 this result. Some feeders avail of this disposition to prepare heifers 

 and cows speedily for the butcher. 



The enlargement of the abdomen, and its droppings so that it 

 bulges below and to each side, while it falls in at the flank, between 

 the outer angle of the hip bone and the last rib, are significant fea- 

 tures which, though they may be caused by abdominal tumor or 

 dropsy, are usually marks of pregnancy. From the same increas- 

 ing weight of the abdomen the spine in the region of the loins 

 sinks so that the bones of the croup seem to rise, especially back 

 toward the root of the tail. In the early stages of pregnancy the 

 udder develops slowly, and toward its completion quite rapidly. 

 For a long time there is merely a sense of greater fullness when 

 handled ; the wrinkles in the skin become shallower and are effaced, 

 and the teats are materially enlarged. Beginning a few weeks after 

 conception, this tends to a steady development, though slight alter- 

 ations in the sense of successive growth and shrinkage are not un- 

 common. In milking cows this does not hold, as the milk usually 

 tends to a steady diminution and the udder shrinks slowly until 

 near the completion of the period, when it undergoes its sudden 

 remarkable development, and yields at first a serous liquid and then 

 the yellow colostrum, which coagulates when heated. As pregnancy 

 advances the mucous membrane lining the vulva becomes swollen 

 and of a darker bluish red hue, and the mucous secretion increases, 

 becoming very abundant just before calving. When the feeding 

 has not been altered or restricted, a steady diminution of the salts 

 of lime excreted in the urine is an attendant on pregnancy, the 

 lime being demanded for the growing body of the fetus. 



After the fifth month the movements of the calf may often be 

 observed in the right flank, nearly in front of the stifle, when the 

 cow is drinking cold water. The sensation of cold on the side of 

 the first stomach, which lies to the left and directly below the womb 

 stimulates the calf to active movements, which are detected on the 

 sudden jerking outward of the abdominal wall as if from blows de- 

 livered from within. In a loose pendent abdomen in the latter 

 months of gestation the skin may often be seen pushed out at a 

 sharp angle, irrespective of the period of drinking. 



Another mode of examination through the flank is by touch. 

 The palm of the hand is pressed strongly inward, about 8 inches 

 in front of the stifle and a little below, several times in succession, 

 and is then brought to rest with the pressure maintained. Pres- 

 ently there are felt distinct and characteristic movements of the 

 fetus, which has been disturbed and roused to action. Another 



