CHAPTER XVIII 

 A FEW COMMON AILMENTS OF CATTLE 



249. Garget. — This is a disease of the udder characterized by 

 inflammation and swelling and the production of stringy and some- 

 times bloody milk. It may occur at any time either during the 

 lactation or dry period. One or more* quarters may be affected. 

 Exposure to severe weather, lying with the udder on a cold floor, 

 bruises and overfeeding are the most frequent causes of garget. 

 An infection is probably always present in a gargety udder; thus 

 the trouble may be spread by the hands of the milker and in other 

 ways. 



250. Treatment. — Mild cases of garget if promptly recognized 

 and treated can usually be cured by home measures. A physic such 

 as a pound of epsom salts should be given and the grain ration re- 

 duced by at least one- half. Follow the purgative by a tablespoon 

 of saltpeter each day for three days. It frequently helps to massage 

 the udder with lard, camphorated oil or some similar oil. The cow 

 should be milked regularly and frequently — perhaps as often as 

 every two hours. Catch the milk in a pail and throw it away out- 

 side the barn, rather than let it go on the floor and thus give the 

 infection a chance to spread. We advise against the use of a milk- 

 ing tube because of the danger of further infection. The animal 

 should be kept in warm dry quarters and her ration should be 

 laxative and light. 



If the trouble does not respond to the above treatment in a day 

 or two, a veterinarian should be called. If the disease comes on 

 suddenly and the udder becomes hot and tender and no milk can 

 be drawn from it, it is best to call a veterinarian at once. These 

 severe cases are very likely to result in the loss of a quarter, or 

 perhaps the entire udder, for the rest of the lactation period, or 

 even permanently. 



Good bedding will remove one cause of garget. Thorough 

 washing of the hands after milking a gargety teat is essential to 



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