550 DISEASES OF SWINE 



trough in order to eat indigestible substances, such as earth, dried 

 ifeces, sand, wood, etc. The animals are also frequently quite 

 nervous, irritable, and quarrelsome, and may attack each other. 

 As a result the members of the herd frequently kill one of their 

 own number and eat the carcass. 



Owing to loss of appetite for wholesome food the animals 

 begin to lose flesh, and become thin, weak, and unthrifty in appear- 

 ance. It is a very common occurrence for sows suffering from this 

 condition to eat their young pigs. 



Treatment. — Prevention is the main thing in this disease. 

 Use judgment in selecting the food supply for the herd, and give a 

 properly balanced ration which will not be deficient in any of the 

 elements necessary for proper growth and development of the body. 



When the condition is present the principal thing in treatment 

 is to determine the underlying disease which is the cause of the 

 depraved appetite and treat this disease. It will usually be found 

 that attention to the stomach and bowels, with a proper change 

 in diet, will accomplish the desired results. 



Feeding of charcoal, wood-ashes, salt, and like substances will 

 i temporarily supply the body wants and aid in hastening a return 

 to normal. 



Sows that have developed the habit of kilhng and eating their 

 pigs are unprofitable from a breeding standpoint, and should be 

 fattened and sent to market. 



It should not be overlooked that depraved appetite in a herd 

 is a danger signal that the digestive tract is out of order, and it 

 must be remembered that this leaves the herd open to an attack 

 of cholera. The animals should be carefully watched, and at the 

 first signs of approach of danger the serum or serum-simultaneous 

 method of treatment should be given. Depraved appetite in 

 itself is not dangerous, but it is a warning of a far greater danger 

 that must not be neglected. 



ACUTE GASTRITIS (INFLAMMATION OF STOMACH, CATARRH 

 OF STOMACH, OR ACUTE INDIGESTION) 



Definition. — Acute gastritis is an acute inflammation of the 

 , stomach due to some form of irritation, as by improper food or 

 from the action of chemical poisons. 



