HYGIENE OF PREGNANT ANIMALS. 



155 



L 



observed in buildings in which animals are kept, ought to be rigorously 

 enforced with regard to those in which pregnant creatures are lodged. 

 Cleanliness is, above all things, necessary to be observed. Near foaling 

 time — three weeks or a month — the Mares should be kept apart in a 

 roomy loose-box, and when convenient, within sight of the other horses 

 with which it has been accustomed to associate. The Cow is usually al- 

 lowed to remain in its ordinary stall in the cow-shed ; but overcrowding 

 and want of space should not be allowed, and every Cow, towards the 

 end of gestation, ought to have plenty of room in its stall, if a separate 

 stall cannot be allotted. Stables, sheds, and loose-boxes should have 

 wide doors, to prevent injury to the females. With stalls, the floor 

 should slope very little indeed, from before to behind ; as if the inclina- 

 tion is at all marked, the weight of the gravid uterus is thrown back- 

 wards, and this may lead to abortion, prolapsus of the vagina, and even 

 eversion of the uterus. The cow-shed ought to be kept very clean and 

 free from bad smells, and have plenty of fresh air. The stalls should 

 have plenty of litter, so as to prevent the Cows soiling themselves. 

 Should a case of abortion occur in a stable or shed, among pregnant 

 Cows, the one which has aborted ought to be removed at once, and the 

 place it occupied thoroughly cleansed and disinfected, every trace of the 

 accident being most scrupulously obliterated. 



Cows which afford indications of approaching abortion, ought also to 

 be removed from the vicinity of other pregnant animals, and kept apart 

 from them so long ai there is any vaginal discharge ; the same precau- 

 tions which must be adopted with regard to thorough disinfection and 

 cleansing, are likewise necessary here. It is not advisable to have Cows 

 bring forth among others, whose period of gestation has not arrived. 



The cleanliness of the animals themselves is not to be overlooked ; as 

 neglect of grooming and freeing the skin from dirt, must operate per- 

 niciously not only on the mother, but on the foetus. ^ 



Mental and physical tranquillity are essential conditions of successful 

 gestation. Harsh or cruel treatment on the part of grooms, cow-keepers, 

 shepherds, and others, should be sternly suppressed ; and fear, generally 

 produced by young dogs hunting the animals, and particularly pregnant 

 Sheep, is especially to be averted, if possible. It is not wise having 

 animals of other species in the same field or pasture with those which are 

 pregnant, more especially towards the period of parturition. 



With an irritable or timid primipara of the larger animals, it is well to 

 be gentle, and to accustom it to manipulation, particularly about the ud- 

 der, in order that it may the more readily allow its progeny to approach 

 it without danger. 



Surgical operations, and medication in general, should be proscribed 

 as hurtful during this state, unless they are urgently needed for the cure 

 of disease. Above all, it is necessary to guard against the use of drastic 

 purgatives, or even laxatives, for the relief of constipation which may 

 not exist ; as with some animals these agents, by increasing the peris- 

 taltic action of the bowels, indirectly excite contraction of the uterus. If 

 there is constipation, suitable diet is a safer remedy than purgatives. 

 Powerful narcotic, sedative, and other medicinal agents, if they do not 

 injure the mother, may imperil the life of the fcetus. 



We have no sufficiently trustworthy facts to prove that female animals 

 are amenable to those mental influences which, in the human species, 

 and known as " maternal impressions," have such a marked effect on the 

 development or characteristics of the foetus. 



