IMPERFORA TION OF THE ANUS, 



759 



If the constipation persists, purgatives may be administered. These 

 may be castor-oil, manna, sulphate of soda, aloes, etc. Frequent enemas 

 will aid the" action of the purgatives. 



Sometimes constipation is due to giving too rich food, and, in artificial 

 rearing, to an excessive allowance of meal or flour. The treatment is the 

 same. 



CHAPTER XI. 



Skin Dryness of the New-born Animal. 



Obich {Wochenschrift fur Thierheilkimde, 1869, p. 10/) is, to my knowl- 

 edge, the only writer who has alluded to this peculiar condition of the foal 

 at birth. He says : " In the case of some primiparous Mares, a fatal ac- 

 cident often happens to their progeny. When parturition takes place 

 without any one being present, the young creature, on being expelled 

 from the mother, continues lying away from her until its skin is dry. The 

 consequence is that the Mare does not care for it, does not lick or attend 

 to it, and opposes all attempts to compel her to suckle it. For some days 

 constraint is necessary, and much trouble and danger may be incurred 

 before she .is accustomed to it. This may be averted if the new-born 

 creature is rubbed over with the 'after-birth' (placental membranes). 

 The instinct of the Mare impels her then to lick and fondle heroffspringj 

 and to take to it kindly and in a natural manner." 



CHAPTER XII. 

 Imperforation of the Anus. 



Imperforation of the anus is not a very rare occurrence in new-born an- 

 imals, and this vicious conformation has been observed in foals, calves, 

 pigs, and lambs. The latter appear to furnish the largest number of 

 cases. This condition is, of course, very serious unless surgical aid is 

 quickly afforded, and even then the young creature cannot always be saved. 



The meconium cannot be evacuated, nor yet the residue of the milk the 

 animal may have ingested after birth ; whence results an accumulation of 

 irritating matters in the intestines, which give rise to inflammation, and 

 this quickly causes death. 



This occlusion or imperforation may exist in various degrees. There 

 maybe merely a membrane covering and occluding the anal opening; 

 the borders of the anus may be adherent to a greater or less extent ; the 

 rectum may be more or less absent or incomplete ; or it may open into 

 the genito-urinary passages instead of at the anus. 



Symptoms. 



When no faeces can be expelled, usually towards the second or third 

 day after birth, uneasiness and symptoms of acute colic are manifested ; 

 the animal does not suck, the abdomen becomes distended, expulsive ef- 

 forts and pawing are observed, yet nothing is passed. The animal shows 

 signs of great pain and misery, and if help is not afforded it dies in agony. 



