Parturition 201 



the fetus in the womb, coininooly called the "water 

 bags," pass out through the vagina, followed by the 

 young animal; and, last of all, the remaining mem- 

 brane, or "after-birth," is expelled. 



Animals about to give birth to young should be 

 placed in dry, comfortable quarters, with a moderate 

 quantity of fine litter for bedding. If too much bedding 

 is supplied the animal may paw it into a bunch and in 

 lying down or rolling, as it frequently does, may become 

 "cast," — that is, get into a position from which it is 

 unable to rise without assistance. Or, if the young are 

 small, the mother may lie upon them or injure them if 

 they are covered by much bedding. Sows, in farrowing, 

 often lie upon the pigs and kill or injure them, espe- 

 cially w^hen the pigs are crowded against a wall. To 

 prevent this, a piece of plank two inches high may be 

 spiked to the floor, two or three inches from the wall ; 

 or short pieces of board about a foot long may be nailed 

 to the floor and wall, the bottom of the board being 

 placed three or four inches from the wall. These pieces 

 should be nailed about eighteen inches apart. After 

 the animal is made comfortable in quarters where she 

 is not liable to injure either herself or her young, she 

 should be undisturbed, but a close watch should be 

 kept to see that labor is proceeding normally, and that 

 everything is going as it should. 



Labor -pains are muscular efforts of the mother to 

 expel the fetus. The muscular walls of the uterus, or 

 womb, contract at the time the animal strains, and 

 thus the fetus is gradually forced out through the 

 vagina. At first the labor -pains are slight and infre- 



