206 The Care of Animals 



rupture the membranes in which it may be enveloped 

 when it is born ; thus it is likely to suffocate if an 

 attendant is not at hand. 



The young animal should be made comfortable 

 and left with the mother, unless there is danger 

 of its being injured. Sows sometimes eat their 

 young pigs. In such cases the pigs should be 

 taken away for a short time, and the sow well fed. 

 The pigs, before returning to the mother, may be 

 rubbed with some disagreeable substance, such as a 

 weak solution of aloes; sometimes a piece of raw 

 onion rubbed over the little pigs will answer the same 

 purpose. When there is an abnormal discharge from 

 the vagina following parturition, the uterus should 

 be washed out with warm water, and a weak solution 

 of carbolic acid, one part carbolic acid to forty parts 

 of water, or a solution of creolin, one part to one 

 hundred parts of water. This may be used daily. 



REMOVING THE PLACENTA 



In nearl}^ all animals, with the exception of the 

 cow, the placenta, or after -birth, comes away when 

 the young animal is born. In the cow, it frequently 

 remains attached to the walls of the uterus. When 

 it is not removed, it decomposes and is discharged 

 as a yellow or reddish fluid, having an extremely 

 offensive odor. The discharge is most apparent 

 when the cow is lying down or when she endeavors to 

 pass urine. The tail and parts about the vulva are 

 soiled by the fluid, which often contaijis lumps of 



