222 The Care of Animals 



The animal, may suffer no pain, however, and little 

 inconvenience from this. It is surprising to see how 

 quickly animals suffering from fracture will learn to 

 protect the injured part, and will get up and lie down 

 with little difficulty, or will hobble about at pasture. 

 Horses recovering from fractures should not be put 

 to w^ork for three months. 



When a bone has not been set and the part has 

 been subject to movement, the ends of the broken 

 bones sometimes heal over, and the condition known 

 as "false joint" occurs. The animal is usually severely 

 lame and of little use w^hen afflicted in this w^ay, as it is 

 practically incurable. If possible, the animal should 

 be fattened for slaughter. 



Broken bones in the legs of chickens can be set by 

 incasing the bone in a splint made by using narrow 

 strips of cotton cloth covered with glue, applied as a 

 plaster -cast is to a larger animal. 



When a fracture occurs close to a joint the inflam- 

 mation may extend to the joint, and, in the healing 

 process, the bones of the joint become firmly welded 

 together, or "anchylosed." 



The bones most commonly broken in animals are 

 those of the legs, jaws, face and hips. It is impossible 

 to put splints on broken thigh bones of large animals, 

 because the bone is so deeply covered with muscle. 

 It is usually a waste of time and a source of expense 

 to try to treat a fracture that has "gathered" and is 

 discharging pus. This condition generally indicates 

 that there are some loose pieces of bone that must be 

 removed. 



