Congenital Infections of Calves 67 1 



should be introduced ten to twenty inches. If a suitable 

 vessel is held beneath the anus, the meconium, as it is ex- 

 pelled with the enema, may be caught and the bedding not 

 contaminated. It is well to repeat the enema twice daily 

 for two days at least. 



In all herds where infections of calves are common, and 

 in those calves in comparatively healthy herds in which the 

 dam has retained fetal membranes or other type of metritis, 

 calf scours serum should be administered liberally as soon as 

 the calf is born. I believe it would be even better in pure- 

 bred calves of high value to make the administration of calf 

 scours serum a universal rule. According to observation, 

 depending upon the probable degree of infection present, it 

 is well to give at the time of birth 20 to 40 mils of the serum, 

 and if the calf appears well and the temperature remains 

 below 102 degrees F., to give 10 to 20 mils each twelve hours 

 until four doses have been given. Clinical observations ap- 

 pear to indicate that such handling not only prevents in a 

 large measure the development of dysentery, pneumonia, 

 and arthritis, but also invigorates the calf, guards it against 

 less evident types of the same infections, and is an impor- 

 tant element in laying a secure foundation for sexual sound- 

 ness when the calf reaches breeding age. 



Food should be completely withheld until the calf is twen- 

 ty-four hours old, because during this interval most of the 

 bacteria present in the alimentary tract may be removed by 

 the enemas and the calf may acquire some degree of resist- 

 ance to the bacteria remaining. There is an old fallacy that 

 a calf needs a feed of milk immediately after birth, and 

 most writers on animal husbandry and veterinary obstetrics 

 so advise, but it should be clearly understood that, up to the 

 moment of the severance of the navel cord, the young ani- 

 mal has been richly fed and its blood is well charged with 

 reserve nutritive material ample for twenty-four hours and 

 enough to sustain life for several days. A healthy calf from 

 an equally healthy mother is not born in a starving condi- 

 tion, nor even hungry. It is quite true that it knows no 

 better than to eat and if given an opportunity, will almost 



