Congenital Infections of Calves 68 1 



direct or indirect contact occur. The proper growing of 

 calves demands an adequately isolated stall for each until it 

 has reached a time when its freedom from disease is definite- 

 ly assured. Each establishment should be provided, as a 

 necessary part of its equipment, with a sufficient number of 

 perfectly isolated stalls to accomodate all anticipated calves 

 until at least ninety days old, and longer if appearances in- 

 dicate danger, or if it is economically practicable. Most 

 calf nurseries violate every rule of hygiene in construction, 

 arrangement, and equipment. They usually fall into two 

 groups. In many instances the available funds are used in 

 the construction of an expensive, often extravagant, dairy 

 stable and the young calves are forced into some decaying 

 structure unfit for the occupancy of any animal. At the 

 other extreme, there have been erected recently by very 

 wealthy breeders extravagant nurseries which in their plans 

 are equally in conflict with the fundamentals of hygiene es- 

 pecially because the stall partitions are of open work, so that 

 from a hygienic standpoint there is no isolation of calves. 

 The calves may lick each other through the partition, diar- 

 rheic feces may be ejected into the next stall, and sputum 

 from a pneumonic calf thrown into it. A yet more unsani- 

 tary practice is the placing of two or more young calves in a 

 common stall. When some of these become ill, sputum and 

 feces soil the bedding, floor, feeding utensils, the exterior of 

 the calves, the food, stalls, and fixtures. The calves lick and 

 suck each other and transfer from one to the other any 

 infections present. Frequently an infected calf will suck 

 the navel of another and infect it. The infected navel will 

 be sucked and later the calf which is sucking will move to 

 the udder and suck it, transferring the infection to the teats. 

 The infection passes up the teat canal causing a small ab- 

 scess, and when the heifer is grown and calves, one or more 

 quarters of the udder are blocked and the animal is of low 

 value. 



The simplest type of nursery to conform to hygienic prin- 

 ciples is one with two rows of stalls, one row against each 

 side with a broad aisle between. The stalls for the youngest 



