70 NON SPECIFIC OR GENERAL DISEASES 



Direct treatment to tlie diseased parts should be practiced, as 

 irrigating the maternal passage leading to the womb is of no 

 use. The treatment usually practiced is manipulation of the 

 ovaries by introducing the hand into the rectum and pressing 

 on them through its wall and retracting the uterus, dilating the 

 OS and irrigating the lOrgan with a disinfecting solution. 



Fat animals should be subject to a rigid diet and given 

 plenty of exercise. In treating weak or debilitated animals the 

 cause should lirst be removed. A heavy grain ration should be 

 fed for the purpose of stimulating the sexual desire in the 

 cases mentioned. 



Signs of Pregnancy. — The signs which characterize preg- 

 nancy are numerous and varied. For convenience we may 

 classify the many signs of pregnancy under two heads, probable 

 and positive. Under the head of probable signs, we may group 

 tiie following symptoms of pregnancy: cessation of heat; 

 changes in the animal's disposition; increase in the volume of 

 the abdomen and tendency to put on fat. The positive signs 

 are the change in the volume of the udder; the secretion of 

 milk ; the movement of the foetus and presence of the foetus in 

 the womb, as determined by rectal examination or by the feel 

 of the al)domen. 



The probable signs are not reliable, and should be considered 

 only in connection with some positive sign. Persons who base 

 their opinion of the condition of an animal that is supposed to 

 be pregiumt on probable signs, are frequently mistaken. It has 

 frequently ha])pened that animals whose condition was not at all 

 certain have given ])irth to young, without giving rise to what 

 may be termed characteristic probable; signs. 



The earliest probable symptom is the cessation of heat. In 

 the large pregnant animals, irregnlar heat periods may occur, 

 but in the majority of cases we may safely consider the animal 

 impregnated if several heat periods are passed over. 



It has been generally observed that the disposition of the 

 pregnant animal is changed. They become more quiet and less 



