Management of Calving, 323 



EETAIITED AFTERBIRTH. 



A variety of causes may lead to the retention of the after- 

 birth. Sometimes it is firmly adherent to the walls of the 

 womb ; at others it is owing to hurried delivery, poverty of 

 condition, etc. Should it be left, it is liable to putrefy, caus- 

 ing a fetid discharge which exhausts and poisons the animal, 

 and vitiates the air of the whole barn. 



A retention for a few days in the 3ow does no harm under 

 ordinary circumstances. But if it is protracted longer than 

 that the hand should be introduced, and the afterbirth sepa- 

 rated carefully from the w^alls of the uterus, by a process of 

 peeling it off, and gradual but firm pulling. When it has 

 been removed, a solution of chloride of lime, an ounce to the 

 quart of water, should be thoroughly syringed into the 

 vagina ; a moderate purge of salts should be given ; and if 

 there is a tendency to bleed a full dose of ergot, two ounces 

 of the powder may be administered. 



ETTERSION OF THE WOMB. 



This serious accident occasionally occurs when there is 

 excessive and persistent straining. The womb, or "calf- 

 bag,^' as it is called by the cow-leech, follows the calf, and 

 hangs forth from the birth-place in the form of a large red 

 or violet-colored bag. Sometimes the accident is not dis- 

 covered for an hour or two, when the womb w ill be found 

 dirty, thick, purple-colored, and gorged with blood. 



The treatment is to clean the bag thoroughly, by free 

 drenching with warm water ; and if it is swollen and gorged 

 with blood, it must be punctured in a number of places with 

 a sharp-pointed knife, just deep enough to bring about a dis- 

 charge of the overloaded veins. When sufficient blood has 

 been lost, the bleeding should be stayed by cold water, and 

 two assistants should place a cloth underneath the bag and 



