COMMON DISEASES OF SWINE 305 



SCOURS. 



Dr. Alexander (Wisconsin Bulletin 184) writes as follows: 

 " When young nursing pigs begin to scour, it is evident that 

 the milk of the, sow is disagreeing with them, and immediate 

 attention, therefore, should be directed towards improving her 

 ration. Most often the trouble comes from overfeeding on corn, 

 or other rich feed, just after farrowing, and pigs of fat, flabby, 

 pampered, cross, nervous, constipated sows are most apt to 

 suffer. Sudden changes of feed, or feeding sour or decom- 

 posing slop, or feed from dirty troughs or sour swill-barrels, 

 also tend to cause diarrhoaa either in nursing pigs or those that 

 have been weaned, and all such causes should be prevented or 

 removed. 



" To correct scouring in nursing pigs, give the sow 15 to 

 20 grains sulphate of iron (copperas) in her slop night and 

 morning, and if necessary slightly increase the dose until 

 effective. Lime water may, with advantage, be freely mixed 

 with the slop as a preventive when there is a tendency to 

 derangement, or after the trouble has been checked, and it is 

 also an excellent corrective for weaned pigs showing a tend- 

 ency to scour on slop or skim-milk. Where little pigs are 

 scouring severely, each may with advantage be given a raw 

 egg and 5 to 10 grains of subnitrate of bismuth twice daily, in 

 addition to changing the feed of the sow and mixing copperas 

 in her slop. In cases which do not promptly respond to treat- 

 ment, success may follow the administration of a dose of castor 

 oil shaken up in milk. ' In all cases it is important to set right 

 all errors in diet and sanitation, and to provide the pigs with 

 dry, sunny, well-ventilated quarters. The derangement is 

 always most apt to occur, and sure to prove disastrous, among 

 pigs kept in unsanitary conditions." 

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