Care of the Parturient Animal 553 



naturall}^ fight in self-defense. It is verj' common in the mare, 

 and in man}- cases it is more or less dangerous to approach her 

 when she is giving her first attention to a new-born foal. Not 

 only maj' she trample the foal, but may bite, strike or kick an}- 

 person who approaches her. A mare resented strongly the 

 actions of an attendant, who had placed his arms about her 

 foal in order to move it from one enclosure to another. In 

 an effort to defend the foal she kicked so vigorously at the 

 attendant that, striking instead the head of the foal, she killed 

 it instantly in the attendant's arms. It is consequently discreet, 

 when one wishes to handle a new-born foal, to have a second 

 part}' present to control the mare and thus avoid accident, until 

 her attitude has been fully determined. We note a similar de- 

 gree of danger in approaching cows with new-born calves, espe- 

 cially those which have been allowed to run at large during most 

 of their lives and have acquired a rather strong sense of self- 

 defense. The danger of approaching a bitch with new-born 

 puppies is very well known and should alwa\-s be recognized. 

 The sow habitually and vigorously defends her young and some- 

 times imperils the life or limb of any attendant who may injudi- 

 cioush- approach her. 



In some instances the mother fails to show any maternal affec- 

 tion for her young, will repel it, not allow it to suck, nor take 

 any care of it, and may instead destroy it because of its attempts 

 to approach her. In such instances some writers suggest various 

 expedients to induce the mother to permit the young to suckle 

 or to cause her to care for it, but as a rule these eflforts are not 

 highly successful if the repulsion is well marked and strong. 

 In some cases it may be that attendants can quiet the mother, 

 and, by carefully bringing the young animal in contact with her 

 for a time, overcome her repulsion. Frequently such refusal of 

 the mother to own and care for her young is referable to interfer- 

 ence and annoyance by attendants. 



Muciparous animals sometimes give birth to more young than 

 the mother has teats, in which case the supernumerary ones usu- 

 ally perish. In the sow and other multiparious animals each 

 young has its own particular teat, to which it regularly goes at 

 feeding time. The sternal teats of the sow are generally better 

 developed and supply more milk, and the most vigorous young 

 usually take to these teats and crowd the weaker ones to those 



