PICA 47 



There are practically no other symptoms beside the 

 depraved appetite. 



The cow seems to have a craving for roughness, 

 such as pieces of leather, rags, crockery, mortar, pieces 

 of wood, metal, dirt, and so forth. She picks these 

 objects up and apparently has a relish for them, 

 frequently ignoring good feed for the sake of chewing 

 up and swallowing an old shoe. She does this not 

 only occasionally and casually, as all cows do nor- 

 mally, but ravenously and persistently and contin- 

 ually. In very aggravated cases the animal's coat 

 lacks gloss, and constipation may be present. If not 

 properly treated, some cases of pica persist indefi- 

 nitely, the cow gets poor in condition and may de- 

 velop a variety of conditions. In other instances, pica 

 is a very transient condition, which disappears in a 

 few days after it begins to attract attention. 



The treatment of this affection begins with an in- 

 vestigation of the ration fed. The condition can usually 

 be promptly terminated with the inauguration of 

 measures assuring a properly balanced ration. 



In other instances, free access to an unlimited sup- 

 ply of salt is all that is necessary. 



In cases which occur under good feeding conditions 

 and in which salt treatment fails to correct the trou- 

 ble, the cow is given a saline purgative. AVhen the 

 purgative has acted, two or three drams of resublimed 

 iodin is given in a capsule. Nothing further is re- 

 quired as a rule. After a prolonged siege of pica it is 

 always a good plan to examine the cow's mouth for 

 injuries, lacerations or ulcerations, and varying de- 

 grees of stomatitis. The prehension, mastication and 

 deglutition of the various objects which the cow 

 chooses to select not infrequently produce injuries in 

 the mouth which later prevent the eating of regular feeds. 



