DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



25 



puric acid, kreatin, kreatinin, combina- 

 tions of sulphuric acid with indol and 

 phenol, coloring matters, aromatic sub- 

 stances and carbon dioxid, nitrogen and 

 oxygen in a gaseous state. Urea and 

 uric acid are the final products of de- 

 composition of nitrogenous substances 

 in the body. Kreatin is largely derived 

 from the animal matter in the food. 

 Many of the constituents of urine are 

 accidentally present and vary according 

 to the nature of the food. Thus various 

 aromatic substances and drugs are ex- 

 creted by the kidneys. An excess of 

 sugar or albumen in the feed may lead 

 to the appearance of these substances in 

 the urine. The amount of urine depends 

 on the quantity of water in the food and 

 drink and on the extent to which water 



perature is regulated by a very com- 

 plex nervous apparatus through the 

 agency of the blood vessels and skin. 

 The regulating apparatus is so delicate 

 that the body temperature does not vary 

 more than one degree in health even in 

 the greatest extremes of external tem- 

 perature. The normal temperature of 

 different farm animals is as follows: 

 in the horse 100 to 101° F. ; in the cow. 

 101 to 102° F. ; in the sheep, 103 to 104 D 

 F. ; in the hog, 102 to 103° F. ; in the dog, 

 101 to 102° F., and in poultry, 105 to 

 106° F. From these figures it appears 

 that the body temperature of farm ani- 

 mals is higher than that of man, which 

 is 98.4° F. 



Milk secretion—The whole group of 

 mammals is characterized by the pos- 



Fig. 16 — MODERN TYPES OF CHEVIOT SHEEP 

 (Champions at the Smithfield, England, Club Fat Stock Show) 



is excreted through the lungs and skin. 

 In cattle, sheep, goats and horses about 

 20 per cent of the water is removed in 

 the urine and 80 per cent through the 

 lungs; in hogs 60 per cent in the urine 

 and 40 per cent through the lungs; and 

 in dogs 85 per cent in the urine and 15 

 per cent through the lungs. 



The sweat also contains water, fats, 

 urea, mineral salts and aromatic sub- 

 stances. The sweat glands are quite 

 highly developed in the horse, while 

 ruminants sweat very little and cats not 

 at all. 



Body temperature— The oxidation or 

 partial combustion of the food sub- 

 stances in the body results in the pro- 

 duction of heat, which is to be consid- 

 ered as one of the forms of energy 

 produced by the food. The body tem- 



session of a mammary gland or udder 

 in which milk is secreted for the sus- 

 tenance of the young. In farm stock 

 the amount of milk secreted has been 

 greatly increased by breeding especially 

 in cows and goats. For the first few 

 days after the birth of the young the 

 mammary secretion is known as colos- 

 trum and differs considerably from the 

 normal milk produced later. Colostrum 

 contains a large amount of cellular tis- 

 sue from the udder, much albumen and 

 casein and relatively little fat, milk 

 sugar and salts. The total solids in 

 the case of the cow may amount to 38.5 

 per cent in the colostrum but within a 

 month the amount falls to the normal 

 or 12.5 per cent. 



The fat content of the milk f differ- 

 ent animals is as follows: 4 per cent in 



