DISEASES OF ANIMALS 



141 



of the foot. Occasionally the toes be- 

 come twisted and elongated to the ex- 

 tent of 3 or 4 inches, being turned up 

 at the end. Ordinarily there is consider- 

 able fever and the appetite is badly 

 affected. The disease commonly appears 

 in one foot but extends to the other three 

 feet and spreads rapidly throughout the 

 herd. According to the investigations 

 of Mohler this disease is due to the pres- 

 ence of Bacillus necrophorus which 

 causes a number of other similar troubles 

 in other animals. In preventing this 

 disease it is desirable to thoroughly in- 

 spect and quarantine sheep which are 

 purchased from outsido sources before 

 they are allowed to enter the flock. It 

 is also desirable to examine the feet of 

 the herd at regular intervals for the pur- 

 pose of finding out whether the condi- 

 tion is satisfactory in all cases. Over- 

 grown hoofs should be pared away so 

 that the wearing surface will come in 

 regular and complete contact with the 

 ground. 



Treatment — In case of an outbreak of 

 foot rot among a herd of sheep, all 

 affected sheep should be immediately is- 

 olated and all the sheep, whether dis- 

 eased or not, should be made to pass 

 through a shallow trough containing a 

 solution of chloride of lime at the rate 

 of 1 pound to 12 quarts of water. The 

 depth of the solution should be 4 inches 

 or more. Another effective solution con- 

 sists of 1 pound of carbolic acid for 

 each 4 gallons of water. After treat- 

 ment the healthy part of the herd should 

 be placed in a clean, uncontaminated 

 pasture and the diseased animals left 

 for further treatment. The hoofs should 

 be pared away so as to remove all loos- 

 ening horn tissue after which the sheep 

 may be made to stand for 10 minutes in 

 a strong solution of blue vitriol as warm 

 as may be borne by the hand. The solu- 

 tion recommended by Mohler consists of 

 3 pounds of blue vitriol or copper sul- 

 phate in 5 gallons of water. The solu- 

 tion should be no deeper than is neces- 

 sary to cover the hoof and the sheep 

 should be prevented from lying down in 

 it since great injury would result to the 

 skin and wool. 



Foot and mouth disease — The symp- 

 toms of foot and mouth disease in sheep 

 might be mistaken for those of foot rot. 

 The lesions in the feet in the case of 

 foot-and-mouth disease are, however, 

 much more superficial than in the case 



of foot rot, and disappear spontaneously 

 after the disease has run its course. 

 Moreover, the lesions in foot-and-mouth 

 disease are more apt to be visible than 

 in the case of foot rot and are accom- 

 panied with pustules and ulcers in the 

 mouth. Finally, foot-and-mouth disease 

 is far more infectious than foot rot and 

 spreads with far greater rapidity. 



Arthritis — This trouble arises as a 

 result of infection which takes place at 

 birth, the infectious material entering 

 through the unclosed navel cord. The 

 symptoms appear soon after birth, the 

 lamb being feverish, without appetite, 

 and lame in one or more joints. Pus 

 may form in some of the affected joints 

 and in some of the internal organs. 

 There is no treatment for the disease 

 after it has once appeared but it may 

 be effectively prevented by washing the 

 navel cord soon after birth with a 10 

 per cent solution of carbolic acid. 



Ilalignant edema_A form of blood 

 poisoning or malignant edema quite of- 

 ten occurs as a result of infection from 

 injury with unclean instruments, es- 

 pecially sheep shears. Professional 

 sheep shearers are sometimes very care- 

 less in this regard and carry about with 

 them shears which have become badly 

 contaminated with the bacilli of malig- 

 nant edema. When they cut the skin 

 of sheep in shearing them an infection 

 is almost sure to take place at this 

 point and leads to an extensive swell- 

 ing which is hot and painful and pro- 

 duces an exudation with a disagreeable 

 odor. The disease is ordinarily fatal, 

 terminating in a few days. Where 

 sheep are badly cut in shearing, they 

 may also become infected by allowing 

 them to lie down in old filthy corrals, 

 since the bacillus of malignant edema 

 commonly occurs in such soil. It is al- 

 ways desirable, therefore, to give some 

 heed to this matter, since otherwise 

 large losses may occur. Occasionally 

 a loss of 100 to 200 sheep has been 

 observed in a single band of 2,000 as a 

 result of infection with malignant 

 edema. 



Big head — A peculiar and fatal dis- 

 ease of unknown origin occurs among 

 sheep in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and 

 Wyoming under the name big head. 

 The characteristic symptoms of the dis- 

 ease are great swelling of the head 

 and ears, with an occasional extension 

 of the dropsical condition along the 



