SPECIAL REPORT 



ON 



DISEASES OF CATTLE 



ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES. 



By Leonakd Peabson, B. S., V. M. D. 



Medicines may be administered to cattle in many ways. The chan- 

 nel and method of administration depend on whether a general or 

 local effect is desired, the condition of the animal, and the nature of 

 the medicine that is to be given. The easiest method, and therefore 

 the most common, is to give ordinary remedies by the mouth with 

 the food, with drink, or separately. There are, however, some condi- 

 tions in which medicines administered in this way will not act 

 promptly enough, or wherein a desired eifect of the mediciae on a 

 distant part of the body is wholly lacking unless it is applied in some 

 other way. 



The various methods of administering medicines to cattle will be 

 considered below. 



By the mouth. — The simplest way to give medicines by the mouth 

 is to mix them with the food or water. This can be done when the 

 medicine is in the form of a powder or fluid, if but a small quantity 

 is to be given, if it does not have a taste that is disagreeable to the 

 animal and is not so irritant as to injure the lining membranes of the 

 mouth and throat. 



The usual method of administering bulky or unpalatable doses is to 

 mix them with a fluid vehicle, such as water, milk, molasses, or beer, 

 and give from a bottle. A dose given in this way is known as a 

 " drench." In administering a drench the head of the animal should 

 be elevated a little by an assistant. This is best accomplished when 

 standing on the left side of the cow's head and by grasping the nose 

 with the thumb and fingers of the right hand inserted in the nostrils ; 

 with the left hand beneath the chin the head is further raised and 

 supported. If the animal is unruly, it may be tied in a stall or placed 

 in a stanchion. The medicine can now be poured into the mouth by 

 inserting the neck of the bottle between the lips on the right side. 

 Care must be taken to avoid getting the bottle between the back teeth. 



7 



