ATONY OF THE FOBESTOMACHS 137 



ATONY OF THE FORESTOMACHS. 



Chronic Indigestion of Ruminants. Chronic Gastric 



Catarrh. 



Definition. — ^An indigestion, which' usually develops insid- 

 iously, due to a paresis of the musculature of the fore- 

 stomachs. The contents of the rumen, reticulum and 

 omasum are, as a result, not kept properly mixed and their 

 discharge from these organs is retarded. 



Occurrence. — ^Atony is most common in cattle but is 

 noted in sheep and goats. It usually is the result of improper 

 feeding and care and therefore most commonly seen in cows 

 belonging to poor dairymen in the neighborhood of large 

 cities, especially if kitchen offal, large quantities of brewer's 

 grains and food of poor quality are fed. Atony may attend' 

 advanced pregnancy. It also occurs in calves just after 

 weaning and too suddenly changed from a milk to a solid 

 food diet. 



Etiology. — ^Atony may be primary or secondary. In 

 primary cases foods and feeding are the most potent causes. 

 Foods which are too woody (chaff; dried, coarse grasses; 

 shrubs; underbrush; tree tops), improperly harvested forage 

 (cut too green, fermenting clover, over-ripe hay, etc.), 

 spoiled food (moldy meal, decayed vegetables), otherwise 

 damaged food (frozen grass or silage, frosted beets), and feed- 

 ing kitchen offal in the form of swill, etc. 



The injudicious feeding of good food can produce atony 

 as, for instance, overfeeding or the sudden change from a 

 well-balanced to a very narrow ration. Atony may follow 

 impaction of the rimien, provided it has existed long enough 

 to produce a paresis of the muscles of the stomach walls. 

 Withholding roughage is also a cause. Allowing a full drink 

 of cold water on a full stomach may also produce it. 



Psychic influences (removing young calf, strange environ- 

 ment, severe pain) in nervous cattle predispose to atony. 



Atony of the forestomachs may be secondary to bad 

 teeth, which prevents adequate mastication, chronic disease 

 of the tongue (actinomycosis), traumatic gastritis, and 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



