146 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



Leaky Quarter and Fistula. 



When a heavy-milking cow comes up to the barn with 

 milk dripping or streaming from one or more of her dis- 

 tended quarters, the wise keeper realizes that the animal 

 should be milked three or even four times daily instead of 

 twice. Cows of only moderate production may likewise 

 leak milk at times if their milking is long delayed or their 

 capacity of retention is otherwise abnormally taxed. Per- 

 sistent loss of milk through teat leakage, however, is not 

 only annoying but very unprofitable for the owner. 



Chronic leaking is probably due in most cases to weak- 

 ness of the teat orifice, to a fistula of the teat, or to the ef- 

 fects of a previous operation for the relief of stricture or 

 other teat obstruction. 



Weakness of the teat orifice may be overcome some- 

 times by the local application of tincture of iodin or saturat- 

 ed alum solution twice daily. The common practice of stop- 

 ping a leaky teat with a rubber band or tape, or inserting 

 a plug between milkings, is inadvisable, as it only tends to 

 aggravate the weakness of the part or to increase the size 

 of the opening. Flexible collodion, into which has been 

 incorporated 1 or 2 per cent of metallic iodin, may be used 

 to seal the teat orifice, twice daily, or immediately after 

 milking. 



Teat fistula, due to injuries, constitutes a common and 

 annoying form of teat leakage. Efforts to reduce a teat 

 fistula, however, had better be postponed, if possible, until 

 the milking period of the animal has been terminated. The 

 procedure, which is a surgical one, consists in scarifying the 

 edges of the fistulous opening, bringing the lips together, 

 and suturing them into place to establish a closure of the 

 aperture by healing. This operation should not be attempt- 

 ed by one unfamiliar with the principles of surgery, how- 

 ever, as skill and surgical cleanliness are absolutely neces- 

 sary, while at the best there always remains the danger of 

 establishing a serious infection of the gland. The after care 

 consists in bathing the wound several times daily with a 

 sterile 1 per cent solution of table salt or a mild antiseptic 

 solution. 



