SWINE MANAGEMENT. 



33 



TREATMENT OF DISEASES. 



As soon as sickness appears in the herd the unaffected hogs should 

 at once be removed to clean, disinfected quarters, preferably without 

 much range, for by running over pastures they may come in contact 

 with contagion. Their feed should be carefully regulated and, if 

 they have previously been on pasture, should include some green 

 feed, roots, or an abundance of skim milk. 



The quarters m which the sickness first appeared should be thor- 

 oughly cleaned, all bedding and rubbish burned, and loose boards and 

 old partitions torn out and burned. If the pen is old, knock it to 

 pieces and burn it. Disinfect pens and sleeping places, using air- 

 slaked lime on the floors and the carbolic-acid solution on the walls 

 and ceilings. Whitewash everything. If a hog dies from any cause 

 the carcass should never be exposed where it may be devoured by 

 the other hogs or by passing birds or beasts, but should be burned at 

 once or buried deeply and the pens thoroughly disinfected immediately. 

 If possible, do not move the carcass from the place where it falls; but 

 if necessary to do so the gromid over which it is dragged should ])e 

 disinfected. It is not known positively how long the virus of hog 

 cholera may survive in the soil, but under favorable conditions it is not 

 unlikely that it may hve in the ground for several months. Care 

 should be taken to maintain a strict quarantine between the sick and 

 healthy hogs. The same attendant should not care for both lots 

 unless he dismfects himself thoroughly after each visit to the infected 

 hogs. Dogs should be confined until the disease is stamped out. 



The treatment of hogs suffering from cholera is not satisfactory 

 after the disease has become weU established in a herd. The pre- 

 vention of an outbreak by the use of ^nti-hog-cholera vaccination 

 should be relied upon rather than the cure of sick animals.^ 



DESTRUCTION OF VERMIN. 



LICE. 



The destruction of vermin is of importance in the production of 

 swine. Practically all swine are infested to a certain degree with 

 the common hog louse {Hxmatopinus suis), and imless the animals 

 are freed from this pest it is apt to retard their growth. Although 

 lice may not be the direct cause of death, still their presence lowers 

 the vitahty of the hog and predisposes him to attack from infectious 

 diseases. One of the first requisites in preventing an outbreak of 

 cholera is to put the hogs in as perfect a physical condition as possi- 

 ble, and it is also obvious that the animals should be in perfect health 

 in order to fatten rapidly and economically. 



1 See Farmers' Bulletin 834, ''Hog Cholera: Prevention and Treatment."' 



