Dip, spray or scrub your hogs with some good Coal Tar disinfectant, but whatever remedy is used it should be applied more than once which, of course, causes considerable work where there is a large number of hogs infested, unless dipped, which is more quickly done. The reason for repeated applications being necessary is that although the lice which hogs pick up from the ground, bedding and rubbing places, may be killed by first application, it often does not affect the nits, which remain intact and hatch within a week or ten days. A new crop of Lice appears on the hog from this source. Remove all manure and bedding from pens and sheds and burn it. Disinfect floors and spray sides of shed, pens and rubbing places with disinfectants, one part to seventy-two parts of water, once a month and you will be handsomely repaid for your labor.
LUNG FEVER.
(Inflammation of the Lungs)
Cause.—Sudden changes, exposure to storms, piling up of hogs during cold nights, or sleeping in manure heaps, old straw stacks, etc.
Symptoms.—Pig or hog is taken with shivering spells, is stupid, his back is arched, loss of appetite, temperature elevated two to four degrees above normal, short hurried breathing, generally accompanied with cough, which is deep and hoarse. As a rule the hog is constipated.
Treatment.—Place in good, clean, warm, well ventilated quarters, free from drafts. Keep water before them at all times, adding Saltpeter, one teaspoonful to every gallon of water. If constipated, do not give physics; give injections of soap and warm water; also administer about one-half teaspoonful of Pine Tar on the tongue with a wooden paddle. This adheres to the tongue and gradually dissolves and gives excellent results, as it is very soothing to the organs of breathing. During the convalescent stage, give hog regulator and tonic as prescribed on first page of this chapter.
LUNG WORMS.
Cause.—By thread-like worms varying in length from one-half to one and one-half inches and of brownish-white color. They are found in the windpipe and tubes leading into the lungs. The adult worms in the lungs produce large quantities of eggs, which are coughed up with mucus and become scattered over premises where other hogs are permitted to walk. The hogs inhale the dust containing the eggs into their lungs, where the eggs find moisture sufficient for their development.
Symptoms.—Severe coughing spells. Large quantities of mucus will escape from the nose and mouth. The hog becomes stunted, although he may eat fairly well, but if not relieved, the worms collect in the Bronchi and produce sudden death due to suffocation. The worms may set up an inflammation of the lining membranes of the lungs, which is sometimes taken for Swine Plague, or Cholera. This disease is not uncommon, especially in old, filthy, poorly drained hog houses and pastures.
Treatment.—Confine the affected hogs to a shed; close the windows and doors and any large cracks, then compel the hogs to inhale steam from the following mixture: Turpentine, eight ounces; Pine Tar, one pint; Water, two gallons. Place in tin receptacle in center of the shed and heat the above solution by adding hot bricks or stones to the mixture occasionally. Compel them to inhale this steam for at least thirty minutes twice a day. Feed wholesome food to which add hog tonic as prescribed on first page of this chapter. A strong, vigorous hog may have worms, but it retains its vitality so long as it is well fed.