Lastly, it is important to use for breeding purposes such animals only as have a strong, vigorous constitution, and to furnish a healthful, abundant aliment and to allow a sufficient amount of exercise during gestation. Vigor and stamina are the great desiderata, but these are usually found with the darker colors.
Treatment. The old treatment of eliminating offensive matter by a laxative is still good, and thus castor oil (2 ozs. for a foal or calf, 2 drs. for lamb), or rhubarb (1 dr. foal or calf, 1 scr. for lamb), or manna (½ oz, foal or calf, 1 dr., lamb), may be given with laudanum (1 dr., foal or calf, 10 drops, lamb), and salicylate of soda (16 grs., foal or calf, 5 grs.,lamb). The milk should be given boiled. An old and excellent remedy to follow the laxative is solution of rennet made by adding ⅛ of a calf’s abomasum to a quart of 20 per cent, alcohol (or sherry). A tablespoonful may be given with each meal. The value of this as an antiferment is liable to be overlooked, yet both the hydrochloric acid and pepsin are strongly antiseptic, and neither of these is produced to any extent in the diseased stomach. In addition to this ipecacuan has been used and by its stimulant action on both stomach and liver it furnishes the two most important natural disinfectants of the alimentary canal (foal or calf 1 dr., lamb 10 drops ipecacuan wine, thrice a day).
In addition to these or separately, antiseptics, carminatives and astringents may be employed. An excellent preparation is prepared chalk 1 oz., white bismuth 1 oz., tincture of cinnamon 8 ozs., gum arabic ½ oz. A tablespoonful thrice a day will often check the disorder.
Cadeac advises, subnitrate of bismuth 5 grains, salicylic acid 5 grains, naphthol 20 grains, syrup 150 grains, distilled water 100 grains. One or two tablespoonfuls in the mouth after each drink (foal or calf).
Filliatre obtained excellent results in calves, with a solution of tar 150 grams in 6 litres boiling water, given in the dose of ⅓ litre every half hour. It may also be used as an enema. The diarrhœa is promptly checked, and the tar water may then be restricted to ¼ litre mixed with the milk of the next two days. One-tenth of the dose may be given to lambs.
Among other antiseptics in use may be named salicylic acid and tannin, salol, boric acid, betol, diaphthol, bruzonaphthol, salicylate of bismuth, creolin, naphthalin, and lactic acid.
When icteric membranes, white discharges and extreme fœtor indicate hepatic disorder, calomel 1 part and chalk 12 parts may be resorted to three or four times a day (foal or calf 6 grs., lamb 1 gr.).
Among the carminatives may be named anise, fennel, dill, cinnamon, and chamomile. Beside their stimulant action these are all more or less antiseptic.
In addition to the boiling of the milk, and in certain cases as a temporary substitute, may be used sterilized mucilaginous agents, gum arabic, flax seed, and slippery elm.