Cows Swallowing Foreign Substances
Categories:
Diseases of Animals
We recently lost a valuable cow, and when we opened her we found a large
tumor or abscess at the top of the heart as large as a gallon jar. What
caused it, or is there any danger of other cows taking it, and if so,
what can we do?
This is a common disease among cows and is called traumatic
pericarditis. The trouble arises from the habit of the cows picking up
foreign substances such as wire, nails, or hairpins, and swallowing
them. They are taken into the paunch and the digestive movements of this
organ cause the foreign body to penetrate the lining and enter the
heart, where it gradually causes death as it enters deeper. It is very
common to find nails, etc., in the stomachs of old dairy cows which are
killed at the slaughter-houses. If you had examined the animal
carefully, you would find that some foreign body had penetrated the
heart and caused death. There is no danger of any contagion arising from
your cow.