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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.



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