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Show RETENTION OF THE AFTERBIRTH. AFTER-BIRTH. By Dr.' David Roberts, Wisconsin State Veterinarian. The retention of the afterbirth or 1 plcccnta or (failure to clean) should P be considered as an unnatural condi- ' tion which should require immediate attention. A cow should expel the afterbirth within from one to three hours after the foetus is dropped or the calf is born. This frequency of retained afterbirth after-birth in ruminant animals is doubtless doubt-less due to its peculiar conformation or button-like fastenings. While a cow may appear to be but little inconvenienced by retention of the afterbirth, at the same time she is, if neglected, being ruined as a profit producer. Her milk will be short in quantity and poor in quality, and absolutely unfit for family use. She may also be acting as a hot bed i for the propagation of the germs of 1 infectious abortion and tuberculosis. These may be brought on by decomposition decom-position of tire retained afterbirth. As this continues the animal absorbs ab-sorbs the poisonous formations of matter which causes her to grow weak and lose flesh rapidly, thus putting her in a condition so i"-it when she I is bred to the herd bull she may in- I feet him with the germs of infectious tbortion. He is then in a condition to spread, the disease, In this manner the disease of infectious in-fectious abortion may be introduced into a herd and great loss caused. This same cow in her run-down condition may also contract tuberculosis tubercu-losis and then expose the entire herd. The afterbirth should never be removed re-moved excepting by medicines given internally which have a tendency to ripen and release the retained afterbirth, after-birth, which when released will come away of its own accord. o |