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POULTRY
DISEASES

AND THEIR REMEDIES

~ a

eases known to poultry

PRICE 7 CEES

*

The A. D. Hosterman Co., Publishers,
SPRINGFIELD, OHIO

POPS OOOGDOGOGOGHOHGOO9GOH999 5999990990999 90G0 %

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The cause, symptoms
and treatment of all dis-

COMB
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CUSHION
FACE ——
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This Illustration furnished by courtesy of the G. E. Conkey Company,
Cleveland, Ohio

Poultry Diseases

And Their Remedies

By J. GAYLORD BLAIR
Revised by D. D. CAVANAUGH

The Cause, Symptoms and Treatment
of All Diseases Known to Poultry

REVISED and ENLARGED EDITION
1922

THE A. D. HOSTERMAN CO., Pubdshers
SPRINGFIELD, OHTO

Copyrighted 1922, by A. D. Hosterman Co.

2 POULTRY DISEASES

INTRODUCTION
ae a 2

CaS

Poultry Diseases and their Remedies, by J. Gaylord Blair,
is the only real helpful work of this description that ever
came to my attention. I am very well acquainted with the
author and know the interest Mr. Blair took in helping poul-
try keepers fight poultry diseases in the south and his good
reputation as editor of the Question and Answer Departments
of several Poultry Journals. I find no reason to change ex-
cept a few of his remedies given in this book, published for
the first time in 1910. Every poultry keeper can feel assured
that if its a good remedy it will be found in this book. It
is well to write to your favorite Poultry Journal for advice
when in doubt about anything pertaining to poultry diseases
ete., because new diseases are being made every month,
Most all of the advertised poultry remedies give satisfac-
tion and its a good policy to keep a supply of these on hand.
Hypsulphite of Soda and Permangenete of Potash are two
disinfectants that can be taken internally and a supply on
hand to use when occasion calls may be the means of saving
whoie flocks from death. Tincture of Iodine is another reme-
dy which has been discovered to act successfully on many
ills of the chicken. Common fine table salt thoroughly
mixed in the poultry feed acts as a toner; one lb. to 100
pounds of dry mash is about right.

D. D. CAVANAUGH, Associate Editor,
OA659157 Poultry Success,
Trout Brook Farm, North Windham, Conn.

wan —c 1099

CHAPTER I.
REQUIREMENTS OF HEALTH

How to keep your birds healthy—How to prevent
Disease From breaking out in a flock—With help-
ful suggestions—Selecting the breeding stock,
Feeding, Housing, Etc.

It is easier to prevent disease than it is to cure it,
therefore we should study the different things that cause
the diseases and try to prevent them. In most every case
where diseases break out in a flock it can be traced back
to filthy quarters, improper feeding, or neglect of care and
attention on the owner’s part. Remember that the owner
or the person that cares for them has the entire control
over them. We can kill any undesirable specimen at any
time; if it is sick we can either kill or isolate it at once.
This gives us power to prevent and stamp out the disease
or trouble to some extent. If we will take every disease
in time we can most always check it from spreading. Of
course we can’t prevent sudden climatic changes, accidents

. and certain insiduous contagious disorders which will oc:

casionally break out on the best regulated plants, but in
most every case disease can be prevented by good care and
the proper management of the plant.

As a general thing disease is not thought of until it
is present, in this case the birds are not properly taken
care of or they would not be apt to contract disease, Their
food is not right, the water is impure, the attention of the
owner is not what it should be and all of these things
placed together will make something large. We think
that this little matter will not amount to much but if we
neglect one thing we will another and before we realize
what we are doing we have neglected other things. Small
things placed together will make a large one. One penny
might not buy what we want but if we placed more with
it we can then make our desired purchase. Remember that
if we will watch the small things the large ones will take
care of themselves.

4 POULTRY DISEASES

Most beginners do not know how to treat their birds
after they get sick, they cannot properly diagnose a case.
There are many diseases that affect poultry today that
some people have never heard of, is it any wonder they
can’t prevent and cure disease? Most people think that all
diarrhoea is “cholera” and that all birds that have a dis-
charge from the eyes and nostrils have “roup” hence they
treat for these diseases and their birds die or do not im-
prove, otherwise if they could diagnose the case and give
the bird the proper treatment and care they would be able
to cure the bird. In order to cure and prevent disease you
must know the nature of it and then you can care for them
in an intelligent manner. I believe this little book will
give you all the information you will ever want in regard
to the different diseases known to affect poultry.

Always Breed for Health.

In selecting the breeding .stock always select birds
that are strong, well developed and bred from no bird
that has ever had any disease for this bird is likely to have
a weak constitution, and it will always show in their off-
spring, A bird whose comb does not look bright should
also be discarded and nothing should be used in the breed-
ing pen that does not possess a bright, red comb; this is
a good sign the bird is in a healthy condition. If we ex-
pect to have healthy birds we must breed for this as well
as standard points. If we have good points in other re-
spects what good will the bird be to us if it is not healthy
and robust? After we have a strong healthy flock of birds
we can then have a good solid foundation to work from
and begin building on. Remember the well known law of
heredity, “like produces like” and if you have weakly
birds in the breeding pen you can expect the off-spring to
be weak also.

Shun “Cured” Birds.

If you have birds that have had a serious disease do
not think of using them in the breeding pen for they will
produce weak birds if you do. The bird might appear in
the best condition now, still the vitality of this specimen
is weak, and it may possibly show in the off-spring of this
certain bird. Especially if it had roup, canker, consump-
tion etc. There is little use to waste time and money try-
ing to cure a diseased bird unless it a very valuable show

AND THEIR REMEDIES 5

bird. If the sickness of the bird is of a serious nature it
will never be the same any more. If you know how and
will use the ‘axe’ you will be better off than the other

fellow that uses $3.00 worth of medicine to cure a $1.00
bird. Never breed from “cured” birds if you do it will

cause you a great lot of trouble.
Use care in Selecting the Breeding Stock.

In the selection of breeding birds be sure that the
bird has size, vigor and sound constitution. If possible
it is best to know that they have come from strong healthy
birds. Breed only from birds that are matured ones. Also
see that the bird is in perfect health; if the.comb is a
bright red, the plumage soft and smooth, legs with good
color, keen appetite, etc., you can rest assured the bird is
in the right condition to place in the breeding pen. Every
one should use great care in selecting the birds for the
breeding pens; this is one of the most important things in
breeding poultry. If you get wrong here every thing is
wrong. If you mate wrong for standard points or health
either. It is better to have birds with strong constitu-
tions than good standard points. Birds without health are
worthless even if they are up to the standard in other
respects. If you have birds that are strong and robust
you can breed and improve their standard qualities but if
you have them up to the standard with weak constitution
you are certainly up against it, This very thing is what
causes poor hatches and weak germs. How often do we
hear people say that “my chickens are dying,” “I can’t
raise my chickens, they are all dying,” etc.? Low vitality
in the breeding birds is the cause. They do not use enough
care in selecting the breeding birds. If you hatch chicks
from stock that is robust and healthy you can’t hardly
stop this little fellow from growing but otherwise your
results will be very discouraging.

Do not think that if you have a good male bird in the
breeding pen that you can mate him with any kind of
females and get good results, for you will be disappointed if
you do. While the male bird is half of the breeding pen,
still you must mate good healthy females with him if you
expect good results from this mating. In selecting birds see
that they have no deformities whatever and that they are
perfect specimens in their classes, both from a _ physical
and standard standpoint.

6 POULTRY DISEASES

Inbreeding.

The mating of birds that are closely related is called
inbreedng. This has caused persons to fail in the poultry
business. While mating two birds that are related might
produce the desired results along standard lines still their
off-spring would be weak and without vigor and low in
vitality. In-breeding, if practiced, will soon bring disap-
pointment to the breeder. Some breeders avoid mating
brothers and sisters together; others breed together their
best birds for the purposes, regardless of relationship. Un-
derstand your birds and know what you are doing and you
will find this will be best. Remember line breeding is not
inbreeding.

Some Common Causes of Diseases.

There are many things that can cause disease to break
out among your flock and if all these are tiaced back to
the origin you will soon discover it is your fault nine times
out of ten. Vermin is a very common cause of disease; for
birds that have vermin on them will take disease quicker
for they are in a condition that they can’t throw off the
germs. Impure water, dampness, crowding, improper food
and care and want of exercise are all common causes of
disease. Even a strong constitution is liable to break
down under these conditions.

How and Where to Locate the Buildings.

All poultry buildings should face the south and should
be built on well drained land. They should be dry, roomy
and well ventilated. The most satisfactory plan for a
poultry house is the fresh-air one. In such houses the
air is always pure and you will find that birds will do much
better in such houses. The egg yield will be larger, the
vitality of the birds will be higher, the eggs more fertile
and will hatch stronger and better chicks. You need not
have high priced land for your plant; if it is dry, well
drained land it will be all right and will be just as good
as high priced land. If possible have it lay or slope to-
ward the south, south-east or south-west.

Do not have drafts over the birds or you will have
trouble. Have three sides air tight and the front side
open for ventilation, And do not close unless it is very
stormy. A bird can stand much more cold if it has an

AND THEIR REMEDIES 7

abundance of pure fresh air to breath than it can if it is
closed up in a tight house without the pure fresh air. Low
roofed houses are much warmer and also cheaper to build.

Sunshine a Good Preventative for Disease.

In constructing the poultry house try to plan it so as
to have the sun penetrate to all parts of it. Sun light is
one of the very best preventatives for disease. If there
was no sun light how long would the different animals
and vegetables live in this world? No poultry house
should be built so the sun could not shine in it most of
the day. Sunshine and fresh air is a cheap and sure dis-
infectant. Have both the brooder and breeding houses ar-
ranged so that the sun can shine in at all times of the day.
Many small chicks die annually from the lack of sunshine
in the brooder and brooder house. The brooder should be
sunned and aired daily if you expect to raise good healthy
chicks. Have the house arranged so that the little fellows
can have a sun bath daily. Also provide shade as well;
and remember if you go to extremes with either you will
not be successful with your attempt. Sunshine is very im-
portant to health,

The “Dust” or Earth Bath.

The dust bath is the natural method of keeping body
-and feathers clean and also keeping them free from ver-
min. It is very important and should be looked after just
the same as the other small points that help to make the
poultry business successful. The pest place for the dust
bath is to locate it in the corner of the breeding pen and
use only fresh earth, for this is much better than dust and
the birds would rather have it. By dusting in this earth
bath, the birds will keep their feathers and skin clean and
in-a healthy, sanitary condition and by adding a little in-
sect powder, they will also free themselves from all ver-
min. This dust bath has been recommended ‘for years as
a sure remedy for vermine on poultry and if this is sup-
plied the birds will do the rest. Always keep the earth a
little moist. It should be changed at least every two weeks.

How to Arrange the Roosts and Dropping Boards.

' Place the roosts about two feet from the floor and
provide dropping boards under them. Do not place them

8 POULTRY DISEASES

high for this will cause the birds to injure themselves
many times. If you place the roosts near the ceiling the
breath from the fowls condenses on the cetling and walls
in cold weather in the form of heavy frost and this makes
the sleeping quarters damp and unsanitary. Do not use
small narrow roosts for this will cause bumble foot, corns,
etc, The best roost is made from a piece of timber 2 by
3 or 4 inches with the edges beveled or rounded. Have
them arranged so as not to have any places for mites to
harbor in. Have the dropping boards about four inches
below the roosts and have them plenty wide to catch every
thing; a board 24 inches wide is sufficient for a single
roost. Clean the board every morning. It pays to keep
the house clean and sanitary. Use a good dininfectant
twice a week.

Avoid “House Sweating.”

This can be avoided by proper ventilation and sun-
ning. You never experience “house sweating” if you use
the open front or fresh-air plan. Do not crowd too many
birds in a coop or house for the result will be cold and
roup. Do not under any circumstances allow more birds
to occupy a coop or house than can really be cared for in
such quarters for if you do it will cause you _ trouble.
Dampness and house sweating will be the result, Airing
and sunning the house will eliminate this trouble. Do not
close your house tight under any circumstance whatever.
Even if the temperature is very low do not think that by
having the house air tight it will be warmer, for it won’t.

Drinking Water.

Never allow impure water to be before your birds,
for in this way probably more diseases are spread and
caused than in any other way. If the water is not pure,
disease is likely to creep out on us. Even as in human be-
ings the water is the fruitful source of trouble. Do not
waste time by placing pure water in dirty fountains but
clean the founts every other day at least with scalding wa-
ter. Do not give your birds any water to drink that you
would not drink yourself and in this way you can know they
get the best of water. All drinking vessels should be made
so they can be cleaned easily.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 9

Foods.

The rations should contain grains, mineral foods,
green foods, together with grit, oyster shells and char-
coal, These different varieties of food have an important
influence on the health of the bird. The grain food may
be wheat, oats, barley, rye. sunflower seed, millet, corn,
etc. Most any of the commercial scratch foods are good
and in these you get this variety of grains. The green
food should consist of cabbage, lettuce, turnips, fresh
growing grass or sprouted grains such as oats, wheat, etc.
The former preferred. In winter alfalfa leaves will be
found a good substitute for green food. Mineral foods
should consist of fresh beef scraps,’ green cut bone, beef
meal and blood meal. Mineral food is very important to
the health of the fowl. The best and cheapest mineral
food that can be found is fresh green bone, This can be
secured very cheap if you get the bones from the butcher
shop and cut them on a bone cutter. There is no better
egg producer than this.

You can also keep dry mash before them at all
times in hoppers and the birds go and eat as they wish.
This mash should consist of one part wheat middlings, two
parts bran and one part corn meal. To every peck of
dry mash add a tablespoonful of fine table salt. There is
no better food for fowls than butter milk, skim milk and
clabber. These are also very good for moulting birds.

Do not over feed your birds and get them too fat.
Feed all grain in a deep litter and make them exercise af-
ter all the grain food they get. If you get your birds too
fat, you will be troubled with egg bound birds, leg weak-
ness apoplexy, congestion of the brain, ete. Feed only
what they will clean up and no more. Use good judgment
in feeding your birds. If you see they are getting too fat
you can cut the ration down.

Exercise.

It is just as important to have our fowls take exer-
cise as it is to take exercise ourselves. Of course we real-
ize what it would do for us of we did not take exercise.
Our health would soon break down if we did not take ex-
ercise of some kind daily. If you will make your birds ex-
ercise you will find they will be healthier, more robust,
and will hatch stronger chicks from the eggs laid by them.
This will also keep them from getting over fat. When you

10 POULTRY DISEASE

see a bird suffering from being over fat or having conges-
tion of the brain and apoplexy you can say right then that
these troubles were brought on by not making your fowls
take the proper amount of exercise.

When you feed dry mash from hoppers you should
let the birds have free range as much as possible, In
feeding grains you should feed it in the litter and make
them work and exercise after the last grain of it. If you
feed the grain in the morning this will keep them scratching
after it most all day. Birds will lay more eggs while
they are confined in yards than when running on free
range but as a general thing they do not hatch as well
and what chicks that do hatch seem weak. This is caused
by not enough exercise,

Even small chicks need exercise and if you give them
the right food in a litter they will begin to scratch for it
when they are only a few days old and this is what makes
them grow fast and develop into large robust fellows.
Just as soon as they get large enough to look after them-
selves it is better to make them roam out into the field
and you will find that they will grow faster and make
much better birds than they would if they were allowed to
stand around your door all day looking for you to throw
them something to eat. Birds that try to make their own
living and roam out into the fields are the ones that make
the winners and good breeders. Remember that sunshine,
exercise and fresh air are the best preventatives known for
diseases,

How to Handle Contagious Diseases.

Did you ever notice that the first birds to take some
contagious disease is always the weakest one in the flock?
Birds that are healthy and active are seldom stricken with
disease. To prevent & contagious disease from spreading
you should isolate the sick bird at once as soon as dis-
covered. Begin to clean up the house and remove all
litter, dust and clean thoroughly and disinfect with a good
reliable disinfectant and continue this every day. Remove
the litter on the floor every week at least. In handling
diseased birds you should not go direct to the well ones for
this is a good way to scatter the germs. Do not keep
the sick birds in the same room with the well ones. It is
a good idea to have a pest house and keep all sick birds in
it until they get entirely well.

AND THEIR REMEDIES |

Avoid Tonics and Medicines.

A bird that vou have to “doctor” up all the time with
tonics will be no value as a breeder and you should not
fool trying to get this bird in the right conditiun for breed-
ing purposes. for the chicks hatched from such birds will be
weak and will never amount to anything. Do not give tonics
and egg foods ito heaithy birds thinking that they will lay
more eggs for they are doing their best and it will only tend
to weaken the organs of the bird and the result will be a fall
off in the egg yield The less dosing you give your birds
the better off they will be. If you keep grit, oyster shells
and charcoal before your birds at all times they will not need
much, if any, medicine. _ A good disinfectant is very bene-
ficial and should be used about the house and yards every
week at least but outside of this tonics and medicines are
not uecessary and if you have birds that have to be dosed
to be kept alive you should get rid of them at once.

v3

48

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ay \ \ eal y HY )
° ‘ . | | }

f WK

y 23

= SECTIONS OF FOWL.
ho7 ons Sees 1-2, Comb. 3, Beak. 4,

ni et a Wattles. 5, Eye. 6, Ear. 7,
Ear Lobe. 8-9, Hackle. 10
and 16, Breast. 11, Wing.
wes Wing bow. 13- 14, Wing
pr imaries and secondaries.
150 Body. Ui sei os;
Back. 19 and 23; Saddle
feathers. 20-21, Sickle
feathers. 22, Tail coverts.
24,, Leg. 25, Spur... 26-27,
Toes. This illustration fur-
nished by courtesy Pratt
Food Co., Philadelphia, Pa.

NW Y
yy

12 POULTRY DISEASES

CHAPTER Il.

THE SKIN
- Chicken Pox.

A disease that is not always fatal, but one that will
bring down the General Health of Fowls and opens
the Way for other diseases—two species of the
disease—Symptoms and Cure.

This disease that is known as sore head, warts, pigeon
pox, pian, etc., is in my opinion one of the worst diseases
that can affect poultry. Chicken pox is not necessarily fatal,
but it is a disease that will soon bring down the general
health of a bird, and therefore opens the way for other
diseases. Some years past when I was not as familiar with
it is as I am now, I thought cholera and roup were the worst
diseases that could affect poultry, but now I do not think it.
During these vears past I have had experiences with almost
every disease known to affect poultry,, and I must say that
chicken pox is one of the worst I had to deal with. Before
this i thought it was nothing more than a few little “Pim-
ples” that would appear on the comb and wattles of birds
and hence I did not know how to take it, but since I have
found that these litile pimples grow like weeds and will soon
make large ones that will cover the whole face of the bird
in One night’s time. Of course some cases will be milder
than others, and in such cases there will only be one or more
very small warts or pox sores. With chicken pox you are
also liable to ȴe annoyed by two other very bad diseases,
canker and roup. Whenever these warts or pox sores come
in the moutn of the bird you now have canker to contend
with and when the birds catch the least bit of cold, roup
is very likely to be your next enemy,

AND THEIR REMEDIES 13

What Causes This Growth?

There must be some moisture present to produce this
fungus growth, therefore, it is more likely to break out
among your birds in the late fall when there are weeks of
dark, damp weather. If it appears in the dead of winter
you are not likely to be annoyed very much. Houses that
are oot kept clean, and are allowed to become damp and
wet, and especially when the accumulated droppings are
allowed to become damp, are most ideal places to grow
these germs. These germs are known as_ bacteria and
they are very small. living organisms, and can only be seen
by means of a miscroscope. Warmth and moisture favor
the development of these germs, and it is always of a
milder form in the North than in the South. When it
breaks out among a flock there is no use to isolate the af:
fected birds; most of the other birds have been exposed to
it, and the symptoms will begin to appear in a few days.
The best thing you can do to check it is to place a few drops
of creolin or permanganate of potash in their drinking
water, and allow no other drink for them. Begin at once
to clean things up and disinfect thoroughly with some
good reliable disinfectant. Let the house air and dry well.
Remeve the old litter and replace with new, also clean the
ole droppings away. If everything is watched up close
‘and kept ciean you will be rewarded for it later, by
getting the trouble under headway.

Two Kinds of Chicken Pox, Moist and Dry.

There are two kinds of chicken pox, the moist and the
dry. I do not know which kind is the worst but I notice
the moist variety always appears in or about the eyes. The
bird will sometimes lose both its sight and its eyes. The
pox warts will appear on the sight and cause the bird great
pain and loss of the eye.. In some cases the eye will go
out in one day’s time then the glands in and about the
eye will become affected and the eye will run water for
some time, later turning to a cheesy matter. Now you
have canker to deal with. The dry variety I think is the
easiest to cure The moist variety will be a dark bluish
color and the sores or warts will be of a very oily appear-
ance. The dry is a lighter color, and the surface very dry
and crusty.

14 POULTRY DISEASES

Symptoms

About twenty-four hours before the
warts appear the comb and wattles will have
small specks of dry blood on them, then the
warts will appear later. The bird will have
a very high fever, will be very thirsty, and
will stand around and sometimes sit on the
roost all day. The small round swellings
tened, but later, become elevated and are of
called nodules, now appear and are flat-
a yellowish or a red color. They are seen
CHICKEN Pox in most cases first upon the featherless
parts of the head. From the time they first appear until
about three days afterwards they will appear very fast,
and will be in thick clusters, and in some cases this fungus
will grow or multiply until it covers the whole side of the
face or comb. In mild cases these warts will be scattered
over the face and comb and will not grow to be any size.
The condition of the bird when the disease breaks out, de- ©
termines the course or how bad it will end. If the system
of the bird is in good shape, the disease will be light, but
if in bad shape the disease will more than likely go very
hard with it. These warts may appear on any part of the
body, but they most generally appear on the face and combs,
and under the wings. They will vary in size very much,
some will be about the size of a pin head, while others may
be as large as a pea or bean or even larger than that. As
long as you can keep the nodules confined to the head and
face you are all righr, but just as soon as they appear in
the mouth, throat, and nostrils your trouble begins.

Roup and Canker Now Appear

The inside of the mouth will, now become full of thick
saliva, sores will now appear on the tongue and on the
roof of the mcuth, and sometimes down in the throat and
at the opening of the windpipe. The nostrils will have
a discharge running from them, the eyes will run a milky
looking watery fluid, which will later become thick and
purulent and cause the lids to stick together. Now “as
this watery matter is full of these germs (bacteria) it will
begin to get thicker and thicker until it will be of a very

AND THEIR REMEDIES 15

hard cheesy matter. Now you are up against it. You
have canker and roup to contend with and the best thing
for you to do at this time is to kill and cremate all birds
that are affected. Yeu wili always notice that birds that
get this far along and develop canker and roup are the
weakest in your flock and it always goes hardest with them.

If you will catch the bird you will socn discover that it
is very thin and seems to be a fit subject for the ‘“bone-
yard.” It wili stand around on one foot without any
energy, will refuse to dyvink or eat, and you will have to
feed it in order to prevent starvation. The feathers will
stand on their ends, and the bird is certainly a poor look-
ing prospect of eve* amounting to anything if it should
happen to pull through. In twenty-four to thirty-six hours
after chickenpox makes its appearance the bird will be
thin, where before it was fai and in good shape. This
dreadful disease wil! certainly cause the bird to decrease

in strength and flesh.

Treatment

The first thing toa do in treating the affected birds is
to place them in a light, dry, well ventilated coop bedded
with plenty of clean straw. Change this at least every
_ Other day, and do not allow it to get the least bit damp or
wet, for you wili have a place for germs to accumulate. I
believe I said above that it was no use to isolate birds after
they were exposed to it, but you will have a better chance
to treat them if you will place them in a coop away from
the rest of the flock. It will be only for treatment and not
for the protection of the well ones. —

After you ‘have removed the affected birds from the
well one, begin to clear out the houses and coops. Remove
the droppings from the roost or dropping boards, clean the
old litter from the floor, remove the nests, and in fact clean
the house of every ihing that you can get out. Sweep it
and remove #@l! particles of dirt, dust, ete. Now get
several buckets of water and place three tablesponfuls of
carbolic acid in each bucket so as to make it real strong.
Take an old broom and begin to scour it from top to bot-
tom. Be sure to begin it in time so it will be dry for the
fowls to roost in the following night. After you do this

16 POULTRY DISEASES

take a gallon of water and add to this enough of creolin
to turn the water milky color and if you have a sprayer
take it and spray every crack, nest, etc., full of this solu-
tion. Then go out in the yards or runs and spray vwell.
Let the house air and dry well then place clean bright
straw on the floor and make new nests. Now you have the
house perfectly clean and ready for the birds to roost in
again. Give the well birds a few drops of creolin in their
drinking water and if you only have a few birds to treat
you ean prevent the well birds to some extent from taking
it by bathing their combs and face with a 50 per cent solu-
tion of creolin and water several times a day.

Treating the Sick Birds.

The wart or pox sores have appeared. You can now re-
move them with your finger nails. Upon doing this you
will discover the tissue underneath will be a bright red and
will bleed. This is all right. Never mind the bleeding, but
after you have removed the warts apply pure peroxide, of
hydrogen to the raw surface, This will foam up like soap suds
but this is the good of it. It is destroying the germs (bac-
teria) that are present. If no bacteria is present it will not
foam, After applying the above to them, now with a
feather apply pure creolin to these raw parts. In twenty-
four hours this will form a black scab over them which
will dry and fall off in three or four days leaving a new
skin underneath, but in the meantime you can still apply
peroxide of hydrogen to these black scabs for fear there
may be some more germs present.

If the eyes become affected and in most cases they do,
wash them out with a 50 per cent solution of peroxide of
hydrogen and water, and watch them and do not let any pus
form in them but clean them out twice a day at least. When .
the eye goes completely out the only thing that you can do is
to keep the cankerous growth from appearing, by applying
peroxide of hydrogen and creolin to the effected parts. If the
pox sores or warts appear near the mouth or inside treat as
above, but if canker sores come remove the yellow growth
and apply peroxide of hydrogen to the raw parts as long as it
foams then apply burnt alum and borie acid equal parts with
a straw or small powder gun. If the bird takes cold give
it a one grain tablet of quinine night and morning until it is

AND THEIR REMEDIES 17

broken up. Give twenty drops of nox vomica in a quart of
drinking water to the sick bird as a tonic.

Feed on stimulating food so as to keep the birds in as
good shape as possible. If both eyes are effected you will
have to feed the bird from your hand to keep it from starv-
ing. A bird will eat soft food when sick before it will
hard so remember, always to feed a sick bird on soft
mashes.

Fish-skin.

This disease resembles scaly-leg very much as it
presents a very rough, dry, dirty appearance on the shanks
and toes as we find where scaly-leg is present. Although
fish-skin has no parasite life at work but it is the general
belief that it is caused from some very bad functional ac-
tion or disturbances of the bird. It is not contagious by
any means and can not be passed from bird to bird. Filth
may be one of the causes; for the legs certainly have a
bad appearance. The affected parts seem to cause the bird
much pain or annoyance by irritation which compels the
bird to scratch, thereby increasing it.

Treatment.

Local treatment igs all that can be recommended for
fish-skin and rub well with carbolated vaseline, this will
soften the dry scales and remove the irritating annoyance
and greatly help the appearance of the shanks and toes.
Continue the treatment until the trouble is cured.

Eczema.

This is another disease that we do not know hardly
how to class. Some seem to think that eczema is the same
as white comb but I disagree with them there for it is no
doubt that they are two separate diseases . But both I be-
lieve come from about the same source, some constitution-
al cause. It is purely a blood disease caused from over
feeding of a highly nitrogenous ration which will cause ex-
cretion to be affected. Some of our best medical authori-
ties claim, eczema in the human race is a skin disease in-
stead of blood. And most of them give local treatment in-
stead of internal. If the blood is right the skin is bound
to be so I stick to it that you should go to the bottom of
the trouble and get the blood in the proper condition.

It is not contagious and is never passed by contact

18 POULTRY DISEASES

from bird to bird. An improved diet is needed very badly;
more clover and green food should be fed

Symptoms.

White pimples will appear on the comb and wattles,
later increase in size and break and run together, dry on
the surface and become crusted and present a very bad ap-
pearance. They are very fine and white and somewhat
raised and seem to have just the thin skin over them. The
bird will have no energy, little appetite, listless and a very
tired appearance indeed. After a few days the bird will de-
crease in flesh very rapidly.

Treatment.

Isolate for treatmtnt, and begin feeding more green
food, cut clover, green vegetables, etc., and feed liberally.
A few drops of nux vomica in the drinking water will help
build up the bird’s constitution. Change your method of
feeding at once and give free range to the rest of the flock
where they can have plenty of exercise and green grass
which will stimulate digestion and blood circulation.

To the affected birds anoint the parts with eloate of
zine or iodine. And give two grains of calomel every other
day for four or five times. Also one grain pill of citrate of
iron and quinine every morning for one week. This will help
clear the system up and increase the strength and health
of the bird.

Wind Puff.

The cause of this trouble is unknown. It appears in
both old and young birds but it appears mostly in chicks.
I have seen hens that were three years old have it and they
were puffed up until they were as large ag two hens should
be. It is a gathering of wind under the skin, hence it is
where it took its name.

Treatment.

Puncture the skin with some instrument and let the
air escape, a large needle will answer the purpose very
well. If after several treatments the wind still continues to
gather you can take a small pair of shears and clip out
some of the skin and apply some carbolated vaseline.

AND THEIR REMEDIES ; 19

CHAPTER III.
LEGS AND FEET

Bumble-foot.

This trouble will cause the bird much pain and worry
bv.cause this inflamed and tender condition is on the bot-
tom of the foot and of course the bird must use the af-
fected foot more or less which causes the inflamed parts to
become more irritated. The tissues underlying the skin
become irritated which usually developes pus or matter. As
the trouble develops and -the pressure increases, causing the
blood supply to be shut off, pus forms and increases very
rapidly which works out in other parts of the foot and leg.
If something is not done for the bird death is most sure to
follow. iy

Causes.

In most cases that I have seen, bumble foot seems to
come from a bruise or corn and it is the general belief of
poultrymen that it is caused by birds jumping from high
roosts down on the hard floor. It can be caused from some
foreign body getting in the foot and causing the irritation.
Splinters, bits of glass, thorns, etc. Or it could be caused
by germs (bacteria) getting into some puncture produced
by the above foreign bodies rather than jumping from high
roosts for I have known cases of it where there were no
roosts to jump from.

Symptoms.

The bird will limp slightly at first and as the disease
advances it will walk with great difficulty, and sometimes
sit down most of the time. You will notice the bird when
walking that it will hurry to get from the bad to the well
foot . Advanced stages show more or less swelling in the
foot and leg, especially in the ankle joint.

—

20 POULTRY DISEASES —

Treatment.

When the case is in its early stages it can usually be
cured by painting the affected parts with iodine every day
for one week. In real bad cases where there is a great
deal of swelling and pus, it will be necessary for you to op-
en the foot and let the pus out so you can reach the bed of
the trouble. With a sharp, clean, thin bladed knife lance
the foot, let the pus run out, now with a little luke warm
water wash the wound out thoroughly. Now apply peroxide
of hydrogen to the wound and when the liquid ceases to boil
in the wound, dry with a soft linen cloth or better still use
absorbent cotton. Now wash the wound out with a solution of
nitrate of silver, about twelve grains to one ounce of dis-
tilled water. Another very good remedy is to wash it out
with a solution of carbolic acid and water, about a one per
cent solution. And anoint daily with carbolated vaseline.

Keep the bird in a roomy coop well bedded with clean
straw and do not let it out on the ground until it is entirely
well of the trouble. It is of a very little use to treat the
bird then let it run out on the dirty, filthy yard. When
you see a bird tip toeing or limping you had better examine
it at once and the quicker you get the trouble checked the
better it will be. Some cases have run on until the best of
treatment will be of little use. If you will place a few
drops of nux vomica in the drinking water it will be a good
tonic for the bird while under treatment.

Leg-weakness.

Leg-weakness is seldom seen in light breeds such as
Leghorns etc., but is very often found in some of the larg-
er breeds of the Asiatic class also the English and American
classes. We seldom see it in old birds but chicks up to
six months old. Small chicks very often fall prey to it;
and we usually find back of this trouble some very bad
methods of feeding. When any one tries to increase the
weight or size of a bird at the expense of time, this trouble
will be sure to make its appearance in your flock. The
weight of the body is larger than the legs can support,
hence this is where the disease first took its name. Often
you find it where condiments or “egg foods” have been fed
in very large quantities. Where fat producing foods have
been fed in large quantity and feeding too little bone and

AND THEIR REMEDIES 21

muscle food, leg-weakness appears. Usually bad judgement
in feeding is the main cause.

; Symptoms.

Be careful’ not to get leg weakness and rheumatism
confused for they work very much alike only in the form-
er, the joints do not swell but they do in rheumatism. In
leg-weakness the muscles will work to some disadvantage,
the gait will be unsteady, and the bird will walk some few
steps and then sit down as if tired. The first symptom is
a very slight weakness in the legs and would hardly be
noticeable to a stranger but one accustomed to the flock
will notice it readily. As the case developes the bird will
be seen sitting down white eating. At this time the bird
seems to be in perfect health only the weakness of the legs
but in a few days the feathers will be standing on their
ends, it is picked at by the rest of the flock, will not eat
anything, and now it has a very bad looking appearance in-
deed and will cause the owner a lot of worry.

Treatment.

Cut out the fat producing foods such as corn, corn
meal etc., and place the bird in a coop away from the rest
of the flock so as to keep them from running over the sick
_ bird. Feed the rest of the fiock only three times a day
and do not feed them every time you go about them. See
that they are not crowded on the roost. Feed cut clover and
green food and if possible give them free range on a grassy
and sunny range as nature intended them to do. Make them
work for what you give them; exercise is a good remedy
for leg-weakness for this will prevent them from getting so
fat. In place of water give milk and feed bran, wheat and
oatmeal.

For the birds that have leg-weakness use the follow-
ing: rub the legs with a tincture of arnica and place in the
bird’s drinking water a few drops of tincture of nux vomi-
ca and place some meat meal in the morning mash. Do
not feed corn until they are well again and then give it to
them in small quantities with other grains. |

Remember that leg-weakness is brought on by over-
feeding and this can be helped or prevented by careful use
of fat producing foods. It not only weakens the bird but
will weaken the vitality in their off-spring.

22 POULTRY DISEASES

Rheumatism.

This is a very annoying disease to the owner of fowis
as well as to the fowls themselves and should be guarded
against as much as possible. It will affect all parts of the
body but the legs are the principle parts, in fact you no-
tice it here first. Exposure to cold, damp, chilling winds
aggravates this disorder. It may be produced by feeding
too much animal matter and the under feeding of vege-
table foods. Some say it is handed down from parent stock
which were affected with it. I think this is true as well in
fowls as in human beings. It is more likely to appear in
the damp chilly days of fall than at any other time of the
year in both young and adult birds.

Symptoms.

The first symptom you notice is the jerky gait in
walking and the tendency to squat upon the floor. The
muscles will contract, joints will swell. The contracting of
the muscles will draw the legs out of the regular position
and in trying to straighten them will cause the bird great
pain. It is the inflamation and pain in the muscles and
joints that cause the birds to want to sit all the time.

In some cases the bird will die very suddenly and
without any cause apparently. Upon examination of the
bird after death you will find a small sack covering the
heart to be filled with a watery fluid. This is what causes
the trouble, by disturbing greatly the action of the heart.
Rheumatic troubles can also be traced back to a congested
liver sometimes.

Treatment.

Bathe the swollen joints with weak alcohol twice a
day for a week or rub with extract of witch hazel. For in-
ternal treatment give fifteen grains of iodine of potassium
in a quart of water, for both chicks and adult fowls. Or
another good treatment is to give a dose of Epsom salts,
twenty grains, and follow the next day with fifteen grains
of bicarbonate of soda in each pint of their drinking wa-
ter. Keep the affected bird from becoming exposed to
cold, damp winds and do not let the houses and coops be:
come damp or filthy for under such conditions you’ need
not expect to keep the disease under control.

Feed an abundance of green food and do not forget to

AND THEIR REMEDIES 23

feed cut clover in the mash. If the trouble appears in the
summer when there is plenty of green grass give them free
range in the orchard or pasture if possible.

If the brooder chicks falls its prey you should keep the
floor perfectly dry. Provide drinking fountains so they will
not turn it over on the floor, keep the heat uniform under
the hover and some facilities for scratching in order to
get plenty of exercise. Give one feed which contains let-
tuce, cabbage or some other green food and feed the other
feed in the litter so as to make them work and get the ex-
ercise they need to make them have the right health and
vigor. Prevention is always the best cure.

Broken Shanks.

I think most every one that have fowls have had some
experience with broken shanks. There is hardly a year
passes that we do not have some chickens that meet with
some accident and get some of their bones broken. They
very often get fastened in a wire or picket fence and in
trying to free themselves they break one or more bones.
Some of the stock on the place often step on them and a
break results.

Treatment.

Broken shanks are very easy to set and put together
again and the younger the bird the quicker it will knit to-
gether just the same as the human family. If the thigh
or wing is broken there is no use to try to treat the bird
for such treatments are very unsatisfactory and the pot is
the best place for such cases.

Breaks will unite very quickly if they are placed to-
gether and kept there. The best splints for little chicks
are common toothpicks but you will have to make larger
and stronger one for grown birds. Set the broken bones
and place splints on them and wrap with cotton and tie
so it will not come off. Place the birds in a coop away
cotton next to the bird’s leg, then place the splints on, then
from the rest of the flock. Make three wraps with the
finish wrapping with the cotton and sew well with needle
and thread.

This is all the treatment they will need and the band-
age can be taken off in about two weeks.

24 POULTRY DISEASES

Scaly-Leg.

To a person who has never seen a case of
scaly-leg, the name itself would give the
novice at once an idea as to what the di-
sease was, but I think most of us have seen
this disease and know just how to take it.
I believe most every one who has chickens
has had some experience with it. Scaly-
leg is no fatal disease by any means but it
is a worry to the owner as well as dis-
gusting. It is very annoying to have your
birds with such dirty, filthy looking legs
SCALY LEGS and the treatment and cure is so simple
you could not afford to have your birds disgraced by it.

Cause.

It is caused by a small parasite and it is very contag-
ious and after the first case appears in your flock, if you
do not begin at once to get rid of it you will be bothered
with it very much and the first thing you know your whole
flock will have it. It is passed from one bird to the other
while they are on the roost or while the chicks are with the
mother hen. Or it might possibly come from an infected
house or brooder. Filth is a common cause. Where filth
accumulates for a while scaly-leg is almost sure to appear.

Symptoms.

The legs have a very bad scaly looking appearance,
they will be white looking and crusty and if you will re-
move the scales and place them under a microscope you will
readily see the parasites or living organisms. The para-
site irritates the leg causing the scales to be pushed apart
and dirt begins to accumulate which does not help the
irritation any, and the trouble gets worse day by day until
the legs will be as large as two in some eases. It is cer-
tainly a very bad looking object to look on a bird with
scaly leg.

Treatment.

As soon as you discover the disease in your flock you
should begin on it at once. First get a bucket of warm
water, some soap and a sponge. Place the bird in the pail
and begin to soften the scales letting them soak in the

AND THEIR REMEDIES 25

water; after they get pretty well soaked take the bird out
and with an old cloth wipe the legs dry. Now take about a
half a cup full of lard and melt it. To this add three tea-
spoonfuls of sulphur, six drops of creolin and mix thoro-
ughly and apply to the legs. Now bandage this on with
some cotton strips and strings so as to keep the ointment
to the affected parts and you will get a much quicker
cure, Let the bandages stay on the legs for about two
days and you can remove them and apply again and still
apply until you get a cure. You will not have to apply so
often in mild cases.

Another good remedy is to dissolve napthalene flakes
in kerosene and apply to the legs. Use all the naphthalene
that the kerosene will dissolve. Be careful not to get the
fluid on the tender skin for it might blister if you do. Af-
ter dipping the bird’s legs in the fluid place the bird in a
pen well filled with straw so it can begin to exercise at
once or place in an out door run. It is best to treat the
bird in the morning then there is no danger of the fluid
getting on the feathers and soiling them when the bird
gets on the roost. Kerosene emulsion rubbed in well, and
liberally applied is also a good remedy.

Use as many treatments as the disease requires; of
course some cases will require more than others only as to
the severity of the disease. Any of the above remedies will
effect a permanent cure and give good satisfaction.

Dropsy.

Dropsy of the feet is generally caused by improper
circulation of the blood. Hither a congested liver or a
tumor tends to hold back the circulation of the blood or
effects it and when the least thing affects the circulation
it will cause the legs and toes to increase in size.

Treatment.

Give the affected bird a dose or two of castor oil;
this will generally help the trouble. Make the bird do
more working after the feed you give and this will stimu-
late the functions of the entire body. Brooder chicks that
have dropsy should be made to exercise-after all the food
they get. Place chaff or cut straw on the brooder floor
and make them work for it, Overfeeding without any ex-
ercise is the main cause of dropsy in brooder chicks.

26 POULTRY DISEASES

Cramps.

This disease is something on the order of Leg-weak-
ness only cramps will affect small chicks while the former
will affect half grown chicks and fowls. The common
cause is over-crowding; but overheating, and not enough

exercise will cause it.

Treatment.

The treatment is very simple. Have larger brooders
or cut down the size of the flock in proportion, make them

take more exercise, and keep the temperature at a uniform
heat so they will spread out on the floor and not pile up

together. Exercise will go a long ways towards prevent-

ing cramps.

NERF 2g. :

"-

OY

SKELETON OF FOWLS

illustration furnished by courtesy of The

This
Pratt Food Co., Philadelphia, Pa.

NOSTRIL
NASAL PASSAGE

DHARYNX- 7
TONGUE. ea cous
LOWER BILL Ny LEFT WATTLE
i OESOPHAGUS
4 OR GULLET
LARYNX OR

WIND PIPE

SPLEEN

GALL BLADDER

S LOCATION OF KIDNEYS
OVARY

ae mlN
Ree HUN LARGE INTESTINES

Se
‘ say OVIDUCT

aN
. BAIN \

yi,

eF Anatomical Chart

Showing the Respirative, Digestive
and Reproductive Organs of a Fowl.

Copyright 1914 by The G. E. Conkey Co.

This Illustration furnished by courtesy of The G. E. Conkey Comhany, Cleveland, Ohio

28 POULTRY DISEASI*™

CHAPTER IV.
HEAD, THROAT AND NASAL PASSAUES

Roup.

Its Cause, Symptoms and Treatment—How to Prevent
It—With Remedies that Will Prove Effective.

This disease is one of the oldest diseases known to
affect poultry and it seems as though most everyone
should be very familiar with it, but I am sorry to say they
are not. Many people have the wrong idea of roup; they
think every bird that has “frothy eyes and a ruuning dis-
charge from nostrils” has roup; in fact this name has been
given to all diseases that show the above symptoms. There
are many diseases that affect poultry that work very much
like roup but they are different diseases altogether. Roup
is very easily detected from colds, diptheria, grippe, etc.,
for the simple reason the “roupy” smell is not present in
any of the above diseases. There is but one disease that
has a right to be called roup and after a little experience
ygu can easily detect it from the others. After you once
get the opportunity to handle the birds with roup you will
never forget the ‘“roupy” smell that is present in all cases.
If you ever get the opportunity to have two birds together,
one with roup and the other with a common cold you
should examine them closely and you will find the differ-
ence between the two; and you will always know after this.
I wish every person who raises poultry could study the dif-
ferent diseases, I know they would soon learn to like it
and in a little while would know how to treat them proper-
ly. This is one great trouble with most people they can
not diagnose a case. i

Roup is probably one of the greatest hinderances in
the poultry business; and if nothing is done to prevent and
cure it after it breaks out in a flock of birds there is cer-

AND THEIR REMEDIES 29

tain to be a great loss from it. In some flocks it may not
kill but only a few birds while in another it will kill the
greater portion of it. The direct losses from the disease
will vary greatly in different epidemics, and the severity
of the disease depends on the condition the flock is in when
it first breaks out.

As I said above that all poultry ailments that are ac-
companied with “frothy eyes and a running discharge from
the nostrils” have been termed roup. All colds will have
these symptoms, also diptheria, grippe, etc., but remember
all colds are not roup by any means. Fowls are subject to
colds just the same as ourselves, and are not any more
dangerous if taken in time, Of course, colds may develop
into roup if they are allowed to run their course, but we
should begin treating them immediately as soon as we find
such cases in our flock. -

A bird that has roup is very slow to recover and will
never be the same any more. For the bacteria that is al-
ways present in roup seems to be in the bird’s system all
the time. They are unfit for fattening, breeding and egg
production. They remain thin although they will eat just
as much as any other member of the flock and are living
at the expense of their keeper. The disease is very con-
tagious but more so in some flocks than others, all cases
should be regarded dangerous whether they be mild or
serious for some of the worst cases that have come under
my observation in the past years originated from very mild
cases. In large flocks especially those on the farm the
death rate is not noticed so much as in a small flock, Roup
if taken at once after it makes its appearance in your flock
will not amount to very much but if you let it run on you
are almost sure to have a great loss.

Roup Likely to Appear at Any Time.

Roup is in “season” twelve months in the year, it will
come in the warm summer days but you are more likely to
have it during the late fall months and winter than at any
other time. The frosty days of the early spring will also
help develop some cases. But most cases will make their
appearance during cold, damp, dark days of fall and winter.

Cases that break out during warm weather come from
old germs that are present and the fowls get them either
from drinking vessels, an old coop, or house that was used
for sick birds and has not been disinfected or the germs

30 POULTRY DISEASES

killed. But in winter or fall the first case develops from
a very bad cold or case of grippe or influenza. Remember
that roup is in season at all seasons of the year and can
cause you quite a lot of trouble if steps are not taken to
check same before it gets any headway.

Cause.

Since the fresh-air poultry house has come into gen-
eral use all over the country I think this has made quite a
change in roup. There are not so many cases where these
houses are used as where the old style tight houses were
used before. Improper ventilation is a very common cause
of roup or colds; of course most cases of roup first come
from a bad cold; the glands of the head become affected
and run a watery fluid which later on as the disease de-
velops gets thick and purulent and full of bacteria or germs
and from this it is scattered through the whole flock.
These germs seem to get into the air and as soon as you go
into the house where a bird is with roup you can smell
the “roupy smell” for many feet off. Often roup is spread
by letting the bird with roup drink from the same vessel
the well ones do, roosting in the same house and on the
same roost and in fact it is very cantagious and all precau-
tions should be used to keep the disease from spreading.

Many people have their houses constructed on the
fresh-air plan and give their fowls the best of food and
care, still they are troubled with this disease and they are
unable to trace it as to where it comes from. It is one of
the most infectious diseases known and it can be traced
to many different origins. Sometimes when. you purchase
new breeding stock you get it from other breeders’ yards.
It is also contracted in the show room or from an infected
coop or other utensils. It is said that these germs can be
carried by the wind for miles while it is in its dry stage and
you are unable to account for it. Also many times fowls
will have roup without any indication of a cold, this is
more proof that it is a germ disease. These germs live on
and in the mucous membrane of the throat and of course
they are continually throwing these germs off and as they
dry they are carried by the wind and are breathed by well
birds and lodge in the throat, nostrils and eyes of well birds
and multiply rapidly and before you think what has hap-

AND THEIR REMEDIES 31

pened your bird will have a very bad case of roup and you
can’t possibly account for it.

Symptoms.

At first the bird will seem to
have a slight cold, the eyes will
water, the nostrils will have a
watery discharge, the face will
be very hot and feverish but
the body will not show any

& signs of fever and the tempera-
ture will be about normal. The
liquid that runs from the eyes
and nostrils will be thin and

watery, later truning to a grey color which turns a yellow-
ish color and gets hard. If this cheesy matter stays in the
eye it will sometimes cause the eye to go out or move from
its sockket, The bird seems to- want to isolate itself from
the rest of the flock and will be found over in the other
corner of the building by itself. Its gait will be very unsteady,
the feathers will be standing on their ends and the poor
bird is certainly a hard looking proposition.

The roof of the mouth or throat will become filled
with a hard cheesy matter which will be of a very offensive
smell. You can remove these cheesy growth every day and
they will be back again by the next day in mosi cases. Now
the bird will be very thin and will not eat anything at all.
When the bird first takes sick it will be healthy and in good
shape and in two or three days afterwards it will be noth-
ing but skin and bones. Roup will certainly make great
changes in a very short time.

When the bird seems to be breathing wi‘h great dif-
ficulty if you will open the bird’s throat and look in you
will see that the mouth and throat is nearly closed with
the hard cheesy growths and it is the air passing through
the throat that causes these loud noises. In some cases the
throat will close up from these growths and the bird will
then die from suffocation.

These growths will also extend into the nostrils and
eyes and cause the head and face to swell. In later stages
the comb will turn dark, and the bird will be so weak it
cannot stand alone. Now the birds will not last long un-

32 POULTRY DISEASE»

less it is a chronic case, if it is it will live for some time.
In these advanced stages you cannot expect a bird to get
well at once for there never was a bird with a bad case of
roup that got well at all. Now if it is a mild case you can
possibly cure it so it will never show but where the case is
very bad you will never get the bird entirely well. Fowls
that seem apparently well at times will show it at other
times. They will never be permanently cured. If it takes
a least bit of cold roup will appear again. It will also show
in chicks that were hatched from “roupy” birds; it may
not show until they get about grown but it is nearly cer-
tain to then. It is not a good idea to breed from a bird
that has ever had roup or any other bad disease for it will
evidently show in their offspring.

Remember that all colds, grippe and diphtheria are
not roup: if the roup smell is not present, it is not roup,
after you have a case or two to come under your observa-
tion you can detect it all right then. These germs seem
to poison the whole body of the bird and it will take at
least six months to get these germs or bacteria from the
system of the bird if you do then. Some claim that it can
be cured ‘but I have my first real bad case of roup yet to
see that was«cured even after twelve months’ time, Pre-
ventation is always the best cure and is the “cure” or treat-
ment we should use mostly.

Treatment.

Unless the bird is very valuable the best thing to do
is to kill it as soon as the disease is recognized; and burn
the body immediately. Then begin to clean up the prem-
ises thoroughly and try to locate the cause if possible. If
you wish to treat the affected birds you must isolate them.
It is best to have a pest house just as far away from the
rest of the flock as possible to have it. Use a good dis-
infectant about the house and yards, clean everything
thoroughly, remove the old droppings from the _ boards,
clean the old litter from the floor and replace with new,
make new nests, etc., in fact, clean everything that can be
cleaned, and do not leave anything undone.

Do not keep sick birds moping around to infect others.
You can not expect to get rid of the trouble unless you
work with it with determination. It is not a good policy
to waste three dollars worth of medicine on a dollar bird.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 33

Don’t wait for the first case to appear but try to stamp it
out as soon as you notice the first symptom. In isolating
the sick birds it is better to remove the well birds to new
quarters than to remove the sick but leave the affected
bird in the old quarters. The quarters occupied by the well
fowls should be disinfected well with a good strong disin-
fectant and place a@ bucket of water before them to which
about one teaspoonful of creolin has been added and do not
let them have any other water to drink. Keep the house
and yards sanitary at all times and this will be half the
battle for if you have them filthy you will have a harder
fight to make.

In treating the affected birds you should place them
in a dry, well ventilated coop well filled with clean straw
and change the bedding every other day so as to keep the
coop from getting filthy. Remove the discharge from the
nostrils by pressing downward on them. This discharge
will become hard after two or three days if allowed to
stay there any length of time. You can dry up this. dis-
charge by using a 50 per cent solution of creolin and
water. Bathe the eyes and face with it twice a day until it
dries up. You can also cleanse the parts with peroxide of
hydrogen daily and this will help keep the trouble under
headway. Apply the peroxide of hydrogen until it ceases
to foam then apply creolin solution, While using these treat-
ments you must give the bird a one grain pill of quinine
every night and morning.

If these yellowish scabs appear in the mouth or throat
you can remove them and apply peroxide of hydrogen to the
sores until it ceases to foam, then with a swab apply pure
creolin to them. Remove them as long as they appear and
treat as directed above. Place a few drops of nux vomica in
the bird’s drinking water as a tonic for this will help strength-
en the bird. Be with the bird as much as possible for if
you give it good attention you will get a much better and
quicker recovery.

There are many good remedies on the market for roup
and I think any of them will give you good satisfaction but
I will give you some very common treatments below and I
think any of them will give good results. It seems as
though. every person has his own treatment so below you
will find a number of good simple reliable remedies.

With a small blow gun or tube blow boracic acid in

34 . POULTRY DISEASES

- the throat and nostrils of the sick bird, Repeat this opera-
tion twice a day until the bird is well. This is said to be
a sure cure.

Take equal parts of sulphate of iron and Hyposulphite
of soda and give each bird affected four grains a day in
their drinking water. If the bird is too far gone to drink
or eat you will have to feed by hand.

Chlorate of potash 9 parts, permanganate of potas-
sium one part. Place a teaspoonful in a gallon of drinking
water for the sick bird. Highly recommended.

Dr. Wood’s favorite roup tablet is Aconite, Bryonia
and Spongia Compound, 1-100 grain each. One_ tablet
three times a day. Or if given in drinking water give
twelve tablets in each pint of water,

In preventing or treating roup there is nothing bet-
ter than to take a bucket of water and pour about one-
half pint of kerosene in it and dip the heads under and
leave there long enough to count four then remove and
wipe dry with soft cloth. Repeat this every day until well
and do not let them have any water to drink only that
which has kerosene in it.

The diet in roup should be simple, Feed plenty of
green food and make the mash at least one-half clover. Do
not feed any grain but give mash or something that will
tempt their appetite for they need it. Feed some mineral
matter, a few pieces of meat will be good for them and
will tempt their appetites. Watch the bird close and if
you do not see any change in three days you should kill
and cremate, for it. will never be any better. The houses
and coops should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected
every second day. Good sanitary quarters are the very
best preventatives for roup, See that your house has no
draughts in it.

Croup.

Croup may be classed with common colds and they
work very much alike. There is no germ present as in
roup. Croup is a catarrhal inflamation of the upper portion
of the windpipe, It may be caused from a common cold or
by inhaling irritating dust or vapor. Most of the diseases
that affect the head, throat and nasal passage originate
from filthy and dusty houses. Clean the houses often and
avoid this trouble.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 35

Symptoms,

The symptoms of croup are about the same as those
with a cold, only the bird breathes with great difficulty; the
neck will be stretched far out from the body with mouth
open in effort to breathe. The comb, face and wattles will
be purplish which is a good sign the bird is breathing with
difficulty. If you will catch the bird and open its mouth
you will soon discover the mucous membrane of the throat
to be swolen near the upper part of the windpipe. In
most cases there will be a great rattling in the throat when
the bird is breathing. The symptoms most generally ap-
pear suddenly when the bird seems entirely well. The
mouth and throat of the bird will be inflamed quite a lot
during the attack.

Treatment.

Place the bird in a dry, well ventilated coop well bed-
ded with clean straw. If the bird is breathing with much
difficulty you can help it if you will take a woolen cloth
and wring it out of icy water and wrap about the throat.
After the bird seems to be better take an atomizer and
make a fifty per cent solution of peroxide of hydrogen and
water and blow into the throat and windpipe. Repeat this
several times during a day. A few drops of kerosene will
in most cases prove very effective. If after these treat-
ments the bird is no better and is still breathing hard you
can give a tablet of arsenite of antimony 1-1000 of a drug
strength each every night and morning until the bird is
entirely well.

Another remedy is to take a gallon of water and add
a teaspoonful of creolin and boil it and let the bird inhale
the steam from the kettle. Let the bird inhale this for ten
or fifteen minutes twice a day.

Common Colds.

Fowls that have the best of care are liable to contract
common colds during the winter season when the cold
blustry winds are present. These common catarrhal colds
will not amount to much if they are begun on in time and
not let run on until they develop into something of a more
serious nature. Roup, canker, etc. are liable to develop
from a simple cold if allowed to have its own course. Im-
proper ventilation is a common cause of colds and especi-
ally if fowls are allowed to crowd up and become over-

36 POULTRY DISEASES

.heated and when they are let out in the morning they con-

tract a cold. If you will use the fresh air poultry house
you will not be troubled with cold so much for if fowls are
kept in houses that are well ventilated they will not take
cold so easy when let out in the morning.

In the fall when there is a cold rain with chilly wind
this will cause the birds to contract colds especially young
stock. Do not close the houses too tight early in the sea-
son but try to keep the birds used to cold weather. Avoid
draughts especially while the birds are on the roost; also
artificial heat in the poultry house for it is not practical.
Sudden atmospheric changes is also a common cause of
colds,

Symptoms.

Young stock are more apt to have colds during the
fall and winter than old birds. The first symptoms you
notice is a few bubbles in the eyes and a watery discharge
from the nostrils. The bird will not lose any flesh at all
and will eat and seem to be in a healthy condition only for
the discharge from the eyes and nostrils. If there is no
odor present it is not roup but if there is a bad odor then
it is roup instead of colds.

Treatment.

In treating common colds the first thing to do is to
try to locate the cause and prevent any further spread of
it. Air the house well daily; if you have been in the habit
of closing it tight every night do not do it but open the
windows and doors and let the birds have plenty of fresh
air to breathe. Avoid damp dropping boards by keeping
them cleaned every day, Do not allow a draught to pass
over the birds while they are on the roost. Keep them
housed close and do not let them out until they are entirely
well.

For individual treatment there is nothing better than
quinine, It will break up a very bad case of cold in from
two to four days. As soon as you notice the bird is sick re-
move it to a coop from the rest of the flock and give it a
one grain pill of quinine every night and morning until the
bird is entirely well, If the watery discharge gets thick
and purulent cleanse it out with preoxide of hydrogen once
a day. Aconite bryonia and spongia mixture is another
good remedy. Give a teaspoonful of the following in a quart

AND THEIR REMEDIES 37

of water, ten drops of the tincture of each in an ounce of
alcohol:

Sulphate of iron and hyposulphite of soda equal parts,
To each sick bird give four grains a day in a quart of its
drinking water. Colds are very easy to handle if taken in
time. The best way to do is to remove the cause for there
is always something that is causing it. Study everything
well and try to locate it if possible.

Diptheria.

This is another very contagious disease and works very
much like roup; there is much difference in opinions as
to whether this disease is caused by roup germs or original
diphtheria germs, Both work very much and in fact are
about the same only in diphtheria the “roupy” smell is
not present as in roup. While there is always a bad odor
present in diphtheria still it is not like the “roupy” smell
and is very easily distinguished from the old ‘‘roupy” smell.
The two diseases may co-exist and it is very hard to deter-
mine just where one leaves off. We could enter upon a
very lengthy discussion of these two diseases and still I do .
not think it would be of any practical value to the poultry-
man, so we will not take it up but try to give you informa-
tion that will help you distinguish the two after a little
practical experience.

In general appearance and effects it is about the same
as human diphtheria but I do not think it has the same
germ, although there are cases on record where fowls con-
tracted diphtheria from children and children from fowls
but still I do not think the germs are the same, It will
therefore, be understood that it is very contagious and
dangerous,

Symptoms.

Diphtheria will strike a bird suddenly, in the morning
the bird will seem perfectly well and in good health, at
night it will not eat and appear dumpish and will try to
isolate itself from the rest of the flock and will be found
over in some dark corner by itself. The feathers will
look rough, the wings will be drooped and upon examining
the bird you will find a very high fever, the comb will be
a bright red and after a day or so it will be dark color.
You frequently find a bird with a piping cough or heavy
breathing; this is caused from the mucus that is in the

38 POULTRY DISEASES

throat. Some cases the mucous will close the throat and
cause the bird to die from suffocation. If you will examine
the throat you will find it red and very much inflamed,
later small white specks will appear, on the inside of throat
and on the tongue or near the cleft of the palate. These
small specks or patches grow very fast and will run to-
gether and seem to cover the whole mouth or throat. If
you make any attempt to remove these patches you will
cause much bleeding and will leave a raw surface. These
patches can extend down into the windpipe and cause the
bird to die from suffocation, They will also get into the
eyes and nasal passages and cause swollen face and eyes.

If you remove these patches and they come away
without any bleeding and does not leave a raw surface your
bird hasn’t diphtheria. This is another way to tell it from
roup. When diphtheria once gets into you flock it is
very hard to break up or overcome. The early symptoms
are about the same as those of roup. It will attack turkeys,
ducks and pigeons as well as chickens,

Treatment.

Remove the bird at once from the rest of the flock.
Disinfect well the house, yards, etc., with a good reliable
dininfectant, (any of the coal tar products are good) and
begin individual treatment, for this is the only satisfactory
way to handle this trouble. With a small blow gun or glass
tube blow some powdered sulphur in the bird’s throat.
Open the mouth so you can see where the inflamation is
and get the sulphur right on the raw surfaces. Repeat
this twice a day, night and morning. If the membrane is
yellow and tough it is a good idea to make a swab with a
piece of cotton and apply pure creolin to them.

Peroxide of hydrogen will also be found very good when
applied to the membranes, Apply twice a day and as long
as it continues to foam. Mix thoroughly a grain of perman-
ganate of potassium with au ounce of fine powdered sugar
and blow this into the bird’s throat three times a day. Con-
tinue same until the bird is entirely well. I think this will
be found a good remedy. It is well to give the bird a good
tonic while sick about ten drops of nux vomica in a quart
of water will be found good. Feed good wholesome food and
some that will be easily digested.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 39

Canker.

This is a disease that will appear in all seasons of
the year but is found more during the fall, winter and
early spring than at any other time. It usuaily fastens on .
the strongest and most vigorous birds in the flock and this
is one thing that makes it seem so strange. It is slightly
contagious, some epidemics more so than others. It is well
to isolate all birds affected for you have much better
chance to treat them. Canker sores or patches will ap-
pear on any part of the mucous membrane of the mouth
and will some times appear in the eyes which causes the
bird to lose its sight.

' Cause

There has been much discussion as to what causes
this disease; it is my opinion that it is some germ which
belongs to this certain disease. It is also claimed by good
authorities that dusty, mouldy grains and food will cause
it, The musty food gets the digestive organs out of con-
dition and the trouble breaks out in the mouth and throat;
we know when our stomach get wrong, sores will come in
our throat and mouth, so this is very good reasoning I
think. After two male birds have been fighting, canker will
appear, in early stages it is nothing more than pus but it
later developes into a cheesy growth. It may come from
an old attack of roup

Symptoms.

The first symptom you notice is the small patches that
appear in the mouth and throat, and you do not notice this
as a general thing until the bird shows much difficulty in
eating, The neck in some cases especially where the attack
is a bad one, will be stiff. These cheesy growths will ap-
pear on any portion of the mucous
membrane and sometimes will be on
the opening of the windpipe and then
there will be much difficulty in
breathing, These growths are very
tough but can be easily removed
with some instrument without much
bleeding.

Treatment.

Equal parts of burnt alum and
boracic acid applied to canker sores
CANKER will prove affective in most cases.

40 POULTRY DISEASES

Apply it several times a day; place the bird in a good
dry coop away from the other birds and feed on soft food for
a few days, change the water twice a day. If a few drops of
nux vomica or tincture chloride of iron five drops to each
pint of water, is added, it will be a good tonic, Peroxide
of hydrogen applied to the sores will destroy the germs or
bacteria that are present.

Treating them with the creolin solution will also be
found satisfactory, Take a piece of cotton and twist on a
small stick and dip in a 50 per cent solution of creolin and
water and apply to the canker sores three times a day.
While giving these local treatments it will be well to give
each bird affected one tablet three times a day until the
bird is well, containing 1-1000 of a grain of mercury proti-
odide. If the bird gets very thin and weak it will be a
good idea to kill it for it will not amount to much as a
breeder or egg producer any more, even if it gets well for
its vitality will be somewhat weakened.

Put crush permanganate of potash, dry, on the canker.
Iodine is also a remedy applied to canker.

Pip.

Pip is a disease that works on the mucous membrane
of the mouth. It is the hardening of the tip of the tongue.
The tip will get real hard and scaly. There is some other
trouble back of this, for pip is no disease itself but only a
symptom of another disease. The general belief is that it
is caused by rapid breathing through the mouth instead of
* the nostrils. The tongue is in a dry state and if you would
remove the tip on it you would find it would bleed. Do
not remove it but try to soften it and get it back to normal
conditions if possible.

Treatment.

In treating this trouble you should study the conditions
of the bird and try to locate the trouble that is back of it.
Do not remove the dry tip of the tongue for you will not
accomplish any good results if you do. It will harm the
bird more than it will do good. If you will paint the
tongue with glycerine three times a day it will help the
diseased organ to recover its normal conditions. If you
notice a bird in your flock pick up a grain of corn and then
throw it down again you should make investigation im-
mediately, this is a symptom of pip. To treat a whole
flock you can give a tablespoonful of Epsom salts in a quart

AND THEIR REMEDIES 4]
of water and this will straighten them out alright. Feed
the birds on mashes to which some cut clover has been ad-
ded. A few drops of nux vomica will also be very helpful
in restoring the bird to its normal condition again.

Influenza or “Grip.”

This disease will appear in any season of the year and
in any climate, it resembles roup very much and may ap-
pear with it. It is a very contagious disease and you
should use great effort in trying to keep it from: spreading
as much as possible. Grippe will appear in many forms
and one particular one is a roupy cold without the roup
odor or smell.

Cause,

This trouble generally appears in winter or fall and
it is believed that bad hygiene with unsanitary surround-
ings, cold winds and anything that will tend to weaken
the bird will cause it. It is no doubt caused by a germ
which makes it so contagious. When ‘“grippe” breaks out
in our families you always notice it will generally go
through the entire family before it checks. No doubt it is
very contagious.

Symptoms.

The bird generally begins to shiver or tremble first
and will sneeze a great deal, as if taking a sudden cold.
The eyes will run a watery discharge. There will be a thin
greenish diarrohea, the eyes will swell, the comb and legs
will be very hot, the throat will be red and inflamed but
there will be no patches present. The bird will be very
thirsty and the breath may be of a very bad odor but there
is no roupy smell present.

Treatment.

Place the bird in a coop away from the other birds
and begin to give it a pill of quinine containing one grain,
every night and morning until the bird begins to improve
then give only one pill a day. While using quinine it will
be well to cleanse the throat, nostrils, etc. out with per-
oxide of hydrogen at least twice a day. A creolin solution
will also prove very effective in most cases; about a tea-
spoonful of creolin in a pint of water, Keep the bird in a
well ventilated coop that is free from draughts, have good
dry litter and clean every day, do not let it become damp.

42 POULTRY DISEASES

Feed the bird on good wholesome food and do not let the
bird contract another cold for the second attack will appear.

Conjunctivitis or Eye Troubles.

Conjunctivitis is a disease that effects the mucous
membrane of the eyes and it is very contagious and is
accompanied by the rapid development of cheesy growths
which will cause much pain to the bird. It is caused from
a germ which originates from musty or mouldy food and
litter, exposure to cold winds and rains. Some years ago
I was using’ some chaff from the stable loft as litter in one
of my brooders, it was very dusty and perhaps mouldy,
before I realized what had taken place the whole bunch of
chickens had a very bad case of eye trouble, the eyes were
watery which would later get purulent and the lids would
adhere to each other. This trouble no doubt was caused
by using this dusty litter in the brooder. This trouble can
also be caused from some foreign body getting into the
eye which causes inflamation to set in. Mild cases will
need no medical treatment but will get well spontaneously
after the disease has run for several days.

Symptoms,

The first symptom that is noticed is the fowl keeping
the eye closed most of the time. It seems as though the
light is very painful to the bird. The lids will adhere to
each other, the growths will appear beneath the eye. You
will often see the bird picking or scratching the eye with
its toes. On the wings near the shoulder you will find
crusts of this yellowish matter from where the bird has
been rubbing. The bird will have no appetite in real bad
cases and will be thin and dumpish.

Treatment.

Clean the houses and coops thoroughly and keep the
affected birds in clean well aired quarters. Bathe the eyes
in 25 per cent solution of boracic acid and water, three
times a day. If there are any yellowish growths below the
eye remove them by gentle pressure; usually after they are
removed once they will never appear any more: If this
growth is allowed to remain it will likely cause the eyes
to go out, After removing this growth you should anoint
the eyes with the following: A two per cent creolin oint-
ment made with vaseline.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 43

Another good remedy is to bathe the eyes with a 50
per cent solution of preoxide of hydrogen and water twice
a day; preoxide of hydrogen will destroy all germs that are
present. Feed the bird well while convalescent and re-
member it is much easier to prevent a disease than to cure
it. Try to locate the trouble that causes this conjunctivitis
or eye trouble.

GAPES

A Disease that Kills Thousands of Small Chicks An-
nually and One That Has Been Prevalent Among
Poultry For More than 100 Years. Its Cause,
Symptoms and Treatment and How to
Prevent It.

Gapes is one of the oldest diseases kuown to effect
poultry and has been prevalent among fowls for more than
100 years. Perhaps there is no other poultry disease that
has caused so much trouble or excited as much interest as
gapes. Back in the early part of the eighteenth century
there was much discussion as to what caused gapes and it
was quite a while before they decided it was due to a small
gape worm that takes up its abode in the windpipe of the
fowl. Gapes most frequently makes it appearance among
little chicks but old fowls have been known to have these
worms also and they are not exempt from them by any
means. ;

Gapes is stricly a parasitic disease and is caused by a
small gape worm which is called Synganus Trachealis.
These worms attach themselves to the linings of the wind-
pipe and the severity of the disease is governed by the num-
ber of worms that are present. When gapes appear in a
fiock- you will always notice it is in the early spring and in
damp weather. A real young chick can not stand the at-
tack as well as other birds. When they are present in large
numbers they’ll suck the blood from the tissues and cause
much inflamation of the mucous membrane. These para-
sites vary in size from one-eighth to one-half inch long and
the circumferance of their body will be about the size of
a very fine needle. In early stages their bodies are of a
very light color but later when they are full of blood they

44 POULTRY DISEASES

are of a bright red, in fact their color is determined by the
amount of blood they have taken from the fowl.

When they increase in number they will obstruct the
opening of the windpipe and cause the fowl to “gape” for
breath and this is where the disease first took its name.
In real bad cases the irritation and larger number of worms
that are in the throat causes the bird to strangle to death,
especially in very young chicks. The worms have very lit-
tle effect on the older chick or adult bird but they will
prove a source of infection for the rest of the flock if al-
lowed to go unmolested.

The worst time for these parasites to appear in a
flock of chicks is when they are from one to four weeks
old; they are too young then to stand the loss of blood due
to these worms. If you open a chick’s windpipe after it has
died from gapes a number of queer little worms will be
found; they seem to have two heads and are shaped very
much like the letter Y. This is two worms though, the
male and: female worm and they are closely united for
breeding, While they are in this position the female de-
velopes her eggs and the male fertilizes them.

Where Do These Worms Originate?

It is claimed by good authorities that these gape
worms originate from the common earth worms and garden
slugs; they are eaten by fowls and then while swallowing,
some of the eggs or embryo gape worms lodge in the throat
and windpipe and the disease starts in this manner. Then
of course some are passed from the fowl in the droppings
and the ground will become contaminated in this manner.
After the earth once gets full of them it is a hard matter
to get them out any more and the only thing to do is to
cultivate the ground and do not let the birds have it for
their run for at least two years afterwards.

The female worm does not lay the eggs singly as it
would be supposed but will not lay them at all, she will
hold them until there are perhaps several thousand then
they are passed from the female worm through some
puneture of her body. It is in this manner they are de-
posited in the dringing vessel and passed from the birds
in the droppings to well birds and this is the way the
disease spreads, Birds often cough up these eggs and
worms for you know a cough is always present with gapes

Ova in different stages
evelopment

Schracenss
Saree

This illustration, furnished by courtesy of Drs, Hess and Clark, Ash-
land, Ohio, shows gape worms in the trachea or wind pipe.

46 POULTRY DISEASES

so you see how easy it is to scatter this disease over a lot
of ground and hence to healthy chicks.

Many of the embryo worms and eggs are eaten but very
few of them will find their way into the windpipe and of
course they are passed out with the droppings and prove
another source of infection, for the well birds, often one
single worm will cause you a whole lot of trouble and
cause the entire flock to become infested with gapes.
Gapes will appear among wild birds as well as domestic and
it is thought that while they are flying over your poultry
yard they will expell their droppings and in this manner
your entire flock will become infested with this deadly dis-
ease,

Symptoms.

You rarely ever know your chicks have gapes until
you notice some of them gaping, and sometimes a slight
cough will be present in the early stages of the attack.
There is great difficulty in swallowing, breathing, etc.
The bird will be weak and will not be able to follow the
rest of the flock; the wings will be drooped and a slight
discharge of mucous and worms in some of the worst
cases. The symptoms of gapes is very much like bronchitis
and pneumonia and to make sure you are right before you
begin treating the birds it is well to make a post-mortem
examination by cutting the windpipe lengthwise and ex-
amining the linings of the windpipe thoroughly and if
there are worms present they will be seen easily with a
magnifying glass. In gapes there is not fever but in the
above disease there is always a fever present.

Treatment.

When gapes first makes its appearance in a flock the
best thing to do is to remove all birds affected from the
other birds and place them in coops by themselves. Take
a gallon of water and add one teaspoonful of creolin and
this will be a good preventative and will cure some of the
worst cases. A bad case of gapes came under my observa-
tion a few years ago and as an experiment I gave it some
water to which a few drops of creolin had been added and
in a few days the chick was well and free from gapes, And
this proved to me that creolin was one of the best drugs
to use in treating and preventing gapes. A strong creolin
solution will also make a good disinfectant to use in the

AND THEIR REMEDIES 47

yards where they have been running. Spray the entire
surface of the yard with it and then scatter some air slack-
ed lime over it. If you have no sprayer take a_ good
sprinkler and use instead. Still better if you can do it, is
to move every bird old and young from the old run and
have a new one ready for them and plow the old run up
and plant in something so you can cultivate it for about
two years. This is the only safe way to get the gape worms
or germs out of the ground, They will stay in the ground
for years if nothing is done to exterminate them.

Air the brooders and coops daily and do not let them
roost on the ground or anywhere, where it is damp. Wash
all drinking vessels out daily with scalding water and place
a few drops of carbolic acid in them. Burn all birds that
die and all worms that have been extracted from their
windpipes. Spray the yard at least twice a week with the
two per cent creolin solution and use all effort to try to
keep the trouble under headway. If you remove the birds
to new runs and place a few drops of creolin in their drink-
ing water I think you will be able to handle the disease
all right. A small piece of copperas in the drinking water
is said to be a good preventative by good authorities.

Some Simple Means of Removing the Worms.

There are many simple ways to get the worms out of
the bird’s windpipe and we all know we must get them
away in order to affect a cure. Lime dust is a very simple
and sure remedy and no doubt one of the most satisfactory.
Make a box as large as you want to and place your chicks
in it and place a piece of burlap over it and sift air slacked
lime over the chicks and this will make them cough up the
worms. The lime irritates the linings of the windpipe
and also some of the finer tubes of the chest and its use
is followed by much coughing and sneezing which dislocates
the worms and cause them to be eoughed up. Do not let
the chicks stay in the box long enough to kill them, you
can regulate the time by your own judgment. Plenty of
fresh air must be supplied while they are undergoing the
treatment or else you will kill them or cause a serious in-
flamation of the mucous membrane of the throat and wind-
pipe.

Another good way to extract the gape worms from the
windpipe is by using a horse hair wire gape worm extract-

48 POULTRY DISEASES

er or a feather, This is done by placing them in the wind-
pipe and with a little twisting turn draw it out. The ob-
ject being is to detach the worms and draw them out, It
is well to dip the extractor into creolin solution before and
after it has been used. In treating birds in this manner the
operator should sit in a comfortable position where he has
a good light and everything he needs in reach of him. Have
one box for the chickens that have never been treated and
one for the ones that he has treated. Be steady and keep
your head, you may kill several at first but you will soon
get onto it and be able to treat them with ease and surety,

By having a split bottom basket and placing the chicks
in it, and swinging it through sulphur fumes _ several
times you can kill the gape worms in this manner, but be
careful and do not over do it.

The camphor remedy is also good. Catch each bird
affected and place a_ piece of camphor down its throat
about the size of a grain of wheat and you will have no
more gape worms, it is certainly a good satisfactory cure.

Scatter plenty of air slacked lime over your runs and
you will find this a good preventative for this dreaded dis-
ease. If you will keep the chicks in disinfected runs until
they get three months old you can let them have more liberty
for the most of the danger is over then. Keep the coops
dry and sanitary and do not let them get filthy; keep your
chicks roosting on boards. This will also help prevent the
trouble. Every little thing you can do will help keep this
dread disease under headway, Remember it is always much
easier to prevent disease than it is to cure it,

Apoplexy.

As a general thing this disease appears in pullets that
are too fat, although it will affect old hens and male birds
to some extent but nothing like the former. Apoplexy is
the result of a ruptured blood vessel of the brain and the
pressure of blood which escapes from same, The main
cause of the trouble is caused from feeding stimulating
foods in too large quantities and the result is over fat
birds. Pullets in laying their first eggs will some times
strain and in doing this they will rupture a blood vessel
of the brain and the result is you find them on the nest
dead. They are too fat to stand any strain for this fatty
degeneration weakens the walls of the arteries which can

AND THEIR REMEDIES 49

not resist the pressure. Birds will sometimes die while
on the roost, or they will drop dead while in the yard but
as a general thing there must be some over exertion to
cause the rupture of the blood vessel. Fowls that have been
chased around the yard will sometimes fall its prey;
the increased action of the heart causes the blood to flow
to the brain and the rupture is the result.

Symptoms.

The bird is generally dead before you suspect any-
thing wrong with it. But cases have come under my obser-
vation of late where a pullet or hen would go on the nest
to lay and while straining trying to expel the egg their
comb gets dark or purple while before it was a bright
red. This is a good symptom of apoplexy and you should
begin to work on them. Also after running a bird if the
comb gets dark or purple you should make investigation
immediately. If the bird seems to be in an over fat condi-
tion and stands around with the wings drooped you should
begin at once to locate the trouble.

Treatment,

Very little can be done for birds with this trouble; the
best treatment is prevention. Do not let your birds get
into this overfat condition, feed foods that have not such
stimulating qualities and make your birds exercise after all
the food they get. Do not feed corn or cornmeal in large
quantities if you do an overfat condition is sure to appear
and apoplexy will result.

If you wish to treat the birds the best thing that can
be done is to apply ice to the head or cold water, for it is
very important to keep it cool. A laxative such as castor
oil or olive oil should be given. the bird if it can be made
to swallow it. Bleeding the bird will help it in some cases.
This can be done with a sharp knife by opening the blood
vessel on the under side of the wing. Let two to two and
one-half teaspoonfuls of blood flow before allowing it to
clot. This will reduce the pressure of the vessels. Pro-
vide some protection for the bird from the heat and keep
in a cool coop until entirely well; and remember apoplexy
is much easier prevented than it is cured. There are not
many cases where they were entirely cured,

50 POULTRY DISEASES

Congestion of the Brain.

Congestion of the brain is not a common disease by
any means but still there are a lot of poultrymen that are
troubled with it. It is generally found where birds are
in an over fat condition just like apoplexy. In the summer
while the rays of the sun is at its best you will also find it
occasionally. Congestion of the brain and fits work very
much alike and worms may be another common cause. By
post-mortem examination you can detect the _ intestinal
worms if they are present. When you find a bird with this
trouble you usually find convulsions, giddiness, and un-
certainty in walking. The bird will throw its head back
or forwards and this symptom is very much like limber-
neck, Nothing can be done for such cases only preventa-
tion. If you wish to treat the bird use cold application to
the head and keep it in as cool a place as possible where
the heat can not effect it.

LIMBERNECK.

A Disease that is not Contagious as Most People Think
—It is Simply a Symptom of Another Disease—Its
Cause, Symptoms and Treatment.

Most people who have had any experience with limber-
neck think that it is very contagious after it once breaks
out in a flock. They have the wrong idea of it and it is
not contagious at all. It is no disease only a symptom of
some other disease or trouble. Limberneck is caused by
the birds eating some decayed body or flesh. It is ptomaine
poisoning, We have always noticed that limberneck will
break out during the hot summer months; while the weeds
are high and thick one of the hens happen to die and there
she lies until she is eaten up by other members of the flock.
She is full of maggots in a few days and the birds eat
them and the result is ptomaine poisoning. Some good
authorities claim that any kind of maggots will cause
limberneck and it looks like they would but I cannot think
it for all maggots are not full of poison and it is the pelea
and not the maggots that cause the trouble.

It is a hard matter to locate the dead carcass where
the flock has free range and especially farm flocks. You

AND THEIR REMEDIES 51

might find one or two and still there would be another in
some secluded place where you would not dream of look-
ing and still you would lose a lot of your birds by them
eating it. When the trouble breaks out the best thing to
do is to place the entire flock in yards and keep them there
until you know the dead carcasses have had time to decay
and leave.

Limberneck is common to all parts of the country and
the name certainly does describe the condition they are
in for their necks are limber sure; and it is very easily rec-
ognized by the muscles of the neck being partially paralyz-
ed. And this no doubt is where the trouble first took
its name, Feeding meats that are full of maggots, and
other poisonous foods that are indigestible have been
known to cause bad cases of limberneck.

Symptoms.

The bird will stand in a stupid position and will have
no energy to move about and follow the rest of the flock
but will try to isolate itself in some dark corner and hold
iis neck in an arched position with the crown of its head
resting on the ground between its feet. They will also
have convulsions and twist their neck in many different
positions and the neck is surely limber as the name implies.
In some cases instead of the neck hanging down between the
feet it will throw it back and the bird’s head will rest nearly
on its back and twists nearly around; this is known as
“wry-neck.”

Treatment,

As soon as you find the diseased bird give any medi-
cine you have or anything else that will counteract the
poison. Give a small dose of oil of terpentine and sweet
oil equal parts will be found very good in throwing off the
poison; in about thirty or forty minutes after you give the
turpentine and oil give the bird all the sweet milk it will
drink, a little ginger added to the milk will be good also.
Keep the bird in a warm dry coop and in from twelve to
twenty-four hours the bird will show much improvement
and will be ready to be turned out and given the same
rations as before, feed plenty of green food and ten drops
of nux vomica in a quart of drinking water will be found
helpful as a tonic after a few days. Hyposulphite of soda
one ounce to each gallon of drinking water will be good for

52 POULTRY DISEASES

the flock or some cases that are not of a serious nature;
allow no other drink until the trouble is gone,

Search the premises thoroughly for any dead and de-
cayed bodies that are full of maggots. If your flock has
free range it would be well to keep them confined in small
yards for a week or ten days so that the decayed flesh can
disappear, Cut all weeds about the place and see if the
cause can be found. Limberneck will never amount to
much if it is taken into hands at once after the first case
appears,

Another remedy for this trouble is to take equal parts
of pure lard, mustard, cayenne pepper and ginger and mix
thoroughly and make out into slugs about the size of a
bean and give one for a dose and repeat in three hours if
necessary . This is an old remedy and is a sure remedy to
counteract the poison. Also if pure lard is melted up and a
tablespoonful is poured down the bird it will in most cases
effect a cure. Remember that limberneck is not contagious
by any means and can be stamped out readily if taken in
hands at once and the cause removed,

Treatment of Limberneck.

Give each fowl a piece of gum camphor the size of a
grain of wheat and wash it down with a spoonful of kero-
sene oil; repeat in 10 or 12 hours if necessary. If throat
if filled with maggots clean these out by filling the crop
with warm water, medicated with disinfectant and _ hold-
ing the mouth open and head down squeeze the crop rub-
ber ball fashion several times, then apply the treatment.

THE COMB.

Its Diseases and Injuries—With Cause, Symptoms and
Treatment.

The comb of a bird is very helpful to the poultry keep-
er in determining the condition it is in for just as soon as
the bird gets the least bit out of condition the comb will
show it immediately. This is about the only way we have
to determine the bird’s condition, and it.is about the same
in the human patient the physician has the tongue instead.
There are no diseases of the comb and they are only symp-
toms of some other disease that the bird has. Always re-

AND THEIR REMEDIES 53

member that when the comb of a bird gets pale or purple
there is always some other disturbance in the body that is
causing it. We very often notice the tips of the comb get-
ting purple, in this case the disturbance is only slight but
when the comb and wattles get dark, the trouble is very
serious and something should be done immediately for the
trouble will no doubt be fatal if nothing is done.

We all realize what color combs our birds should
possess and to get this bright red color we must give them
the best of attention, food, etc., or else these symptoms
may appear, We can prevent most any poultry diseases if
we have a mind to do so; proper care, food, and housing
are all that is needed to keep the wirds in a healthy condi-
tion. Remember that the comb is always the first place to
show any disturbances of the organs of the bird’s body.

Black Rot.

The name of this disease itself really tells the whole
story, The comb turns black and the tissues seem to be
dead and the diseased parts will rot off or become separat-
ed in time from the rest of the comb and leaves a very un-
sightly stump as when the comb has been frosted. Black
rot is found only in high combed breeds, only rare cases
of black rot in birds that have low combs. The cause of
this -trouble is due from improper circulation of blood
through the comb which causes the tissues to become dead.
Most every case of black rot will be caused from some kind
of liver trouble. Every time the liver gets out of order
the comb will show it and tells the whole story.

Symptoms.

In the early stages of black rot the comb will be just
a little dark; generally the points become pale or purplish,
and in a few days the whole comb will become dark. Cases
where the bird is in a healthy condition and with strong
vitality the diseased portion of the comb will separate from
the other and fall off leaving a stump. The color changes
from a purple to a blue and then to black. The bird will
not have much appetite and will stand around in a stupid
position and will have very little energy.

Treatment,
Just aS soon as you notice a bird of your flock with
a dark comb you should catch it at once and place in a

54 ; POULTRY DISEASES

coop and begin immediate treatment for in advance stages
of black rot treatment is of little value then and nothing
can be done. Feed plenty of green food and do not give
stimulants; see that the bird has plenty of sunlight and
fresh air, Paint the comb three times a day with the fol-
lowing lotion: Water one ounce, glycerine three-fourths
of an ounce, and carbolic acid crystals one grain. Now
add one teaspoonful of muriate of ammonia to each pint of
the drinking water, this will help the liver perform its
duties more easily.

Prosphate of soda is also said to be good; give the sick
bird one-half teaspoonful daily. Now the treatment of
black rot will be of little value as I said above but the
proper way to begin treatment is to locate the cause under-
lying the trouble and try to prevent any more cases from
appearing and deal with the old cases the best way you
ean. Mild cases can be cured if taken in time but advanc-
ed cases treatment will not do much good.

Favus (White Comb).

We hardly ever meet this disease in the poultry yard
although it is very contagious and as soon as it makes its
appearance in a flock it should be stamped out immediately
‘by all means. Favus (white comb) is a skin disease of
germ origin. Birds that have free range rarely have this
trouble unless they have been exposed to it by coming in
contact with other birds that had it. The cause of favus
is lack of green food, sunshine and exercise. Keep your
houses closed up tight during the winter months when
the fowl are compelled to stay in and you will have favus.
Close air is the main cause,

Symptoms.

The first symptom is the coming of little white or
reddish pimples on the face and comb; they are nearly al-
ways of a whitish color when first noticed but later turn
reddish, When first noticed they are under the skin and
are higher at the circumferance than at the center. They
will vary in size from a pin head to one-half inch in diam-
eter. These pimples will appear on the ¢omb, wattles, ear
lobes and on the crest of the head, then after several days’
time they will cover the entire body of the bird, but only
in very severe cases, These pimples will break and the

AND THEIR REMEDIES 55

watery fluid will run over the surface and drys which gives
the skin a white appearance, as the bird moves around this
will break it and it will fall off and look like wheat bran.
In bad cases the feathers will fall out and this gives the
bird a very bad appearance indeed.

Treatment.

Rub the affected parts with carbolated vaseline and
give the bird a few drops of nux vomica or tincture chlo-
ride of iron 20 to 30 drops in a gallon of drinking water.
If possible give the bird free range where it can get plenty
of green food and exercise. Do not keep the birds under
such unhygenic conditions. Disinfect and ventilate the
houses well and do not crowd them in small tight houses
for you cannot expect to keep them healthy if kept in such
traps. The cause of this trouble should suggest a cure.

Fungoid,

While fungoid is not a very common disease still it
is one of the worst diseases to handle after it once gets
started in a flock of birds. It is very contagious and can
be passed from bird to bird. If no means are taken to
prevent its spread it will soon run through your whole
flock and will cause great loss. It usually breaks out
in flocks that have: been feed on food that is rich in starch
elements and especially flocks that are low in vitality.
Fungoid will not go through a flock of “run down” birds
that are low in vitality as fast as one that is healthy and vig-
orous. It is a local rather than a general disease, and the
whole force of the disease seems to show itself in the
comb and wattles but in bad cases the disease will spread
over the whole body; but in most cases the comb and
wattles are the only places it is noticed.

The first you notice of the disease is the appearance
of the small shot like substance under the skin and they
feel hard like shot at first‘ and you could hardly distin-
guish them, Later as the disease advances these small sub-
stances will flatten and burst through the skin and a dis-
charge will flow through the punctures of a straw color.
In about three days after this crop comes and goes there
will be another one come and crop after crop of these
pimples will appear. This discharge will dry on the surface
of the skin and cause the bird much pain from irritation

56 POULTRY DISEASES

and it will be found trying to scratch its comb and face
with its claws. Bleeding will follow this if something is
not done to prevent it. The bird is now a bad _ looking
prospect indeed and no lover of poultry would care to
look at the poor unfortunate bird.

Treatment.

Do not let the well birds run with those affected but
isolate them at once. Place the sick bird in a light coop
well bedded with clean straw and change every other day,
Wash the comb and wattles with a 50 per cent solution of
peroxide of hydrogen and water night and morning and then
apply a solution of carbolic acid crystals and water, five
grains to a pint of water. If after a weeks’ treatment the
bird does not show any improvment it is well to kill it and
bury it for it will never amount to very much even if it
should be well in a year, for it will always be weak and have
low vitality and unfit for breeding purposes. To keep the bird
from scratching the comb and affected parts tie the legs
together with a string just lose enough to allow it to walk
and stand but not so it can scratch itself.

Feed the bird on good stimulating food and some-
thing that will tempt its appetite for the bird will be weak
and thin and will not have very much appetite. A little
nux vomica in the bird’s drinking water, say about ten drops
in a quart of water will be a good tonic for the sick bird.

Frost-bite.

I think most every poultryman has had more or less ex-
perience with this trouble and I think very little need be
said about it only prevent it by keeping your birds in
warm, well ventilated houses. Some think that if they
make the house air tight it will be warmer but this is all
a mistake for if the fowls have no fresh air to breath they
can not possibly stand the cold. Low vitality in birds and
not enough food will cause frost-bite more and in a worse
form. A bird that is in a good healthy condition and has
enough food in its crop to do until morning will stand a
great deal more cold than a bird with low vitality and no
food can, ‘

Of course the taller and thinner the comb is the more
easily it will freeze when exposed to cold weather. When
the temperature drops thirty to forty degrees in a single

AND THEIR REMEDIES 57

night we can not well prevent this from happening but if
we provide warm houses and plenty of good food for the
birds frost bites will not bother us very mucn. The best
house and the best care will not prevent this some times.

Treatment,

In treating a frost-bite do not try to thaw it out all at
once for you are doing the wrong thing when you do. If
you can get snow at the time you can apply this to the
frosted parts and draw out the frost; this can not be done
in a few minutes either but it will take hours of work to
bring the frost out. Nothing can be done to save a right
bad frozen comb, for after it has become black or purple
you can do nothing, but you might try and may be able to
lose only the points. Do not take the bird in a warm room
or in the sunlight but let the bird stay where it will warm
up gradually, If the comb is swollen and there are water
blisters on it open them with a fine needle and allow the
water to run out; and apply witchhazel salve to it. Apply
tincture of benzoin locally twice a day will be found good.
-One ounce of vaseline, one-half ounce of quinine and two
ounces of kerosene well mixed and rubbed on the comb
and wattles will be found satisfactory if applied as soon
as found. The point is not to let the frosted parts run
for a day or two and then begin treatment but begin as
soon as found, and you will likely save most of the comb.

Injuries.

The comb may be injured in many ways, fighting, or
from getting caught in the wire fence or lath partition
dividing the house and yards, all are common causes. As
soon as you notice the bird’s comb injured remove it from
the rest of the flock for they have a tendency to pick at
the blood and this may grow into a very bad habit. If
you will take a fine needle and white silk thread or cat
gut you can stitch up the wound and with a little pains it
will grow back and will be hardly noticable.

Keep the bird in a coop by itself until the parts are
thoroughly healed and you will prevent the birds from
picking at it and causing it to heal slowly. If the comb is
slow in healing apply vaseline to the parts.

58 POULTRY DISEASES

CHAPTER V.

THE LUNGS.

The Diseases of the Lungs—With Their Causes, Symp-
toms and Treatment.

There are five diseases that affect the lungs, con-
sumption, bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis and conges-
tion of the lungs. The latter disease is simply the early
stages of pnemuonia and if allowed to run on without
prompt treatment the result will be a very bad attack of
pneumonia. These different diseases are not passed from
one bird to another but it is best to isolate all birds so as
to give better attention. It is well to separate all sick
birds from well ones even if they have no contagious dis-
ease. ;

Consumption.

Consumption in most cases is simply an aftermath of
roup. It is contagious but appears in individual cases
as in the human family. This disease rarely ever ap-
pears in strong healthy birds but flocks that are low in
vitality and from weak ancestors often fall the prey of
consumption. The nature of this dreaded disease is well
known. We know it is the wasting away of the lung tis-
sues, and the general health of the whole bird, just as in
the human family. It is a disease that should be shun-
ned as much as possible . If your birds seem weak and
with little vitality it is best to dispose of them and replace
with others for fear this trouble might break out in your
flock. -

Symptoms.

In the early stages of the disease the only symptom
you notice is simply weakness without any cause whatever.
In the course of a week or ten days you will notice some
difficulty in breathing especially if the bird is chased over
the yard a few times. There will be a rattling sound as

AND THEIR REMEDIES 59

in bronchitis, While on the roost there will also be some
roughness of respiration. At this time the bird may be
laying and seem in very good health only a slight weakness
but after a month or go the bird will be very thin and
“wasting away.’ The comb will be pale, and there will be
a slight diarrhoea and the food will not be digested prop-
erly and will pass from the bird in about the same state
as it was when eaten. The rattling in the throat will be
somewhat louder and if you go into your house at night
after the birds are on the roost you will wonder what is
in the bird’s throat to affect the respiration in that way.

Treatment.

The best and safest treatment is to use the “hatchet”
and cremate the birds killed. In this way you might pre-
vent any other spread of the disease and otherwise you
would cause your whole flock to become contaminated
with this dreadful disease. If many cases break out in
your flock it will be well to dispose of all birds on the
place and get a new start for they are very low in vitality
and will never be found successful as breeders. I do not
believe any case of consumption can be cured especially
after it gets into the advanced stages.

Bronchitis.

Bronchitis is an inflamation of the membranes of
the bronchial tubes instead of the nostrils and head
passages as some think. This disease can be of a light
stage or very serious one. Some cases will not be any-
thing more than a simple cold while still another one will
be as severe as the worst attack of roup. Bronchitis is
nothing more than catarrh only bronchitis affects the
breathing tubes while catarrh is an inflamation of the
nostrils and head.

It is caused from exposing the bird to cold winds
and storms, sudden changes in the temperature and damp
quarters, etc. At certain times I have had good reason to
believe that bronchitis can be caused from breathing foul
and impure air. I have known cases where there were no
other cause. Particles of lime or dust will also cause this
trouble. Bronchitis will some times affect small chicks
after they have been exposed to rains, or overheated
brooders.

60 POULTRY DISEASES

Syrnptoms.

This disease is not noticed until it has a few days
start of you. If you are a close observer of your birds you
may be able to notice it. At first the bird will be very
thirsty and the body and legs will be very hot and with a
high fever. The comb will be a bright red and quite warm.
There will be a rattling sound in the throat or bronchial
tubes caused from the mucous that is present in them
which effects the breathing. In early stages of the
disease there is a wheezing sound, later there is a rattling
as the mucous increases.

Treatment.

Remove the bird from its mates and place in a warm
well ventilated coop bedded with good clean straw. Keep
the coop clean and in a sanitary condition at all times.
Give it 20 drops of tincture of Aconite in each quart of
the drinking water and allow no other drink for a week
or until the bird is nearly well. In very mild cases this
will be the only treatment necessary, If the cough or rat-
tling does not stop try the following: Get some tablets of _
arsenite of antimony 1-1000 of a drug strength each and
give one three times a day to the sick bird until well.

Other remedies for bronchitis are spirits of turpentine
ten drops in a teaspoonful of castor oil every five hours
until relieved. Flaxseed tea is also good and is nourishing.

Feed the sick bird a warm crumbly mixture of beaten
egg, bread crumbs and oatmeal, just what it will clean up
and no more. Beef juice will also be found good if the
bird is very weak. Keep charcoal and grit before it also.
Try to prevent any more cases from appearing in your
flock by going to the bottom of every thing and finding
the cause. It is easier to prevent a poultry disease than
it is to cure it. And in preventing them you do not take
any chances of losing your best birds. In treating this dis-
ease you will find it will respond very well to medical
treatment, and is very easily handled.

Congestion of the Lungs.

This trouble is caused by sudden chilling or most any
kind of exposure of the fowls. The name describes their
condition, We very often find a case of congested lungs
late in the fall when the bird is slow to get through moult-
ing, They haven’t enough feathers on their bodies to pro-
tect them from the sudden change of the weather.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 61

Symptoms.

The bird will stand around on one foot and will have
no energy to move about and will refuse to eat. The comb
will turn black or dark and there will be a bloody dis-
charge from the mouth which is of a mucous nature. If
you make a post-mortem examination you will discover the
lungs full of blood and wiil look very unnatural. Before
you realize what has taken place the bird will be dead and
there will be no -warning unless you are a very close Ob-
server of your flock. Some cases you will notice some
difficulty in breathing.

Treatment,

You should give all your thought in preventing any
new cases, for nothing can be done for the sick birds as
they are generally dead before you realize what has taken
place. See that your birds have good, dry, comfortable
quarters especially those that are just moulting. Feed
good pure food and give them plenty of animal food while
the birds are going through their moult.

If you will give the sick bird one drop of tincture
of the amorphcus aconitine every two hours you may be
able to save the bird, especially if taken in its early stages.
Do not give large doses once or twice a day rather than
small ones every two hours for you get better results from
the latter, The best treatment for congestion of the lungs
is preventation for no medical treatment will be found
satisfactory. Remember to keep the bird in a room with
an average temperature of 70 degrees.

Pneumonia.

Pneumonia is simply a second attack of congestion
of the lungs. This is an inflamation of a catarrhal na-
ture affecting the air cells of the lungs. This is generally
a very quick death and they usually pass away in a day
or two after they reach this stage. Most cases of pneu-
monia prove fatal. The symptoms are about the same as
those of congestion of the lungs. If you place the ear to
the chest you will readily hear the cracking sound as the
bird breathes. The bird may even pant for breath as in
the summer. The bird will often sit in a squatting posi-
tion with the wings drooped, and no energy to move about.

62 POULTRY DISEASES

Treatment,

As soon as you discover the trouble remove the bird
at once to a room with a uniform temperature of about
70 degrees. Supply an abundance of pure fresh air to
breathe, have the coop bedded with clean straw and keep
it in a sanitary condition at all times. Use ten drops each
of aconite and bryonia to each pint of drinking water and
allow no other drink until the bird is pretty well recover-
ed from the attack, or give one drop of tincture of amor-
phous aconite every two hours. Another good remedy is
to make capsules containing one grain of sulphocarbolate
of zinc and make the bird swallow one night and morning.

In treating birds with pneumonia you have to be with
them quite a lot so as to give them the medicine regular
together with good attention. It must also be prompt and
active, as the disease is very rapid and will soon carry the
bird away in some cases even if you do give the bird prompt
treatment.

Keep the strength of the bird up as much as possible
by giving beef juice or eggs beaten up together with fresh
sweet milk and bread added. Do not give too much but
feed lightly for several days.

Tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis is not a conimon disease among poultry
of this country, but still we find some few cases of it
among the different flocks, It is much more rapid than
consumption and will soon cause the bird to wear away, or
“going light” as some: express it. As soon as we find a
bird of this kind in our flock it is best to kill the diseased
bird at once and cremate it for fear if it is buried it will
be scratched up by some dog or cat and hence cause the
rest of the flock to become exposed to it,

Tuberculosis is a disease that we should do all in our
power to exterminate. We all know what it is doing for
the human race and up to a few years ago they were not
doing anything to check its spread but since they have
made great strides to check and fight this dreaded dis-
ease. We have known birds to catch it from tuberculosis
cows and you should watch such in order to keep down its
spread, There is a germ-bacillus présent in all cases of tu-
berculosis and from this is where the disease spreads. The
only symptoms that is present in tuberculosis is the bird
“going light” and some cases the bird will be so weak it

AND THEIR REMEDIES 63

The liver and spleen on the right are from a tubercular fowl. The
presence of nodules or tubercles is evidence of tuberculosis. The light
spots on the liver and spleen on the left are due to light reflection, they
are not tubercles. This illustration furnished by courtesy of the Agricul-
tural Extension Service, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

can not walk more than half a dozen steps before it is com-
pletely exhausted. There will also be a slight cough with
it and a little difficulty in breathing.

Treatment,

It will not pay you to treat birds with tuberculosis,
_for even if you could “patch them up” so they looked
good, you would not want to breed from such birds and
have them passing these germs down to their offspring
and in a few years have your whole flock a diseased one,
would you? It is best by all means to kill the bird as
soon as you discover it is going light and you suspect
tuberculosis, Cremate it and you have it out of the way.
Begin then to clean up everything about the yard and
houses. Dust the inside of the house thoroughly and get
all cobwebs out of the corners and spray well with a
strong solution of carbolic acid and water. If you have a
spray pump you can get into every crack and crevice. Cul-

64 POULTRY DISEASES

tivate the yards and if possible remove the other (well)
birds from the old quarters and give them new ones.

If you wish to treat any of the sick birds you can
place them in a coop far away from the rest of the flock
and give them as a tonic arsenate of iron in pill form 1-50
grain each night and morning. Cod liver oil will also be
found good to give in mash and will help nourish the bird.

It is not at all a good idea to treat a bird with this
dreaded disease for you are likely to have the other birds
exposed to it while doing so and will endanger them. Kill
all birds affected and be on the safe side.

Just out—now for a good start in life.

The suggestions in this book will mean maximum de-
velopment, health and profit for the poultry man.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 65

CHAPTER VI.
THE CROP AND INTESTINES.

The Cause, Symptoms and Treatment of all Diseases
Known to Affect the Crop and Intestines, Includ-
ing Diarrhoeas and Cholera, with Reliable
Remedies.

Enteritis.

Enteritis is caused by bacteria -which get into the in-
testines and cause great inflamation, This is a very
common disease among poultry and it is often mistaken
for cholera. Enteritis will also follow neglected cases of
diarrhoea. Foul drinking water, uncleanliness, filthy and
rotten food will also cause this trouble. As the disease
develops the excrement will be a greenish color and there
is always more or less looseness of the bowels. In the
early stages the comb will only be a little pale, later turn-
ing purple and very dark. Where the different varieties
of bacteria are present in large numbers there will be
some blood in the excrement. The bird has very little
energy to move from place to place and will appear to be
in a sleepy condition at all times. The bird will not eat
and the crop will be full of food and water. In some cases
if you hold the bird by the feet head down the water will
run out of the crop. If you make a post-mortem examin-
ation you will find the intestine; full of mucous and the
liver enlarged. ;
Treatment.

Isolate all sick birds at cnce and try to prevent any
more c°ses by giving pure food and water. Enteritis is
very contagious and should be handled very carefully at
all times. Wash out all drinking fountains with scalding
water and begin at once to clean the house and give it
a good disinfecting, Give the sick birds a teaspoonful of

66 POULTRY DISEASES

olive oil three times a day until you see a change in them
then give only once a day. Feed the bird on bread soaked
in milk and give sweet milk to drink. If you will give the
sick bird one-tenth of a grain tablet of calomel three
times a day this will also be found very good and will
help to effect a speedy cure. Give only pure fresh water
and food at all times.

Common Diarrhoea.

Common diarrhoea may be caused from many causes
but the most common of these are: Feeding too much
loosening foods such as bran, green bone, etc., too much
food or drink after fasting, long journey, wart of shade
-in hot weather, vermin and over crowding. ‘This is also
often mistaken for cholera by many. Excrement may
be of a whittish, greenish or yellowish color and from
investigations there is no bacteria present in the excre-
ment. Therefore it is not contagious. The birds are of-
ten very weak.

Treatment.

All the treatment that is needed in these cases is to
correct the diet, give only pure food and water in clean
drinking and food dishes that have been scalded out, If
you will give the bird a teaspoonful of castor oil this will
help clean the digestive organs out. Keep charcoal before
the sick bird at all times and try to locate the cause and
remove it and you will have nc further trouble. Sweet
milk will be found very good for mixing the mash with.
Feed very light for a few days and then do not feed grains
that have coarse hulls on them,

Diarrhoea Caused from Poisons.

Diarrhoea will often result from birds eating paint,
skins, salty meat, unslacked lime, white lead, lye, and
rough-on-rats. Poisons from paint are very common espec-
ially where the painter has been and has left some paint
buckets out and let it rain in them; the birds drink this
water that has stood in these buckets aid poison followed
by diarrhoea is the result. Paris green and other spray.
mixtures will cause it also. The Symptoms of this trouble
are as follows: Convulsions, diarrhoea with streaks of blood,
watery discharge from mouth and nostrils, weakness with a
great desire to sleep.

AND THHIR REMEDIES 67

Treatment.

As soon as you discover that your birds have eaten
this poison you should begin at once to pour eggs down
them or give flax seed tea in large quantities. Later give
sweet milk all they will drink. You seldom notice this
trouble until it is too late to administer any thing, Pre-
vent it by keeping all poisons out of their reach.

Gastritis.

This disease is often met in connection with inflam-
ation of the crop. It is the enlargement of the food pas-
sage just before it reaches the gizzard. Eating mouldy or
poisonous foods, too much forcing for egg production
together with condiments is the principal cause of gas-
tritis. The mucous lining is very much inflamed and red
and the blocd vessels enlarged. The bird will have no ap-
petite, the temperature will be high together with gen-
eral weakness and diarrhoea one day and constipation the
next.

Treatment.

Give boiled rice water to drink, and do not let the ir-
ritating cause continue its work, but check it at once.
Give castor oil until the bowels operate freely and then
use bicarbonate of soda, twenty-five grains in a quart of
water. Feed very light on soft mashes, mixing same with
water which has been poured over cut clover the night be-
before and feed some meat food.

Dysentery.

Dysentery is a neglected case of diarrhoea, (or a
chronic case as you may call it) running into deep in-
flamation. Some cases it is a disease by itself originat-
ing from a filthy condition of the house and yard. Filthi-
ness in food and water will bring on looseness of the bow-
els and this if not checked will develop into dysentery.
Filthy water, improper ventilation, bad food are all com-
mon causes of dysentery. The symptoms are as follows:
The bird shows great weakness, and at times can hardly
stand alone and will still continue to grow weaker until
they fall off their feet. There is always a looseness of
the bowels, the discharge will be thin and watery and if
inflamation is very great there will be streaks of blood
in the excrement..

68 POULTRY DISEASE

Treatment,

Place one ounce of sulpho-carbolate of zinc in a half
gallon of water for the sick fowls to drink. Do not allow
them any other drink for five or six days at least. And
remember that the diet of all birds must be nonirritating.
Feed very lightly for a few days on coarse food; wheat
middlings rather than bran. Epsom salts if placed in the
drinking water will also be found good in affecting a
speedy cure.

Mould.

Mould is a trouble something like “going light.’”’ Some
people think that any kind of food is good enough for
their birds and they buy musty burned wheat, etc., for
them and the result is after feeding this kind of food a
while, will be mould. Mould will also be caused by inhal-
ing dust from mouldy straw, hay, etc. The symptoms of
mould are indicated by lack of ambition, the bird will
separate itself from the rest of the flock, will have no ap-
petite and there is always a catarrhal discharge from the
nostrils, with a rattling in the throat and great difficulty
in breathing. It will be nothing but skin and bones.

Treatment.

As soon as you discover a case of mould in your flock
you should kill the bird at once and cremate it. Practical-
ly nothing can be done. The only thing that can be done
is to cut out all mouldy food and give nothing but good
sound food with pure fresh water. Prevention is the
best remedy. If you wish to treat the bird give one grain
tablet of quinine three times a day.

CHOLERA.

One of the Oldest Diseases Known to Affect Poultry and
One that most Every Person is Familiar with.—lIts
Cause, Symptoms and Reliable Remedies.

This is one of the oldest diseases known to affect
poultry, and it is very common in all section; of the coun-

AND THEIR REMEDIES 69

try to misname all bad ~
cases of bowel trouble, in-
digestion, diarrhoeas, etc.,
cholera; more especially
those in which the excre-
ment is of a greenish color,
This is a reason many
think cholera is a very
common disease. Cholera
is not a very common oc-
curence, and seldom at-
tacks domestic fowls if
they are kept under reasonably sanitary conditions. Cholera
usually runs a very rapid course, the bird being apparently
well in the morning, sick at night and dead in a day or two.
It attacks all varieties of domestic fowls. And it has been
known to affect wild birds that were inhabiting an infected
district. When cholera makes it appearance in flocks that
have free range, it is almost impossible to control it; but
where fowls are kept in close confinement the trouble can
be readily stamped out if prompt measures are taken as
soon as it is first noticed. Just as soon as you find you
have a case of cholera in your flock you should begin at
once to prevent any further spread of it.

CHOLERA

Cause.

The infection is nearly always introduced with food
or water, which has come in contact at some time with
some of the excrement of a diseased bird. The blood
and raw flesh of diseased birds if eaten by well ones will
transmit the disease to the well birds. If well birds come in
contact with diseased birds they will also have it. It seems
the air gets full of the cholera bacteria and it will light
down on your flock and you can not account for it. Still
your neighbors’ birds have cholera several miles away
In the first place I think the real cause of cholera is caus-
ed from filthy quarters, improper ventilation during warm
weather and drinking stagnant water. Often cholera is
introduced into your flock by the purchase of an infected
bird,

Symptoms.
The first symptoms of cholera is usually a light di-

70 POULTRY DISEASES

arrhoea; the bird shows a lack of life and spirit, moping
around half asleep and with ruffled feathers, The bird
will lose all appetite and will have great thirst which is a
good sign of high fever: it will drink eargerly until it can
no longer retain the water in the crop and spills it when
the head is lowered. The legs will be very hot and dry
comb will be pale and sometimes dry with a rough sur-
face and later turning purple and sometimes nearly black.
The first discharge from the bowels is very thick, and later
gets less solid and quite watery. As the inflamation of
the linings of the bowels increases the discharge shows
slight bloody streaks and will sometimes increase until
the excrement is nearly pure blood. The crop is frequent-
ly found distended with a rank foul smelling liquid. Birds
affected with cholera lose flesh very rapidly and in a short
time they will have no strength and will die from ex-
haustion.

The diarrhoea which is nearly always present is one
of the chief symptoms. It will soil the feathers about the
vent and will often cake on them giving a very unsightly
appearance which is of a greenish color. The chief symp-
toms to be depended on in diagnosing a case are as fol-
lows: pale face, comb and wattles, yellowish or greenish
diarrhoea, frequent discharge of excrement, lack of life
and moping around half asleep.

Treatment.

The treatment of cholera is very unsatisfactor~ and
if you wish to try to treat the sick birds you should begin
at once and do not wait until the bird is ready to die be-
fore you begin. If you do the bird will be so weak that
medical treatment will be of little use. I would not advise
anyone to try to treat fowls with cholera unless they are
very valuable ones. Kill all diseased specimens at once;
disinfect all houses and runs and continue to do so as
long as the disease lasts. Remove the sick birds from the
well ones as soon as possible and place them clear out
of reach of the well ones; wash all drinking vessels out
daily with scalding water.

All sick birds should be fed highly concentrated food,
such as bread soaked in beef juice or feed beef juice from a
spoon. This kind of food is very nourishing and strength-
ening to the sick bird. When the trouble is first noticed,

AND THEIR REMEDIES Gt

give the bird a tablespoonful of castor oil and follow
this in thirty minutes with a tablet containing 1-200 of
a grain of arsenite of copper every three or four hours
or give 1-1000 of a grain tablet of carrosive sublimate
(mercury bichloride) every three hours,

The following prescription is also an effective rem-
edy: Sulphur 8 ounces, pulverized charcoal 4 ounces, pul-
verized capsicum 2 ounces, pulverized rhubarb 3 ounces,
carbonate of iron 8 ounces, pulverized opium 1-2 ounce,
and pulverized gold seal 2 ounces. (Mix thoroughly and
keep in an air tight bottle or box to preserve strength.
Make a pill about the size of a small pea and make the
sick bird swallow. one three times a day.

Give both the sick and well birds a few drops of creo-
lin in their drinking water. Cremate all birds that die.
The bird has no use of the neck muscles at all and acts queer.
Remember that cholera is a germ disease and very highly
contagious and prompt treatment and thorough disinfec-
tion are the only means of stamping it out.

Treatment for Cholera.

Feed plenty of clabbered sour milk and medicate all
drinking water with 1 tablespoonful of hyposulphate of soda
to each quart, then dissolve as much permanganate of
potash one can hold on a silver dime in a gallon of water;
add this to the hypo water, one pint of each. Take all other
drink except the milk from the fowls. Feed uo select feed.
Wood ashes and charcoal should be handy for the fowls.

WHITE DIARRHOEA OR BOWEL TROUBLE IN
SMALL CHICKS.

A Disease that Kills More Small Chicks than all Other
Diseases Combined—What the Disease is—lIts
Cause, Symptoms and Treatment.

This one disease kills more small chicks than all
other diseases combined. Nearly everyone who has raised
chicks in their time hag had more or less experience with
this dreaded disease. This disease may go under many
different names but it is all the same disease and comes
from the same cause. It is known as white diarrhoea,

72 POULTRY DISEASE :

bowel trouble, pasting up, etc. It is a very common thing
to hear people say that their chicks are dying from bowel
trouble, sleeping themselves away etc., and I believe we
hear it more now than we did a few years back and this
is good proof that it is growing rapidly and there must be
something done to prevent its spread. You can prevent it
if you take it in time and I believe stamp it out of your
flock altogether. At least I have been successful with it
during the last few years, How discouraging it is to have
a nice lot of chicks come off and in a few days they will
begin to die off and before you know it you have lost the
whole bunch. The trouble is weak germs and you cannot
do anything for them only let them die. You have to
work on the breeding stock before you can expect any re-
sults.
Cause,

The principal cause of this dreaded disease is a para-
site called Coccidium tenellium. It can also be caused by
over feeding, over heating, etc. In fact most any thing
that happens to the little fellows in the early stages of
their lives will cause indigestion to appear and of course
diarrhoea will now play its important part. This small
parasite will cause weak germs: eggs that would have
hatched strong healthy chicks under other’ conditions
would not where these parasites or germs are present.
This germ or parasite will get into the intestines and egg
organs of the breeding stock and every egg that is laid

TYPICAL CASES OF WHITE DIARRHEA

This illustration furnished by courtesy of The Pratt Food Company,
Philadelphia, Pa.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 73

by a hen or pullet with these parasites present will hatch
a chick that will be weak and will die from white diarrhoea.
The yolk of the egg will be contaminated with these para-
sites which will get there while the egg is forming. Of
course the chick has to live on the yolk of the egg for a
few days after it is hatched for nature provides food for
it in this manner and this is one reason we should not feed
our chicks for at least forty-eight hours, and is it any won-
der the chick will never amount to much and die during
the first week of its life,- with such food as this which is
full of these deadly parasites?

We very often hear poultry people make the remark
that “my chickens die in the shell and are not able to get
out,” and that “my eggs do not natch well and what chicks
I do get are not growing any and seem to have no energy
to hustle for a living but prefer to stay under the hover
and sleep themselves to death.” These are very common
among poultry raisers today and these parasites are the
cause of the whole trouble. I will stick to it that this one
trouble will kill more small chicks than all other diseases
combined, and I think most everyone will agree with me.

How the First Symptoms Appear.

You can tell a weak germed chick as soon as it is
hatched; they are not as plump and
thrifty as the strong germed fellow.
Weak germs will show up very readily.
If you notice a chick hanging around
under the hover pretty close you might
just as well count him out for it will
not be long before he passes away.
They refuse to eat with the rest of the
WHITE DIARRHEA flock, and have no energy to follow the
rest and will sit and sleep themselves to death; and you
can often find them where they were sitting in the sun and
dropped over dead. In about three or four days after they
come off the symptoms will appear, and they will later be-
gin to show up more plainly. The diarrhoeal discharge will
now appear and they will paste up. The excrement will be
a whittish looking substance and this is where it took its
name “white diarrhoea.”

If you will open a chick that has just died from this

74 POULTRY DISEASES

trouble you will find the liver to be enlarged and of a
pale color, the gizzard will be filled with undigested food;
in some cases where the chick dies in a day or two after
hatched you will find the yolk of the egg undigested.
The crop will be full of wind and some cases you will
find it full of liquid which has a very bad odor, the chick
will be thin and will be nothing but skin and bones. Just
nothing more than a shadow. Some cases the chick will
last for a week or two but in most cases it will die in from
two to four days after it has been hatched. Of course this
is governed by the number of parasites present and the
severity of the attack.
Treatment.

Prevention is the best treatment you can find; in
fact there is no use to try to treat the small chicks for
they have no constitution and can not stand treatment.
You must study the situation carefully and find out the
cause. If it is from overheating, overfeeding or chilling
remove the cause at once; but if you are losing them when
you know the above causes do not exist you can almost
be sure that the trouble is caused by parasites (Coccidium
tenellium) and you must get them out of the systems of
the breeding stock for this is the seat of the whole trouble

The best remedy I have found in my investigations
is to place some epsom salts in the drinking water of the
breeding birds. Place it in there every week or two and
continue through the entire breeding season and this will
rid their systems of these parasites. A few drops of creo-
lin is also said to be good and will give good results if
placed in the water every week. You must use every ef-
fort to prevent the spread of this trouble. Before using
the incubator after the hatch you should wash it out thor-
oughly with a good disinfectant or a strong solution of
creolin and water (about one quart of creolin to twenty-five
parts of water). Air the egg tray well and if possible let
the sun get to all parts of the incubator chamber so as
to dry it thoroughly. The floor of the nursery should be
removable so that you can substitute fresh material for a
floor, If you are hatching with a hen you should treat
the hen for these parasites and disinfect the nest well be-
fore setting. Dip all eggs in a weak solution of creolin
and water and dry well before setting either in incubator
or under hens.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 75

Do not let the dropping accumulate for this will tend
to spread the disease and make it much harder to work
against. Burn or bury all chicks that die from this trouble
and try to prevent any further spread. Do not let them
get chilled, overheated or overfed. While these things
will cause bowel trouble still I think that the small para-
site will be found the worst to work against, and unless
you start at once to stop the trouble you will find out that
your profits will be mighty short during the year.

THE DISEASES OF THE LIVER.

Blackhead—Congestion—Inflammation—Hyperthrophy
or Over Fat Liver—With the Cause, Symptoms
and Treatment.

Blackhead.

This is a very contagious disease and is confined prin-
cipally to turkeys. It generally runs through the whole
flock before you have any chance to check it. Young
birds fall its prey more so than adult birds. The cause of
this disease is a small parasite that works on the liver of
the bird and it is very hard to control and after it has be
come established, heroic measures must be taken at once.
The symptoms of blackhead are as follows: general weak-
ness with very little appetite; the bird will be weak from
the start and will have no energy at all to move about.
There is always a constant diarrhoea. In a day or so the
head will turn dark, later black and this is where the dis-
ease first took its name.

Treatment.

As goon as you notice a case in your flock you should
begin at once to stamp it out and it will take heroic meas-
ures to do so. Isolate all birds affected and do not allow
the well birds to run with the sick one if you do you can
not expect to get satisfactory treatment or results. The
best treatment is preventation, in fact this is the best with all
diseases. It will be better to kill all affected birds and
cremate them and then begin to disinfect the houses and
yards thoroughly with a good reliable disinfectant. The
germs of this disease are thrown off from the bowels and

76 POULTRY DISEASES

as the diarrhoea is severe hence the danger of infection is
very great; and always keep the birds isolated in dry, well
ventilated coops, If you wish to treat the sick birds you
can give the following three times a day. Hyposulphite of
soda 2 grains, sulphate of cinchonidia 1 grain, sulphur 10
grains, and sulphate of iron 1 grain. Mix thoroughly and
give a teaspoonful in soft food for each bird. Place a
teaspoonful of hyposulphite of soda in a gallon of drinking
water; this will also be found effective.

Congestion of the Liver.

This is another disease that you do not realize you
have until the bird is in a very bad shape. You very sel-
dom notice the early symptoms of this disease. About the
only symptom you notice is the comb getting a little dark.
After the bird reaches this stage there will be a slight
diarrhoea which will be a watery color at first, later change
ing to a yellowish color. The bird has no appetite and
will move from place to place without any ambition to eat
or take any exercise. Congestion of the liver is caused
from improper feeding and if you take a case in time you
will be able to bring the bird back to its normal health
again.

Treatment.

Cut out the corn and corn meal and make the mash
at least one-half cut clover or just as much as the bird will
eat; also feed fresh cut green bone. If it is in the winter
months give them. a good clean deep litter to work in and
if during the summer months give them free range on
nice grassy runs. Place the sick bird in a dry, well lighted
coop and the first thing you must do is to give it a tea-
spoonful of castor oil. After you get results from this you
can then refrain from all medical attention and then de-
pend upon proper food and care to bring the bird back to
normal health. Make the bird take plenty of exercise and
feed only a plain diet.

Inflamation of the Liver.

It is very hard to diagnose,a case of liver trouble for
the symptoms appear very slow and you have to wait until
the disease is at its worst before you can determine just
what it is. Inflamation of the liver works very much
like a congested liver and the symptoms are much alike.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 77

The bird will have no energy to move about, the breathing
will be sluggish, the abdomen will in some cases be swol-
len, the skin will show a yellowish hue and the comb will
be very pale and later turning dark. The bird will not eat
much and after several days pass it will be nothing more
than skin and bones.

Treatment.

Give the bird a teaspoonful of castor oil and clean the
bowels out; then begin to get the bird to take light diet
for a few days. A little bread soaked in sweet milk will
be good for it; or beef juice fed to the sick bird will help
to strengthen. In the drinking water place ten drops
of nux vomica in a pint and. allow no other drink for a
week at least. The bird must be kept in a quiet place until
it is entirely well and feed very sparingly what you do feed.

Hypertrophy of the Liver.

The name of this trouble will readily tell you how it
affects birds. An over large liver is found mostly in the
early spring after the birds have been closed up all winter
and have been fed on food that tends to produce fat and
enlarges the liver, This generally appears in hens after
they are over two years old. This is caused from con-
stant over feeding of heat producing foods without any
vegetable foods. Overfeeding without exercise is bound
to cause you some trouble sooner or later. When you see
a hen staying on the roost late and returning early in the
afternoon it is time to begin to get busy. At this time the
comb of the bird will be very bright and she seems to be
in perfect health; after a few days she will become weak
and her walk will be very unsteady and she will stand in
one position for hours. When you pick the bird up you
will readily see that she ig over fat.

Treatment.

Change your method of feeding. Make them exercise
after all grain food you give them in a deep straw litter.
Cut out all fat forming or producing foods and make the
mash at least one-half cut clover.

If it is during the summer months give them free
range in a grassy orchard or field where there is plenty
of shade. For the sick bird give a teaspoonful of powder-
ed muriate of ammonia in a quart of water and allow no

78 POCLTRY DISEASES

other drink for a week, giving fresh supply twice a day.
Give fresh cut green bone to the sick bird but only in very
small quantities. Avoid stimulating foods. Feed very
sparingly after this so as to not get your birds over fat.
If you will make them exercise after most of their food
this will be found a good preventative,

INTERNAL DISEASES

Two Varieties, the Round Worm and Tape Worm. The
Round Worm is the More Common of the Two.

There are two kinds of worms that are common and
are found in most birds. They are the round worm and
the tape worm. If you have dressed many birds you no
doubt have noticed them more or less in the digestive
canals of the birds. The round worm is more common
than the tape worm and is not very troublesome unless
they are present in large numbers. If there are only a
few present in the digestive canals of birds there will be
little trouble from them and they are unnoticed but other-
wise they will play a great part and affect digestion quite
a lot. They will cause diarrhoea when present in large
numbers and also great irritation. They are seldom passed
with the excrement but when they are they are soon eaten
by other birds hence this is the way they are spread. The
color of the round worm is white and they vary in size
from one-third to four or five inches in length. Their
head is very sharp while their tail is very blunt. The
symptoms are about the same as those of diarrhoea and
the comb will be pale and the bird will be thin and have
little energy to move about. In real bad cases there will
be a slight diarrhoea.

Treatment,

As soon as you suspect worms begin at once and try
to remove them, Mix four (4) ounces of turpentine and
four (4) ounces of sweet oil and give one teaspoonful to
adult fowls, Follow this with some good laxative. Castor
oil will be good. Give a teaspoonful to each bird. Twa
grains of santonin to each bird will also be found to give
satisfactory results. Watch for results from ftnese treat-
ments and be sure to gather all droppings so as to keep
out of reach of well birds.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 79

Tape Worm.

This variety of worm is not at all common among
fowls and you often run across a person who never saw
a tape worm and he has kept birds most all his life. The
name of this worm derived from the great length and
thinness of it which very much resembles a piece of tape.
The symptoms are about the same as those of the round
worm. Their food seems to do them but little good and
they will have a fine appetite and still be very thin and
seem nothing but skin and bones. There will be a slight
diarrhoea. Some times you will notice small pieces of
the worm pass with the excrement. It is now time to be-
gin your work.

Treatment.

Just as soon as you know or in fact suspect a tape
worm is present you should begin at once to destroy same.
When treating the bird it will be well to do so when the
crop is empty in the early morning. Give it six drops of
oil male fern in one teaspoonful of castor oil. About three
hours after you give the above treatment give a _ light
mash to which a teaspoonful of castor or sweet oil has
been added. Feed on light diet for a week before return-
ing to ordinary food.

“All droppings should be burned and the premises
should be well disinfected, with a good strong disinfectant.
Try to keep both the round and tape worms from spread-
ing through the excrements.

THE CROP.

Its Three Diseases With Their Symptoms and Treat-
ment,

This is one trouble that I think most every person
who raises fowls have had more or less experience with.
If they haven’t their time will come. Even if you give
your birds good attention and the proper food it is liable
to affect your birds. Most cases come from improper
feeding but still some cases will appear when you are not
in fault at all, The bird will sometimes eat old dead grass
and chaff. This will gather in the crop and form a ball then
it is impossible for it to pass from the crop. Overfeeding
of two much grain, especially corn will cause it. The

80 POULTRY DISEASES

bird will eat until it can’t hold any more in its crop then
go to the drinking vessel and drink which will cause the
contents to swell and ferment; now you have a bad case of
crop bound to deal with,

When birds are kept housed all winter and are turned
out in the early spring they will be eager to eat grass
hence they will eat quite a lot of dead grass which may
be very long; this will gather into a ball tn the crop and
can’t possibly get out of the crop. Such cases as this are
always troublesome to handle.

Often we run upon a case where there is some foreign
body closes the outlet of the crop; this might be wood,
bone, etc., with a sharp point sticking into the side of the
crop which prevents it from passing on through. Such cases
will usually correct themselves for anything a bird can swal-
low will pass through the digestive organs.

Symptoms.
The bird seems dull
By a and slow to move about
B, Crop. especially if it has been
C, Gizzard. in this condition for
D; Duodenuim: some time. There will
a Saale be loss of appetiite and
the bird will be ° very
Bai Gaees, sleepy. The liquid
G, Rectum, that gathers in the
H, Cloaca. crop will be very of-
i; Sliver: fensive and will run
K, Gall. from the mouth. Di-
arrhoea will usually ap-
L, Lungs. pear after a few days
M, Pancreas, or a week, and the
O, Ovary. feathers will be looking
very rough and will be
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF A FOWL standing on their ends.

This illustration furnished by courtesy of The general appearance
Pratt Food Company, Philadelphia, Pa. of the bird is one of

dejection.
Treatment,
In treating crop bound birds the first thing you must
do is to empty the contents of it. First give the bird a
small quantity of castor or sweet oil and then try to

AND THEIR REMEDIES 81

empty it by manipulation, Hold the head of the bird down
and with gentle pressure and working try to get the con-
tents out through the mouth of the bird. Have patience
and do your work with great care. You cannot expect to
get it out in a few minutes for this would be impossible.
After working for a little while you see you will not be
able to get satisfactory results you will have to try some
other means. You will now have to

OPEN THE CROP AND REMOVE THE FOOD
or contents in this manner. It is best to have an assistant
to help you, so you will have both hands free, First re-
move the feathers from over the crop or where you want
to make the incision so as to leave a bare place about
three-fourths of an inch wide by two incnes long. Now
have a sharp clean thin bladed knife cut through the skin
(not into the crop) and allow the blood to flow freely
Let this opening be about two inches long. After it ceases
to bleed then make the incision in the crop about one inch
long or not so much if you think you can empty the con-
tents through a small opening. Now you can begin to
empty the crop; if its contents is of long grass and chaff
you will have to use some instrument like a shoe buttoner
to get it out. Use great care and do not try to remove it
all at once but only in small bunches, After you get it
empty you can then wash it out thoroughly and examine
the outlet to see if there is any obstruction in it, if not
you can then begin to sew it up. This can be done with
white silk thread or regular cat gut and a small fine
needle. Sew the crop and skin separate. Take three
stitches in the crop and tie separate leaving the ends
long. Now take about four stitches in the outer skin and
leave long ends here. After about ten days you can cut the
ends off. After the operation you can give the bird a lit-
tle beef juice this will strengthen it. Do not feed solid
food until the bird is entirely well, then give it in very
small quantities. Let all food be sparingly for ten days.
Avoid too much food in the crop which might break the
stitches,

If you will give the bird ten drops of nux vomica in
a quart of drinking water this will be a splendid tonic
and will strengthen the weak bird more than any thing
else until it is able to take food. If you have waited for

82 POULTRY DISEASES

quite a while before emptying the crop the bird will be
mighty weak and scarcely able to stand upon its feet.
Such cases should be and must ve handled carefully.

Inflamation of the Crop.

Inflamation of the crop is caused from the bird eat-
ing something irritating; such as rough on rats, paint
skins and pieces of unslacked lime. The mucous lining
of the crop becomes inflamed and causes the bird lots of
pain. I have known cases of this trouble where red pep-
per has been fed to produce more eggs. Many people try
to force their birds for eggs, this is wrong and should not
be done for it will lead to trouble nearly every time. A
bird that has this trouble is very restless and will move
from place to place without any aim, It will also be notic-
ed that the bird will try to swallow still it has not taken
any food for hours. The crop is very tender and painful.
It causes the poor bird much pain.

Treatment.

If the crop is full of food try to empty it at once. Af-
ter you succeed in getting it emptied give the bird flax
seed tea and give very simple diet for several days. If
you discover this inflamation is caused from lime give
weak vinegar water; if rough on rats give magnesia. An-
other good remedy is as follows: Give milk, barley water
or some other albuminous fluids after first evacuating
the crop. If the trouble is from lead or paint skins which
is very often the case where painters have been working;
you should administer without delay half a teaspoonful of
sulphate of magnesia and five grains or sulphuric acid,
mixed thoroughly in one-half pint of water. After two
hours give a teaspoonful of castor oil in a grain of opium.

Remember that paint, crude or unslacked lime is an
irritant poison and either will cause inflamation of the
crop, gizzard and intestines and great care should be taken
to take it out of the reach of the fowls. Remember that
unless you administer something at once that will stop
the irritation it will be hard to affect a cure.

Enlarged Crop,

This trouble will annoy the owner more than it does
the fowl. It is brought about by a continual stretching of
the crop from overfeeding or impaction of the crop, which
are allowed to correct themselves. This trouble is not at

AND THEIR REMEDIES 83

all pleasing to look at for there is always food in the crop
which the weakened muscles can not push on to the giz-
zard to be ground or digested. This food has a tendency
to pull downward and in this way the crop will still get
larger.

Treatment.

The only way to treat-such cases is to pluck the
feather from over the crop and make an incision as for
crop bound only make it longer. With a pair of small
scissors cut out quite a lot of the membrane and sew up
as directed in crop bound and be sure thar you sew the
erop and skin separately. Do not feed hard food for ten
days at least and feed very light then. Ar the end of six
days remove any threads that may be showing. Cut with
scissors close to skin. Try to prevent any further cases
by the proper feeding.

MALE HEADS SHOWING DEFECTIVE COMBS
Defects of these kinds should be guarded against in selecting breeders. 1. Thumb mark.
2. Blade of comb following neck too closely and points showing tendency to lop. 3. Rose
comb showing hollow center. 4. Side sprig. 5. Uneven serrations and double point.
6. Twisted comb.

8. POULTRY DISEASES

CHAPTER VII.

THE ABDOMEN AND EGG ORGANS

The Cause, Symptoms and Treatment of All Diseases
Known to Affect the Abdomen and Egg Organs.

Prolapsus of the oviduct is a disease that is confined
mostly to old hens, It is not at all a common disease
among them but we very often run across a case of it in
the late winter when our birds have been housed up all
winter and have been fed on over stimulating food. Pul-
lets are not at all exempt from it. The cause can be trac-
ed back to hens that have been laying extra large eggs
and have been overfed. Constipation will also cause it if
allowed to run on for a while. It has also been noticed
after a severe case of inflamation of the oviduct.

Symptoms.

There is a protrusion from the vent which may be of
a dark red to a greenish hue in color. It seems to be very
highly inflamed and if something is not done it will like-
ly develop into gangrene. The bird will sit and strain as
if trying to expel an egg and will very often go in a nest.
The comb will be pale.

Treatment.

Place the bird in a coop away from the rest of the
flock so as to keep her quiet. Grease the parts well with
carbolated vaseline and replace gently with your greased
fingers. It will also be well to bathe the parts with a 50
per cent solution of peroxide hydrogen and water before re-
placing them. Give the bird very little food for a few days and
let that be a mash. Keep the bowels clean by giving Ep-
som salts in the drinking water.

Breakdown.

This is another trouble that is confined mostly to old
hens after they get three years old or older, It is very

AND THEIR REMEDIES 85

easily recognized for the name of the trouble certainly
describes their condition, We have very often noticed
old hens with this “baggy condition” dragging the ground
nearly. It is seldom seen in the pulle.s and never in the
male birds. The cause of breakdown is by feeding too
much corn or corn diet altogether. This trouble is very
common in farmers’ flocks where the birds get nothing but
corn the year around. The corn produces large quantities
of fat in the abdomen and the result is this “baggy con-
dition’”’ which is very annoying to the owner.

The best thing to do for such cases is to dispose of
them at once for market purposes as they will never
amount to much any more either for breeding purposes or
egg production. The only thing to do is to cut out all corn
in the future and try to prevent any more cases, Corn is
a splendid food for poultry if you do not go to extremes
with it and feed nothing but corn. Dispose of the affected
birds and prevent future cases from appearing.

Egg Bound.

This trouble generally appears in the late winter and
more deaths result at this time of the year than all other
times. It is due to the over fat condition of the bird. It
is also more common to larger breeds such as Asiatic
classes, etc., than the Leghorns. It is seldom we find a
pullet with this trouble but in most cases it is old hens
that are in an over fat condition at the time she lays her
first egg in the winter. This over fat condition may pre-
vent the egg from being laid in different ways. The fat
may be present in such large quantities that it might col-
lect at the lower end of the abdominal cavity and prevent
the egg from being passed. Other cases have been found
where the fat was present in such large quantities that it
weakened the walls of the muscles of the egg passages to
such an extent that it caused them to give away and al-
lowing the egg or its contents to pass into the abdomen.
The egg passage gives away while the bird is straining try-
ing to expel the egg. Inflamation will then set up in
the abdominal cavity and the bird will not live very long
if allowed to run on without any treatment.

A bird in this egg bound condition often dies from
heart failure while straining on the nest trying to expel
the egg. This is caused by the over fat condition of the

86 POULTRY DISEASES

bird’s system which weakens the muscles of the heart and
the over exertion is too much for the weak heart and the
result is, we find the bird dead on the nest.

Symptoms.

The bird will move about with little energy with the
wings drooped and touching the ground. It will not eat,
the tail feathers are lowered and the appearance of the
bird in general is certainly a bad one. If you will catch
the bird you may be
able to see at once
what the trouble is.
Watch the movements
of the vent and you
will see the muscles
move as if she was try-
ing to lay the egg. The
bird will go on the nest
and strain trying to lay,

The reproductive or-
gans of a female bird
consist of the ovary (1);
the oviduct (2); and the
cloaca (3).. The cmall
egg modules form clus-
ters (A) called vitellus
or yolk. Before each
nodule escapes from the
Ovary it is covered by a
thin membrane called
the calyx. The yolk

. Passes into the oviduct
(B) and then on into
(C) where the albumen
is secreted and the white
of the egg is. formed
The egg then passes on
down into (D) the
uterus, where the shell
forming substance is se-
creted. This illustra-
ton furnshed by court-
esy of Dr. Hess and
Clark, Ashland, Oho.

but without any results, she will come off, later going on
again with failure to accomplish anything as before. The
covsb will turn pale after the case runs awhile,

AND THEIR REMEDIES 87

Treatment.

In mild cases if you will inject into the vent a small
quantity of sweet oil it will be found helpful in assisting
the bird to pass the egg, Also give the bird a small dose of
castor oil by the mouth. If after a few hours the egg is
not passed you should fill a jug with boiling water and
hold the bird over it for at least thirty minutes allowing
only the vent to be steamed, This will relax the muscles
causing the egg to be expelled. If the egg or its contents
are now in the abdominal cavity caused from the egg
passage giving away, you need not do anything for the bird
but kill it and get it out of its misery. Death is sure to
follow in such cases. Feed only on light food for several
days and do not feed fat forming food.

Dropsy.

Dropsy will affect both old and young birds. It is a
disease of the abdomen. Water collects between the tis-
sues. This trouble is caused by unsanitary surroundings
and bad methods of feeding. It may also be a symptom of
some other disease of the body. The bird will be seen in
perfect health only it may be a littie sluggish in its move-
ments caused from the water collected in the abdomen.
Tumors will also present themselves in connection with
dropsy.

Treatment.

Fowls that have had dropsy and have been cured of it
will be of little use as breeders and it is well to dispose
of all such birds for market purposes, You can treat
birds by giving tonics such as nux vomica or tincture chlo-
ride of iron. About ten drops of nux vom:ca can be given
the bird in a quart of water. And twenty to thirty of the
chloride of iron in a gallon of water. Allow no other water
for a week or until the bird is on the road to recovery.
With the help of tonics, good pure food and water you
can expect some change in the birds with dropsy. If the
water has collected in large quantity it will be a good idea
to puncture the cavity with a fine needle and allow most
of the fluid to run out. Boil the needle for an hour in
boiling water before using it, Provide sunny house or
coop for the sick bird. After removing the water from the
bird you can then give it a teaspoonful of sulphate of mag-

88 POULTRY DISEASE

nesia in a pint of the drinking water, Feed sparingly for
ten days.
Soft Shelled Eggs.

This trouble is usually accounted for by lack of shell
making material. In one sense it is a diseased condition
and should be looked after promptly. As a general thing
it is caused by the bird being in an over fat condition at
the time the egg is developing, or forming. Cases have
been traced to the inflamation of that part of the oviduct
where the shell is formed. When a bird is laying soft
shelled eggs it will lead to some other bad trouble and if
should be corrected at once.

Treatment,

The only treatment for soft shelled eggs is to sup-
ply an abundance of oyster shells, grit, charcoal, for that
is free from fat producing qualities, and make the birds
exercise after all grain you give them, in a deep litter. Do
not forget the green food and supply cabbage, cut clover,
etc., at all times. It will be noticed that birds lay more soft
shelled eggs during the late winter months than at
any other time of the year. Give five drops of fluid ex-
tract of ergot in a pint of water for the affected bird to
drink every other day and allow no other drink for a week
at least, ,

Infiamation of the Oviduct.

This disease is very serious indeed and needs careful
attention at all times. It causes the bird a great deal of
suffering and pain. Inflamation of the oviduct general-
ly appears in connection with an egg bound condition, or
cases have been known to start from the over feeding of
condiments or “egg foods” which are too irritating to use.
It is easy to discover the bird with this trouble for the
bird seems to be out of shape and all to pieces as soon as
you find it. There is a desire to strain as if the bird is
trying to expel an egg and if it does lay there will be
blood on it. When the bird is straining in this manner it
will sometimes cause a blood vessel to become ruptured
and death is certain. The bird will have a high fever at
first but as the disease develops the fever will decrease
and the bird will loose strength and will die from exhaus:
tion. While this is taking place the bird will stand around
drooped and the feathers will stand on their ends with

AND THEIR REMEDIES 89

wings dragging the ground. The bird now is certainly dis-
- gusting to its owner.
Treatment.

Separate the sick bird from the flock and give it a
quiet place. The diet should be your next consideration.
Do not feed condiments or stimulating foods but feed more
cut clover. If you think there is a broken egg in the oyi-
duct remove it at once for there is no use to try to treat
the case if you do not remove the cause. Grease the
finger with vaseline and inject into the vent; if you dis-
cover an egg broken remove it if possible with great care.
If the egg is too far away then you will have to inject the
sweet oil into the vent, After the egg is removed the
passage should be washed with a weak solution of car-
bolic acid to a 50 per cent solution of peroxide of hydrogen
and water, Two grains of bicarbonate of soda with 20 grains
of Epsom salts will be found helpful if given in the drinking
water. Keep the bird quiet for several days.

Peritonitis.

The delicate lining of the abdomen becomes suddenly
inflamed, this originates from some other inflamed organ
of the abdomen and peritonitis must come from some other
trouble of the abdomen. The breaking of a small blood
vessel will also cause inflamation to set up and the en-
tire delicate lining of the abdomen is inflamed before you
realize what has eaken place. There will be a high fever
and the temperature of the bird will run as high as 105
to 110 degrees. As the inflamation increases the bird
will become weak and finally falling on its side and being
unable to walk will lie and die. There is no appetite and
breathing is very heavy especially during the last few
hours of the bird’s life.

Treatment.

Place the bird in a coop away from the other birds
and nothing can be done only let the bird die or better
still kill it and get it out of its misery. This trouble is in-
curable and the only thing that can be done is to prevent
any more cases from appearing. While the bird is sick
give beef juice and fresh sweet milk as nourishment, only
a few teaspoonfuls three or four times a day will be
sufficient,

90 POULTRY DISEASES

Vent-Gleet.

This disease is very contagious and if not attended
to at once as it makes its appearance in your flock you
will likely be bothered with it quite a lot. As soon as the
male bird becomes affected the rest of the hens will have
it as it is propagated by copulation. It is an inflamation
that attacks the cloaca and you first notice it by a frequent
attempt of the bird to pass excrement, but still nothing is
passed. The membranes of the vent are swollen and the
parts are red and inflamed. There will be a milky dis-
charge which forms a crust on and near tne vent. This is
very offensive. When you discover a hen with vent-gleet
you should isolate her at once so as to prevent an new
cases from appearing.

Treatment.

Bathe the inflamed parts in warm water as hot as can
be borne to your wrist, and allow the bird to sit over a
steaming kettle, either will be satisfactory. Add two tea-

After the food has been
moistened it is forced down-
ward by the contraction of
the muscles of the crop (A)
to another dilated portion,
the proventriculus (B) where
a true digestive fluid is sup-
plied and certain kinds of
food digested.

From the proventriculus
the food passes to the gizzard
(C) for trituration. This is a
large ovoid body, flat on the
sides, and provided with pow-
erful muscles to compress the
food swallowed against small
stones or other sharp cutting
substances that instinct has
taught the bird to pick up.
This grinding process soon
reduces the hardest grain
to pulp.

The intestine (D) of the or-
dinary fowl is between six
and seven feet in length. The
liver (H) is an accessory or-
gan of digestion. The caeca
(E), the rectum is (F) and
the cloaca (G) is the last
portion of the bowel. This
illustration furnished by
courtesy of Dr. Hess and
Digestive and Reproductive Organs Clark, Ashland, Ohio.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 91

spoonfuls of creolin to a gallon of the warer. If there are
any crusts or scabs present remove them. After bathing
in this warm water you can now cleanse the inflamed parts

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF EGG PRODUCTION.

Oviduct of laying hen: 1, Ovary with minute ovules;
2-3, yolk sacs; 4, suture line; 5, empty yolk sac; 7, funnel
opening into oviduct; 8, yolk in oviduct; 9, albumen secreting
region; 10, albumen being secreted; 11, yolk passing through
oviduct; 12, germinal disk; 13, isthmus; 14, uterus; 15, large
intestine; 17, cloaca. On the right from the top downward
are shown; Complete egg; yolk of egg incubated 16 hours;
completed egg in uterus—(1) isthmus, (2) glands of uterus,
(3) egg, (4) vagina, (5) ‘cloaca.

92 POULTRY DISEASES

with peroxide of hydrogen. If the discharge still appears
you can take a piece of cotton and soak it in the following
solution and insert into the vent three times a day, One
ounce of distilled water (or rain water either) sugar of lead
three grains and sulphate of zinc three grains. Always
shake the mixture thoroughly before using. This will dry up
the discharge. If your sick bird is not well in two weeks
it will be well to kill and cremate,

CHAPTER VIII

PARASITES

Three Different Varieties—Lice, Mites and Fleas—
Formulas for Making Lice Powder and Liquid Lice

Killer—How to Fight Them.

When your birds appear to be sick and out of con-
dition you had better examine them closely and see if
their bodies are not afflicted with some parasite. There
are three kinds of parasites that affect poultry; lice, mites
and fleas. Which is the worst, it is hard to determine if
you let either of them alone unmolested. I think lice are
noticed more, in fact they are found in larger numbers
than the other two. Some of our best poultrymen will
tell you today that lice will cause them more trouble than
anything else. Lice may be classed as the magic word
that means more disease, poor egg yield and a great loss
to poultrymen in general. In the winter while the birds
are housed up in close houses most of the time, they are
almost certain to be full of lice for do not think lice will
not breed on birds in the winter time for this is the time
they breed and get their work in .on them. Lice are in
season twelve months in the year, in winter and summer
just the same. When fowls are enjoying outdoor liberty
they are not as bad as when they are closed up in houses
all winter.

As I have said above if the birds are not doing right
and seem to be out of condition, or if your egg yield is
falling off the first thing for you to do is to examine the
birds closely for lice. If you ask a person if their fowls
are lousy they will answer most every time that they are

AND THEIR REMEDIES 93

not; when nine times out of ten they are, but they hate to
own up to it. When a person feels sure that his fowls are
free from lice it is a very good time to begin work against
them for if they have a louse or two on them now they
will be lined with them in a month or so, They will breed
very fast and soon eat the birds up. While experimenting
a few years ago with a hen that was full of these pests
she went to setting and hatched a very nice flock of chicks
but it was under great difficulties. Of course the little
chicks were full of them as soon as they were hatched.
They began to die off until only two were left at the end
of two weeks, then they would not grow any and there
were no feathers on them which of course was caused by
depluming mites. They were the worst looking sights you
ever saw and soon died from weakness. In the meantime
the hen was nothing but skin and bones, the feathers were
eaten up all but the quill, the skin was scaly and she fin-
ally died from a bad case of diarrhoea in just seven weeks
from the time I set her. This was only an experiment for I
wanted to see how long a hen could live under such con-
ditions.

There are many different varieties of lice, fleas and
mites but it is not necessary to describe all of them in
order to combat them successfully.

- Lice.
A louse possesses six legs and on each leg there are
a pair of sharp claws. They live on the body and among
the feathers of the birds; their bodies are of an oblong
shape, and they vary in color according to the variety and
age of them. They do not suck or drink blood from the bird
but live on and among the feathers . They might suck or
drink blood that might come from the abrasions of the
skin but they have no sucking organs, They are a source
of great irritation to the bird and if the bird has tender
skin it might cause some bad skin disease. When lice are
present they fret and worry the bird so it can not sleep or
get any rest at all, but must fight the pests from sun up to
sun down and all night. And of course such conditions tend
to weaken the bird’s constitution and if on little chicks
they will be dumpish and have no energy to move around

and follow the rest of the brood.

94 POULTRY DISEASES

In looking for these pests examine the feathers careful-
ly on the back, then under the wings and on the legs, now
examine the cushion on the neck then look b tween the
legs and near the vent. I expect you will find the most
around the vent for this is the favorite place for them. If
you do not find more than one or two you can use a good
lice powder and kill them but if they are very thick you
will have to use a more vigorous treatment, and use it
about four times at intervals of about ten days.

It is estimated by good authorities that in eight weeks
time one louse can produce from itself and its offspring
about one hundred and twenty-five thousand lice; so you
see what a few will do for you if you do not work against
them from the start. Some think that one to two or a half
dozen will not hurt any thing much but right here is where
you make the mistake.

Lice seem to thrive on birds that are listless or
droopy, stunted growth and rough feathered. In adult
birds that are affected with these pests the combs and
wattles will be pale, there will sometimes be a diarroheal
discharge.

Lice rarely ever breed on chicks but are passed from
some adult bird to them. They breed on the fowl among
the feathers and the warmth of the bird’s body hatches
the eggs, These eggs are either laid in clusters or singly
among the soft fluffy feathers near the vent.

Mites.

Mites are just as bad pests as lice, they
will stay on the roosts, nests, sides of the
building and in cracks during the day and go
onto the fowls at night. The most common is
the red or gray mite which breeds in the
cracks, etc., or in fact most any place filth is
allow to accumulate. If the roost comes in
contact with the wall of the building this is a satisfactory
place for them to hide and breed. Mites are unlike lice;
they will go onto the bird at night and bite and bore
through the skin and suck the blood from it, therefore de-
priving the bird from its rest and saping up the best of its
vitality; this is the time the bird needs rest and must
have it in order to build up the broken down tissues.

RED MITE

AND THEIR REMEDIES 95

A mite that is full of blood is a redish color but
otherwise they are a grey or whitish color. They are
about one-fourth of an inch in length which makes them
very hard to see with the eye. They often cluster in col-
onies and congregate for a considerable length of time and
in these places they look nothing more than uust and webs.

In sultry ‘summer weather they breed very fast, by
the millions and will often attack the birds in the day time
if they sit upon the roosts or prefer to stay in the house.
They will make the setting hen leave the nest and if she
stays at her post she will soon die from exhaustion and
loss of blood which the pests suck from her.

They will- also attack horses, cows, etc., and cause
great irritation and skin diseases, Mites do not breathe
through the pores of their skin like lice, hence dusting
them has very little effect on them.

Kerosene Emulsion—Dissolve a bar of common laundry
soap or whale oil soap in a gallon of boiling water; take
from the stove and add a little at a time, two gallons of
kerosene oil, churning the emulsion all the time; the emul-
sion when well churned should be of the thickness of heavy
cream. One part of the emulsion to 6 to 10 parts of water
makes a spray for ridding the poultry house of mites.

Remedy for Mites—Spray the house thoroughly, reach-
ing every point with kerosene emulsion, 1 part of emulsion
to 7 of water.

New Lice Exterminater—Sodium Fluoride is a fine white
powder that does not lose its strength by being exposed
to the air. One application will kill any lice or eggs on
the fowl or in the poultry house. It may be used either dis-
solved in water as a dip or applied on the fowls in powder
form. A pinch of powder applied to the head, under the
wings and above the vent or fluff will do the trick.

Treatment for Head Lice on chicks—Annoint the head
under the wings and about the vent with tincture of larks-
pur; use the ball of the finger in applying this poison.

Depluming Mites.

These pests live on the fowls at the base of the feath-
ers and by the operation of these mites will cause the
feathers to become diseased and irritated and will fall
out, leaving the skin smooth and with a pinkish tint and

96 POULTRY DISEASES

sometimes very red. They generally work on the neck
and head. Remove the feathers from the affected parts
and with the aid of a magnifying glass you can see the
depluming mites at the base of the feathers.

For treating these cases there is nothing better than
carbolated vaseline; apply every day for about ten days.
If you do not begin with the first case that makes its ap-
pearance and treat it at once you are liable to be bothered
with it quite a lot for the rest of the flock will have them.
Keep the coops and brooders clean and use a good disin-
fectant,

Fleas.

We rarely ever see any of these pes‘s on fowls, in
some sections they are worse than others. They will
tear and bite the skin of birds and cause great pain; they
are also blood suckers. The females will bury themselves
in the skin and cause a watery growth and after it heals
up it will leave a scar that has the appearance of a burn.
When the bird is attacked by a great number of these
fleas at once it will die if something is not done immediately.

To Eradicate Vermin.

In fighting vermin you must remember the little
things and look after them carefully. No doubt you have
often heard the old maxim which was something like this:
“take care of the nickles and dimes and the dollars will
take care of themselves.” This is pretty true nevertheless,
in both cases, Remember that in fighting lice, they are
deep into the feathers and for the treatment to be suc-
cessful it must reach them. Any of the commercial lice
powders advertised today are good but if you can get them
that contain tobacco dust they will give you better satis-
faction for tobacco dust is very poisonous to lice. In
dusting lousy birds take them by the legs, head downward
and dust the powder well into the feathers and work it
down next to the skin so it will reach the lice, especially
among the fluff of the feathers and near the vent where
lice are found in large numbers. Treat them every ten
days at least for if there are any nits on the feathers af-
ter the lice are killed they will hatch out again and soon
have the birds covered with the pests again.

A good lice powder can be made at home very cheap-
ly and it will be found satisfactory in every way. Take

AND THEIR REMEDIES 97

three pounds of tobacco dust, one-half pound of pyrethum,
one ounce of carbolic acid and one pound of air slacked
lime. Mix thoroughly and have them well dried and ap-
ply as directed above and you will find it will do the work
satisfactory.

If you will dust fowls in this manner it will keep the
lice down and the fowls will be practically free of them.

You can also free your fowls from lice by using a
good liquid lice killer; most that are advertised on the
market will do the work all right and in a satisfactory man-
ner but some times you need it when you have not got it and
if you should have to order it it would be late and perhaps
the lice would eat the birds up before you could get it. A
good liquid lice killer can be made at home and very cheap.

It can be made by dissolving napthaline flakes in
kerosene all it will take up then to this add one ounce of
creolin. This is also good to apply to roosts and nests to
kill mites. In using this to destroy lice on fowls you will
have to have a box large enough for about ten birds; paint
the sides and bottom of it with the solution and place the
birds in it and cover with a piece of burlap and place some
on the burlap. Let the birds stay in the box about thirty
to forty-five minutes and if you will remove them you will
find the lice on the bottom of the box dead or dying.
Four treatments one week apart will be sufficient to kill
every louse on them. Have the burlap heavy enough to
give the fowls plenty of fresh air for if you do not you
might smother them to death.

If you will spray the nests, roosts, dropping boards
with a strong solution of creolin and kerosene you will
kill every mite present. It is better to use a good spray
for in this manner you can get it in every crack and crev-
ice right where they stay and breed. Do not let dust ac-
cumulate for these places make good dens for them to
breed in. It is a good idea to spray your house every
time you clean it out and especially in warm sultry weath-
er when they are at their worst.

In killing head lice on small chicks a little lard with
a few drops of creolin added makes a splendid remedy.
And a little will go a long way. Carbolated vaseline with
the creolin added will be as good. Grease them about
twice and that will be sufficient to kill all lice on them.

98 POULTRY DISEASES

For fleas, sunlight and whitewash is all that is need-
ed. In dark places where dust has accumulated and un-
der trees and bushes soapy water with a little kerosene ad-
ded will exterminate them.

Dipping Fowis to Kill Vermin.

Fowls can be dipped and every louse or parasite on
them will be killed and it is very simple to do. On some
warm clear day you can get a large pail for dipping them
in and you can dip a very large flock in a short time.
Most any of the dips advertised now will be all right but
if you wish you can make one that will give as good sat-
isfaction. Take ten quarts of water heated to about 100
to 110 degrees Fahrenheit and to this add six ounces of
creolin and you have a good dip. Let it dissolve well be-
fore using. Now you can begin dipping them by holding
the bird by the wings and immerse all except the head,
work the bird up and down in the dip for about one min-
ute then remove it and hold on the dripping board which
will run it back into the bucket. In this way you save
most of your dip. You can also rub the bird and get more
of it out and it will make the bird dry quicker. You can
let the bird go and dry gradually in the sun or in a heated
room. This may be some little bother but you know it
is thorough.

There are too many good reliable remedies for kill-
ing lice on fowls for a person to let these pests gradually
suck the life out of your birds. Birds can not possibly
thrive and do well with them on them. They will not lay
any eggs, they are certainly a bad looking object for the
owner to look upon, they are liable to have all diseases
if you do not get them off immediately and in fact I could
give you many reasons why you should not let them be
bothered with these pests. But I know most everyone is
aware of what they will do and cause. And most of the
intelligent and up-to-date poultrymen will not stand for such.

AND THEIR REMEDIES 99

CHAPTER IX

HABITS

Egg and Feather Eating.

Egg eating-is a very bad habit and is extremely an-
noying to the owner. It is usually caused by over crowd-
ing, lack of exercise and the use of nests that are too low
on the ground and are too light. Nests should be made
as dark as possible so that they cannot see the eggs after
they are laid. A desire for meat food will often cause
the hen to eat her eggs after she has once gotten the taste
of one. The first taste of an egg that they generally get
is one that is layed on the roost and broken or is soft
shelled. The habit rarely ever makes its appearance in
a flock on a free range and one that is fed on a balanced
ration.

It is hard to cure a hen of this habit after she has once
gotten the taste of the eggs. And it is best to dispose of
all hen that have it. They should be eaten or sent to
market.

Treatment.

Make your nests darker, give free range and make
them work and exercise after all the food tney get. Bury
it in the deep litter or spade up the earth and bury it.
Provide plenty of meat or animal matter. If possible
elevate the nests about two feet above the fioor;* construct
the nests so they will not permit the eggs to we scratched
out onto the floor and broken; this will often start the
habit.

Feed cabbage to them in heads and swing them up so
they can pick at it at will and this will keep them busy.
Often it can be cured by scattering china nest eggs over
the ground and in the houses and nests and after they
find out they can not eat them they will not try to eat any
more eggs.

100 POULTRY DISEASES

Feather Eating.

This habit is generally caused by insufficient ex-
ercise and over crowding. I have noticed cases with all
of the feathers eaten off of the neck leaving the neck en-
tirley bare and of course these cases are very annoying and
disgusting to the owner. It is usually caused by one Cer-
tain bird in the flock. When birds are housed up in the
winter for weeks at a time they generally get the habit
then,

Treatment.

Make close investigation for the hen that is causing
the trouble and remove her at once. And it is best to sell
her for she will never stop the habit and will be of no use
as a breeder. If you will place the birds on free range
and make them take more exercise this will often help the
matter along quite a lot,

As a treatment apply an ointment of some bitter sub-
stance and this will often cause them to stop their habit.
Quinine or aloes mixed with vaseline or lard will make
a very good remedy or tobacco boiled in water will be
found very satisfactory. i

Rub the feathers with either of these remedies and
after they have taken one or two of these bitter doses
they will not be so keen to eat them any more. There
are “poultry bits” being advertised now to keep birds from
eating feathers and I have found these very satisfactory
and you can get them from any poultry supply house. It
is a small piece of leather that fits’ in the mouth to pre-
vent the bird from closing its mouth or beak on the feather,
but in no way will it prevent the bird from eating; they
are held in place by a fine wire brought through the nostril.

The best cure for feather eating is to give the birds
the right’ kind of food and make them exercise after all
the food you give them and as long as a bird is at work
it will not get into any trouble.

TABLE ON CONTENTS

Page
Ghapter I—Requirements of Health........0......ccsces 3
ener Nl —— ihe: SUM Ue ery ale ale eis a. 3 ois) 818 alee ae eins 6 908 0a, ae 12
Giaoter tiles) and SNeCeCb .... ..is' elec ss oats dele co ens 19
Chapter [V—Head, Throat and Nasal Passages.......... 28
Ree —— Tt MES te sactatchiat no ef eonsteseds soe ’sccouaree’aferaire oie eteteuens 58
Chapter VI—The Crop and Intestines................... 65
Chapter VII—The Abdomen and HKgg Organs............ 84
een tete Vill —— Para Sites acta vec vr o.b1s oc oslo abel aerate aieleayels ile 92
Page Page
Andomen and ....... Erost: Bite). :222.2 4h 56-57
Hee Organs 2... 6.5.2. 84- Mung oid) Ss. lane ee ar 55-56
PATIO OIEKY 5 na ce aw wisi AS-D0F AGAPSSs Wow c03 eccdencete teres 43-47
Riek weCAad f. stes ae oe eG “GASCIUEIS. «05s certerea etre 67-
ACKIOIROL, wo. oss > co Ho-bAy. sHADIES “25 tea e eee 98-99
Bowel Trouble or...... Head, Throat and ....
White Diarrhoea 71-75 Nasel Passages 29-59
ISGEAKG@OWD 2.5.2.8. es 84-85 Health, Require- .....
Broken Shanks ....... 23- IMENGS (OLY . cmc 3-20
EeHPAPMEMTEN S|. ova i oser'e oe 59-60 Hypertrophy of the...
Bumble-Foot .......... 19-20 Dei VGIey Sitar ere hese 77-78
CENT STRAT RS Boe reicy oct eee 39-40 Inflamation of the Crop 82-83
Gmeken “PoOK ........% 12-17 Inflamation of the....
MONO E a ep reves + vis soe bere 68-71 IBA Cele + 2e i ck pea ee 76-

Congestion of the Liver 75-76
Conzestion of the Lungs 62-
Conjurctivitis or Hye..

Mreauples ...—.....4. 42-43
Sonusumption ..... 2.6. 59-60
Common Colds ....... 35-36

Common Diarrhoea .... 66-

CUPS UP OS) NG en 26-
Crop, Bound .......... 79-82
Crop of Intestines 79-82
MOONE eis, oh cies os ow ane 34-35
Depluming Mites ...... 95-

Diarrhoea from Poison 66-67

Diarrhoea White ...... 71-74
HINGIS... is ace os 37-38
LIC See ore 25-26
IDV SEUMECIV, © 00h agae a+ 0 te 67-68
GEN Aewsets% aps victor ata ss 17-18
Wee BOW e f.. se. cod on 85-86
Hee HAWS ....0 as aes 99-

Enlarged Crop ....... 82-83
FMRI ayers ceaic eco hue! & 65-66
leila @Siich 1 iy tana ae 17-

Favus or White Comb 54-55
Feather Hating ...... 99-100
LEA Sie so teetsceinie icone 96-

Inflamation of Oviduct 88-89
Influenza or “Grippe”. 41-42
Injuries of the Comb.. 57-

Leg Weakness ....... 20-21
LBA EX bya olla Hei aoe 93-94
Limberneck .......... 50-52
Mines Wunes) tes. ese 58-59
VETS Meas ss Been ees ee 94-95
Parasites; oa .c.08 oon 92-98
Rermionitisn -risroc~s.cee aa 89-
1 ehh Oe Abc tatters co Caen eeaee 40-41
PreumMonia, ves... 2 ors 61-62
Prolapsus of the .....
Oviducte..... 2. ac: 83-
Rhewmatism: ~. 2. 2.2.0. 22-23
Round Worms ....... 77-78
FUOUD pete We cetera caw 28-34
SCalliyemues (hata eaten 24-25
Skint) "he's yo eine 12-19

Scft Shelled Eggs ... 88-

Tubsrenlosis: 2. o0.> 62-63
Went (Gleet 4. 2. he sec 90-91
White Comb or Favus 54-55
Aah) Tbe. Ghee ec 18-

Worms, Round ...... 77-78
Worms. Paper: sc. 78-79

H 271 8%

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