Tes ptoms dis- ‘sym f all te oi ent The and COpyclt NG Gz COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. i eel Sian Wee aH py scatietlly ene Psi a ip Ave Tatieg tia ii song Hee Roce. Yeadon ll NE als atts ins mn) VE i Sialic Reva fe Weaver ya eeeutenie ay Ta we Cu oeated Hino, ala i DR a OP aU Mays Bie tt iy a 8 yi Lae ni One aa AN i i HC Ha LN oh Me Ea ny i : ue 1 PERT Ea) fe : hs ay , eas 5 Raat = Mi nalle yea femeny Ui Ate eae te 4 : d aaY hay eer Wh IK oy ee " Git 7 addicts Os aa in en a Bis ie A ia ey i EACH Pe i be er, hale! and i Hai a a ay hh ; ead mS i he ey Cae ‘ AON Roast Pe cy oo ana ‘ an aa L y Pes ha ‘ nana eS ha OP Mea f : } baa ot, ; ys fait i } Saat 7 Sei spo Poultry Diseases And Their Remedies O~S--G-9 The cause, symptons, and treatment of all diseases known to Poultry .. . BY J. GAYLORD BLAIR Copyrighted 1910 By J. GAYLORD BLAIR INTRODUCTION The pleasure of helping others is one of our greatest blessings. When we help otherg we help ourselves, and our joys increase. This book is intended to render assist- ance to all persons who keep fowls and who may some time need help while their birds are stricken with disease. The name of-this little book describes its nature: “Poultry Diseases and their Remedies.” This little book was not written in a day nor a month, but it has taken me years to get it ready to place before the public. During all the past years I have given this subject my earnest and Care- ful study and I feel that I am in a position to give the poultry world something that they will appreciate. I have tried to avoid technical terms and any one capable of un- derstanding the simplest written language cannot fail to comprehend the full meaning of every subject treated. In sending out this little book into the world I feel that the benefits should be equal. The information contained in its pages hag been sought from all quarters and from the most progressive and up-to-date thinkers on these subjects. From this store of information and my own practical ex- perience I have prepared this book, and dedicate it to the poultry raisers of the world. J. GAYLORD BLAIR, Author 4 POULTRY DISEASES CHAPTER I. REQUIREMENTS OF HEALTH How to keep your birds healthy—How to prevent Disease From breaking Out in a flock—With helpful sugges- tions—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 pe 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 AND THEIR REMEDIES 5 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. 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 to day 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 breed 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. scon 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, mcre robust, and will hatch stronger chicks from the eggs laid by them. This will also keep them from getting over fat. When you 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 scratch- ing 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 te scratch for it when they are only a few days old and this is what makes them grow fast and develope 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 intce 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 scmething 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, evercise and fresh air is the best preventative known for diseases. How to Handle Contagious Diseases Did you ever notice that the first birds to take some [2 FOULTRY DISEASES contagious disease is always the weakest one in the flock? Birds that are healthy and active are seldom stricken with disease. To prevent a 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. Re- move the litter on the floor every week at least. In hand- ling diseased birds you should not go direct to the well ones for all this is a good way to scatter the germs. Do not Keep the sick birds in the same room with the well ones. lt is a good idea to have a pest house and keep all sick birds in it until they get entirely well. Avoid Tonics and Medicines. A bird that you 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 condition for breeding purposes, for the chicks hatched from such birds will be weak and will never amount to anything. Do not give tonics and egg foods to healthy 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 dos- ing 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 beneficial and should be used about the house and yards every week at least but out side of this tonics and medicines are not necessary and if you have birds that have to be dosed to be kept alive you should get rid of them at once. AND THEIR REMEDIES i3 CHAPTER II. THE SKIN Chickenpox 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 opinicn one of the worst diseases that can affect poultry. Chickenpox 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 fa- miliar with it is I am now, I thought cholera an roup were the worst diseases that could affect poultry, but now I do not think it. During these years past I have had ex- periences with almost every disease known to affect poul- try, and I must say that chickenpox is one of the worst I had. to deal with. Before this I thought it was nothing more than a few little “‘Pimples’ 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 little pim- ples 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 cr pox sores. With chicken-pox you are also liable to be annoyed by two other very, bad diseases;.eanker and roup. Whenever these warts or pox sores come in the mouth of the bird you now have canker to contend with and when 14 POULTRY DISEASES the birds catches the least bit of cold, roup is very likely to be your next enemy. What Cause 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 tc be annoyed very much. Houses that are not kept clean, and are allowed to become damp and wet, and especially when the accumulated droppings are allowed to become damp. This is an ideal place to grow these germs. These germg are known as bacteria and they are very small, living organisms, and can only be seen by means of a miscroscope. Warmth and moisture fav- or the development of these germs, and it is always of a milder form in the North than in the South. When it breaks out amcng 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 cther 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. Remove the old litter and replace with new, also clean the old droppings away. If everything is watched up close and kept clean you will be rewarded for it later, | by getting the trouble under headway. Two Kinds of Chickenpox, Moist and Dry. There are two kinds of chickenpox, the moist and the dry. I do not know which kind is the worst but I notice the miost 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 cheesey 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 es AND THEIR REMEDIES 15 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. 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 called nodules, now appear and are flattened, but later, become elevated and are of a yeliowish or a red color. They are seen 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, determines 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 thay likely to 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 nodles confined to the head and face you are all right, 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 mouth, 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 16 POULTRY DISEASES very 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. You will 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 soon discover that it is very thin and seems to be a fit subject for the ‘‘bone- yard.” It will stand around on one foot without any energy, will refuse to drink 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 ever 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 fat and in good shape. This dreadful disease will certainly cause the bird to decrease in strength and flesh. Treatment. The first thing to 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 will have a place for germs to accumulate. I[ believe I said above that it was no use to isolate birds af- ter 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 treat- ment and not for the protection of the well ones. After you have removed the affected birds from the well ones, begin to clean out the houses and coops. Re- move 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 thing that you can get out. Sweep it and remove all particles of dirt, dust, etc. Now get several buckets of water and place three tablespoonfuls 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 bottom: Be sure to begin it in time so it will be dry for the fowls to roost in the following night. After AND THEIR REMEDIES 17 you do this 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 solution. Then go out in the yards or runs and spray well. 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 have only a few birds to treat you can prevent the well birds to some extent from taking it by bathing their combs and face wtih a 50 per cent solution 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 nail. 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 dioxygen to the raw surface. This will foam up like soap suds but this is the good of it. It is destroying the germs. (bacteria) 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 dioxygen to these black scabs for fear there may be some more germs present. If the eyes become affected and in most cases they do, wesa them out with a 50 per cent solution of dioxygen 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 Gioxygen and creolin to the affected 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 dioxygen to the raw parts as long as it foams them apply burnt alum and boric 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 < 18 POULTRY DISEASES 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 affected 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 is 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. AND THEIR REMEDIES [9 It is not contagious and is never passed by contact from bird to bird. An improved diet is needed very bad- ly; 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 treatment, 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 cf the flock where they can have plenty of exercise and green grass which wili stimulate digestion and blood circulation. To the affected birds annoint the parts with eloate of zinc. And give two grains of calomel every other day for four or five times. Also cne 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 as two hens should be. It is a gathering of wind under the skin, hence it is where it tock 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 waseline. 20 POULTRY DISEASES CHAPTER III. LEGS AND FEET ‘Bumble-foot. This trouble will cause the bird much pain and worry because 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 develops pus or matter. As the trcuble 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. 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 cf 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 AND THEIR REMEDIES Zi) foot. Advanced stages show more or less swelling in the foot and leg, especially in the ankle joint. 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 dioxy- gen to the wound and when the liquid ceases to boil in the wound, dry with a soft linen cloth or better still use absorb- ant 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 carbclic 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 iarg- er breeds of the Asiatic class also the English and Ameri- can 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 ‘ad 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 22 POULTRY DISEASES 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 muscle food, leg-weakness appears. Usually bad judge- ment 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 symptoms 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 while 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 flock 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-- AND THEIR REMEDIES 23 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. Rheumatism. This is a very annoying disease to the cwner of fowls 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 to cause the bird 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 birds from becoming exposed to 24 POULTRY DISEASES 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 headway. Feed an abundance of green food and do not forget to 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 it 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 un- der 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 scme 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 easily 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 ones 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 from the rest of the flock. Make three wraps with the cotton next to the birds leg, then place the splints on, them AND THEIR REMFDIES 4) 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. 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 disease 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 disgusting. It is very annoying to have your birds with such dirty, filthy looking 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 miscrope you will readily see the parasites or living organisnis. 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 cases. 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 cf warm 26 POULTRY DISEASES water, some soap and a sponge. Place the bird in the pail and begin to soften the scales letting them soak in the water; after they get pretty weil 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 cf 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 naphthalene 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 birds 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. Use as many treatments as the disease requires; of course scme 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 functiong 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 THEIR REMFDIES 27. and make them work for it. Overfeeding without any ex- ercise is the main cause of dropsy in brooder chicks. 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 over-heating, 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. 28 ~POULTRY DISEASES MELEE Zs EZ ES Zo3 ‘See, oF AND THEIR REMEDIES 29. CHAPTER IV. HEAD, THROAT AND NASAL PASS- AGES 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 running 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 ave different diseases altogether. Roup is very easily detected from colds, diphtheria, 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 experie” you 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, cne 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 gtudy 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- 30 POULTRY DISEASES ly. This is one great trouble with most people they can- not diagnose a case. 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- 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’’ has been termed roup. AIl colds will have these symptoms, also diphtheria, 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 scon as we find such caseg in our flocks. 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 AND THEIR REMEDIES 3] 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 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 were the old style tight houses was 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 cn the same roost and in fact it is very contagious 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 cf 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 utensil. It is said that these germs can be carried by the wind for miles while it is in its dry stage and 32 POULTRY DISEASES 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- 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 temperature will be about normal. The liquid that runs from the eyes and nostrils will be thin and watery, later turning a grey color which turns a yellowish 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 socket. 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 most 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 nothing but skin and bones. Roup will certainly make great changes in a very short time. When the bird seems to be breathing with great dif- ficulties 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 thrcat that causes these loud noises. In some cases the throat will close up from these growths and the bird will then die from suffication. AND THEIR REMEDIES 35 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 can not stand alone. Now the bird will net last long un- 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 abcut 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 evedently show in their offspring. Remember that all colds, grippe and diphtheria are not roup: if the roup smeli 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 tc 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 ig the “‘cure’’ or treéat- 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 thorcughly, remove the old droppings from the boards, clean the old litter from the floor and replace with new, 34 POULTRY DISEASES 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. 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 dioxygen daily and this will help keep the trouble under headway. Apply the dioxygen until it ceases to foam then apply creo- lin solution. While using these treatments you must give the bird a one grain pill of quinine every night and morn- ing. If these yellowish scabs appear in the mouth or throat you can remove them and apply dioxygen 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 abcve. 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. AND THEIR REMEDIES 35 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 conimon 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 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. Hightly 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 36 POULTRY DISEASES work very much alike. There ig no germ present as in roup. Croup is a catarrhal information 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 passages originates. from filthy and dusty houses. Clean the houses often and avoid this trouble. Symptoms. The symptoms of croup are about the same as those with a cold, only the bird breaths with great difficulty; the neck will be stretched far out from the body with mouth open in effort to breath. The comb, face and wattels 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 swollen 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 seemg to be better take an atomiser and make a fifty per-= cent. solution. < of« dioxygen?yand 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 AND THEIR REMEDIES 37 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- 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 go 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 discharges from the eyes and nostrils. If there is on odor present it is not roup but if there is a bad odor there 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 rcost. Keep them housed close and do not let them out until they are entire- ly well. 38 POULTRY DISEASES 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. Ag soon as you notice the bird 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 dioxygen once a day. Ac- onite bryonia and spongia mixture is another good remedy. Give a teaspoonful of the following in a quart 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. Diphtheria. 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 theold ‘‘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 net 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. Dipththeria will strike a bird suddenly, in the morning AND THEIR REMEDIES 39 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 a dark color. You frequently find a bird with a piping cough or heavy breathing; this is caused from the mucous that is in the throat. Some cases the mucous will close the throat and cause the bird to die from suffication. If you will examine the throat you will find it red and very much inflamed, later small white speck 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 suffication. 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 your 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 ag chickens. Treatment. Remove the bird at once from the rest of the flock. Disinfect well the house, yards, etc., with a good reliable disinfectant, (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 inflaination 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. Dixoygen will also be found very good when applied 40 POULTRY DISEASES to the membranes. Apply twice a day and as long as it continues to foam. Mix thoroughly a grain of permangan- ate of potassium with an 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 gocd. Feed good wholesome food and some that will be easily digested. Canker. This is a disease that will appear in all seascns of the year but is found more during the fall, winter and early spring than at any other time. It usually 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 that others. It is well tc 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 ig 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 gets 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 Jater develcpes 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- AND THEIR REMEDIES 4] pear con any portion of the mucous membrane and some- times 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 instru- ment without much bleeding. Treatment. Equal parts of burnt alum and boracic acid applied to canker sores will prove effective in most cases. 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 vom- ica or tincture chloride of iron five drops to each pint of water, is added, it will be a good tonic. Dioxygen applied to the sores will destroy the germs or bacteria that are present. Treating them with the creclin 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 tabiet three times a day until the bird is well, containing 1-1000 of a grain of mercury proti- edide. If the bird gets very thin and weak it will be a good idea to kill it for it will not amount tc much as a breeder or egg producer any more, even if it gets well for its vitality will be somewhat weakened. Pip. Pip is a disease that works on the muccugs 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 pcssible. Treatment. In treating this trouble you should study the conditions of the bird and try to locate the trouble that is back of it. 42 POULTRY DISEASES Do not remove the dry tip of the tongue for you will not accomplish any gcod 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 of water and this will straighten them out alright. Feed the bird cn 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 ‘‘Grippe.”’ 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 trembie 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 THEIR REMFDIES 43 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 pili a day. While using quinine it will be well to cleanse the throat, nostrils, etc. out with di- oxygen at least twice a day. A creolin solution will also prove very effective in most cases, about a teaspoonful of creolin in a pint of water. Keep the bird in a well venti- lated coop that is free from draughts, have good dry litter and clean every day, do not let it become damp. Feed the bird on good wholesome food and do not let the bird con- tract another cold for the second attack will appear. Conjunctivitis or Kye Troubles. Conjunctivitis is a disease that affects 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 inflammation 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 ig 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 44 POULTRY DISEASES affected birds in clean well aired quarters. Bathe the eye 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 eye 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. Another good remedy is to bathe the eyes with a 50 per cent solution of dioxygen and water twice a day; diox- ygen will destroy all germs that are present. Feed the bird well while convalescent and remember it is much easier to prevent a disease than to cure it. Try to lecate the trouble that causes this conjunctivitis or eye trouble. GAPES. A Disease that Kills Thousands of Small Chicks Annually and One That Has Been Prevalent Among Poultry For More than 100 Years. Its Cause, Symptoms, and Treatment and How to Pvrevent It. Gapes is one of the oldest diseases know 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 Highteenth 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 makeg its 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 strictly a parasitic disease and is caused by a small gape worm which ig 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 flock 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 cther birds. When they are present in large numbers they’ll suck the blood from the tissues and cause AND THEIR REMEDIES 45 much inflammation 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 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 blocd they are of a bright red in fact their color is determined by the amout 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 tock 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 tco young then to stand tre 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 pcsition 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 embro gape werms 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 cnly 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 46 POULTRY DISEASES they are passed from the female worm through some puncture of her body. it is in this manner they are de- posited in the drinking vessel and passed from the birds in the droppings to well birds and this ig the way the disease spreads. Birds often cough up these eggs and worms for you know a cough is always present with gapes so you see how easy it is to scatter this disease over a lot of ground and hence to healthy chicks. Many of the embro worms and eggs are eaten but very few of them will find their way into the windpipe and of ccurse 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 thougnt 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, eic. 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 pneumcnia 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 diseases 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 cf water and add one teaspoonful of creolin and AND THEIR REMEDIES 47 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 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 cld and young from the old run and have a new one ready for them and plow the old run up and pliant 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 creclin 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 48 POULTRY DISEASES the worms and cause them to be coughed 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- flammation of the mucous membrane of the throat and windpipe. Another good way to extract the gape worms from the windpipe is by using a horse hair, wire gape worm extract- 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 extracter 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 te treat them with ease and surity. By having a split bottom basket and placing the chicks in it, and by 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 camphcr 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. Seatter plenty of air slacked lime over your runs and you will find this a gcod preventative for this dreaded dis- ease. If you will keep the chicks in disinfected runs un- til 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 pre-. vent 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. e Apoplexy. As a general thing this disease appears in pullets that are too fat, although it will affect old hens and male birds: AND THEIR REMEDIES 49 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 tco fat to stand any strain for this fatty degeneration weakens the walls of the arteries which can 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 blcod 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 would be dark and purple and 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 preventation. 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 over fat condition is sure to appear and apoplexy will result. If you wish to treat the bird 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 50 POULTRY DISEASES - 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. 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 examinaticn ycu 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. LIMBHRNECK A Disease that is not Contagious as Most Pcopie 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 AND THEIR REMEDIES 51 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 poison 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 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 its 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. cases instead of the neck hanging down between the feet ait will throw it back and the bird’s head will rest neariy on its back and twists nearly around; this is known as ““wry-neck.’’ Treatment. As scon 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 turpentine and sweet ‘cil equal parts will be found very good in throwing off the 52 POULTRY DISEASES poison; in about thirty or forty minutes after you give ihe 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 if 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 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 thtat are full of maggots. If your flock has. free range it would be well tc 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. 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.. AND THEIR REMEDIES 53 There are no diseases of the comb and they are only symp- toms of some other disease that the bird has. Always re- 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 birds 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. 54 POULTRY DISEASES 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 coop and begin immediate treatment for in advanced 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 fui- 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. Phosphate 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 put 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 can. 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 immediate- ly 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 wien the fowls 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 redish pimples on the face and comb; they are nearly al- ways of a whitish color when first noticed but later turn redish. 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 comb, wattles, ear AND THEIR REMEDIES 55 lcbes 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 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 feather 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 smail tight houses for you cannot expect to keep them healthy if kept in such traps. The cause of this trouble should suggest a cure. FUNGOIED. While fungoid is not a very common disease still it is one of the worst diseases to handle after it once gets a 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 fleck and will cause great loss. It usually breaks out in flocks. that have been fed 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 vigorous. 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 disesase 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 substances 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 flaten 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 . 56 POULTRY DISEASES ‘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 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 cf dioxygen 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 week’s treatment the bird does not show any improvement it is well to kill it and bury it = J if Ue Copyrighted” Z ce 4) 5 pout 2 “Wes ; we aes “ 1393" Ls wp a sos > 90 POULTRY DISEASES re x Ah’ y z 1 Py if DG fc Oot A Aaya jets °F joopy lle LE af N\\( ] | YZ V1 Go I ut Ba Mites toad NCH / Logg |I!/) va SS || Fy eVGA a SSS Des se = = COL? G © “e. Z, ye ' Ss LERLN See Abe S08 UMBUS "—G AND THEIR REMEDIES 91 CHAPTER VIii. PARASITES Three Different Varieties—Lice, Mites and Fleas—Form- ulas 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 are 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 cn 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 out door 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 not; when nine times out of ten they are, put they hate to: 92 POULTRY DISEASES 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 sitting 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 finally died from a bad case of diarrhoea in just seven weeks from the time I set her. This was only an experi- ment for I wanted to see how long a hen could live under such conditions. ,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. Where 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 tc move around and follow the rest cf the brood. AND THEIR REMEDIES 95: 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 between 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 off- spring 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 dur- ing 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 allowed to accumulate. If the roost comes in contact with the wall cf 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 depriving the bird from its rest and sapping up the best of its vitality; this is’ the time the bird needs rest and must have it in order to build up the brcken down tissues. 94 POULTRY DISEASES A mite that is full of blood is of a redish color but otherwise they are a grey or whitish color. They are about one-fortith of an inch in length which makes them very hard to see with the eye. They often cluster in colonies and congregate for a considerable length of time and in these places they look nothing more than dust and webs. In sultry summer weather they breed very fast, by the millicns 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 sitting 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. 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 some times 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- tant. Fleas. We rarely ever see any of these pests 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. AND THEIR REMEDIES 95) When the bird is attacked by a great number of these fleas at once it will die if something is not dcne immedi- ately. 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 nickels 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 ‘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 manner 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 naphthaline flakes in kerosene all it will take up then to this add one ounce of 96 POULTRY DISEASES 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 gocd 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. 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 Fowls to Kili 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 very 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 AND THEIR REMEDIES 97, 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 ali dis- eases 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. 98 POULTRY DISEASES CHAPTER IX. HABITS. EKgg 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 hens 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 they get. Bury it in the deep litter or spade up the earth and bury it. Provide plenty of meat or animal matter. If possible elivate the nests about two feet above the floor; construct the nests so they will not permit the eggs to be 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 AND THEIR REMEDIES 99 find out they can not eat them they will not try to eat any more eggs. Feather Hating. 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- tirely 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. 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 sup- ply house. It is a small piece of leather that fits in the mouth to prevent 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. POULTRY DISEASES 100 of Ayo Nig vercat y IAEA heme ® 51 Paya ce eat eit © Nee ae ey Usd SURGE) PE Netay OS ra ae Ty Kengrees oat ea Gal dahalset eS Te nL) aN Mente Lat tet Rta Ne ahr y ct AEDs cae Mey tea disses ae i ; Oo Eee ran acy cos ps Vibeiionae