sir i ith eh it th i i Ar sttel teks ie Hie ttt iy Hd tte . “ tite i wtb aie cat i ‘ i yi ane Hiiietedels lela snes BR RAN ND iit ii} i JONATHAN: DWIGHTJr SPECIAL REPORT. DISEASES AND ENEMIES LEONARD PEARSON, State Veterinarian, AND B. H. WARREN, M. D.., State Zoologist. en NE Ate as) [Published by Authority of the Legislature] CLARENCE M, BUSCH, STATE PRINTER OF PENNSYLVANIA. 1897. DISEASES OF POULTRY ———e—eoerr- ~ “ ¢ = i 4 Diseases and enemies of Poulter | | We “ : LEONARD PEARSON, Bas. V. Me-D:, STATE VETERINARIAN. lea Our i { bu (3. - Wane, CLARENCE ?(M. BUSCH, STATE PRINTER OF PENNSYLVANIA. 1897. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. Larvae of Chicken Flea—Railliet, 7 Head of Chicken Flea—Railliet, 18 Chicken Lice— Goniodes dissimilis—Paiget, 19 Goniocotes gigas —Neumann, 20 Goniocotes hologaster —Neumann, 21 Lipeurus variabilis Neumann, ....... 22 Menopon pallidum —Railliet, PAA icions,) 23 ReEGeEoultry: MitC—=DeElAfONG) ose: c cece se dedmeteacerencece a. 20 Pigeon Tick—Railliet, 27 Parasites of Body Mange— Epidermoptes bilobatus—female—Neumann, 29 Epidermoptes bilobatus—male—Neumann, 3 Sarcoptes laevis -Railliet, Maatas 31 Protozoa from a Fowl's Tit Ati Peachncten: pasheaehic sia es 1's 33 Head of a fowl with Favus—Neumann, 34 Parasite of Favus—Neumann, 35 Pair of Gape Worms—Railliet, REET 0 40 Pair of Gape Worms Attached to Tuinauine sienrin, metas 41 Windpipe Containing Gape Worms—Megnin,............... 43 Air Sac Mite—Railliet, 45 Wreveis \\ye eel) ba lan In nad GODOT CORIO AGHOLBIGnCocead Tote ACT RAC 54 Intestine Containing Tape Worms—Goeze, .................. 58 Pin Worm of the Pigeon—Neumann, 60 Digestive Apparatus of Birds—Smith, 61 Parasite of Mange of the Legs and Feet— Sarcoptes mutans—Neumann, 83 Foot of Fowl with Mange—Neumann, 84 Floor of Mouth, Showing Dightneriae Moore, 91 Roof of Mouth, Showing Diphtheria—Moore, 94 Caeca of Healthy Turkey—Moore, fe asic LOL Caeca of Turkey, Showing Effect of Brier oan Princess Moore, RNR epee tee aeetate SIVA Ts ais, evsjereia inleietetes, «.0.0/ae30 we 9 LOD Liver of murkey: Showin= Effect of Protozoan Disease— Moore, ° aime nteia's 103 Plate 1— Skeleton ra MowLsGhanve eau, ceesene, HOD Plate 2—Digestive Apparatus of a ae nee Sch) a eect 111 (3) LEER Or 2b RANSMIT TAL. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, HARRISBURG, PA., AZarch 8, 1898. To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Gereral Assembly of Pennsylvania: Gentlemen: In compliance with the following con- current resolution I have the honor to transmit here- with Part I, entitled “Diseases of Poultry.” LEONARD PEARSON. In the House of Representatives, March 1, 1897. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That there shall be printed at the earliest possible date, in pamphlet form, fifteen thousand copies of Bulletin No. 17, of the Department of Agriculture, entitled “The Diseases and Enemies of Poultry,”’ with such ad- ditional matter and changes as the authors may deem nec- essary to more fully explain this important subject; five thou- sand for the use of the Senate and ten thousand for the use of the present members of the House of Representatives: Pro- vided, That the authors shall receive no extra compensation for preparing, writing, editing, proof reading, revising and index- ing this pamphlet. A. D. FETTEROLF, Resident Clerk of the House of Representatives. In the Senate, March 2, 1897. The foregoing resolution in the House concurred in. E. W. SMILEY, Chief Clerk of the Senate. Approved—The 9th day of March, A. D. 1897. DANIEL H. HASTINGS. (5) 7 ¥ ' & Pe, <7 . itu eare ig : oe; +i 7 Ll ty z i > ’ ¢ i quar 1: ) iin Bee t Ue afte PREFACE: This report on the Diseases and Enemies of Poultry is written in answer to an extensive demand for infor mation on the subject of which it treats. While a large number of articles on diseases of poultry may be found in poultry journals, live stock papers and poul- try books, there has been no recent attempt in this country to produce a comprehensive, popular but ac- curate description of the diseases of fowls, together with the means to be employed to cure and prevent them. In preparing the first part of this Bulletin, the Vet- erimarian has made free use of all of the works on dis- eases of poultry that he has been able to secure, and has drawn upon the English, French and German litera- ture. Special acknowledgment must be given to the agri- cultural and poultry pericdicals, to the following au- thors: Ziirn. Friedberger and Fréhner, Neumann, Rail- liet, Nocard and Leclainche, and the publications of the U. S. Department of Agricultere by Drs. Salmon, Smith, Moore and Stiles. There is a great deal to learn in reference to these subjects, and a promising field for investigation and re- search is offered. It is hoped that some of the numer- ous imperfectly nuderstood diseases of poultry may be carefully studied, and a future more complete report upon this subject issued under the auspices of the State Department of Agriculture. (7) , ' i ft . " Si =! ; = ' ‘ = ar 7 \ « , ¢ { ne 7 bt PART I. INTRODUCTION. IMPORTANCE OF THE POULTRY INDUSTRY. The production of eggs and poultry is one of the most important branches of agriculture. To those who have not given this subject especial attention, the state ment that the arnual poultry products of the United States are equal in value to the wheat crop, may ap- pear something startling. According toa recent estimate of the American A gri- culturist, based on the last census and on an extensive inquiry, the nunber of fowls in the United States is about 383,000,000; these produce 1,141,000,009 dozen eges each year, and the value of both amounts to $343, 000,000,00. Pennsylvania is one of the leading states in the pro- duction of poultry. According to the same authority, there are in this State 15,247,000 fowls of all sorts— turkeys, geese, ducks and chickens—valued at $8,236,- 000, and these produce 68,818,000 dozen eggs each year worth, at 29 cents per dozen, $12,763,600, making a total value for poultry and eggs of about $22,000,- 000.00. At a very conservative estimate, one-tenth of the poultry, voung and old, is carried away by disease each year. Hence the importance of this subject is mani- fest. (9) 1*--I 10 TREATMENT OF SICK FOWLS. A number of difficulties are met with in treating fowls that do not confront the veterinarian or live stock owner in treating most of the other domestic animals. Fowls are not accustomed te being handled. They are of a semi-wild disposition, so that when it becomes nec- essary during illness to examine and administer medi- cine to them tbey are apt to resist. However, fowls can be treated as successfully as any other animals, provided they receive the same amount of careful, in- telligent attention. On all farms where poultry is kept in large numbers it is advisable to have a small building or room fitted up as a hospital for the care of sick and disabled birds.° If such a place is at hand it will be possible to achieve much better results than when attempts are made to treat fowls in the buildings where their companions are, and where they are constantly annoyed by them, or than can be reached if the fowls are placed in a dirty box in some damp, out of the way place, under the impression that anything is good enough for a sick chieken. CAUSES OF DISEASE. The causes of diseases of poultry are various and at- tention is directed to the cause of each one treated upon in the following. It will be noticed that in most cases diseases are avoidable, that they result from misman- vat agement in the way of feeding, housing or cleanliness. Some of them, however, are contagious and cannot be wholly prevented even when the feeding and sanitary conditions are of the best, but experience teaches that where conditions are good for birds they are bad for disease germs and vice versa, so that when contagious diseases prevail, their ravages are much greater among fowls that are poorly kept than among those that are cared for properly. Contagious diseases and parasites are usually intro- duced by new .fowls brought into the flock, and it is worth while, especially where pure bred fowls are grown, to place all new acquisitions in quarantine away from the flock for a few days, and until it has been shown that they present no evidence of disease. Great care should be used, also, in purchasing only from sound stock kept under favorable conditions. SYMPTOMS OF DISEASE. Birds show disease in a variety of ways, but in most cases if the affection is at all severe, they become list- less, sluggish, torpid, inclined to keep away from their fellows, they are apt to stand with the head drawn down, the wings and tail pendant and feathers ruffled. In many diseases, diarrhoea is the first symptom, and in all cases of diarrhoea, attention should he paid to the droppings for the purpose of noting their color and whether they contain worms or an admixture of mucus or blood. Sometimes loss of appetite is the first symp- 12 tom of disease, sometimes paleness of the comb and Visible membranes. In the skin diseases, the first symptoms appear on the surface and consist in a loss of gloss on some of the feathers and stiffness and brit- tleness of the feathers, and sometimes the appearance of naked spots. The examination of the throat is important in many cases because it is the seat of two common and very serious affections of domestic fowls, namely, roup and gapes. In examining the mouth and thoat the bill can be opened by pressing the thumb and finger on the angle at either side; then if the windpipe is pressed up- ward from the neck, the larynx ean be fiorced into the back of the mouth and examined easily. It is fre- quently of advantage to have an assistant hold the fowl while the examiner carries out these manipulations and also holds the tengue down by bearing upon it with a wooden toothpick or some similar smal] object. The temperature of the fowl is rarely measured, be- cause fever is shown by symptoms of chilliness, ete.. but it is well to know that the-nermal temperature of the domestic fowls varies between 106 and 107.5 de- grees F. This is considerably higher than the tempera- ture of the larger animals. If it becomes desirable to measure the temperature, it can be done by inserting 4 clinical thermometer into the cloaca. It should pene- trate for about two inches and remain two or three minutes before it is withdrawn and read. The heart beat of the fowl is quite rapid, varying from 110 to 140 per minute, but the determination of its rapidity is of little importance in diagnosing the dis- ease of fowls, because when they are grasped for the purpose of counting the beat, it becomes so rapid that it is sometimes almost impossible to count it, running 13 up in many cases to 300 pulsations per minute. The heart beat can be easily felt by applying the fingers to the sides of the chest wall. The rapidity of respiration is of more importance than the rapidity of the heart beat, because it can be determined at a distance from the fowl. and without AnPoVing it and thus quickening this function. The normal breathing rate of the fowl at rest is from 50 to 60 respirations per minute. In diseases of the breath- ing organs and obstructions of them by growths or parasites, the respirations become quickened. POST MORTEM EXAMINATIONS. Very often it is not possible to determine the char- acter of a disease affecting fowls until after they are dead, and as many of the poultry diseases are conta gious, it is always advisable to open and examine every fowl that dies in the flock. This may enable the owner to check a contagious disease in its incipiency and avoid great loss. But in any case, it is advisable to know what fowls die from, so that similar occurrences may be recognized and prevented in the future. The ana- tomy of the fow! cannot be described at this time for lack of space, but anyone whois in the habit of opening and cleaning chickens, knows the general appearance of the healthy organs, will usually recognize marked departures from the normal. If fowls die from unknown diseases, and particularly if they die in large numbers from disease that seems to 14 be contagious, information in regard to these affections may be obtained by correspondence with the State Veterinarian, and it is desired that fowls dying from vague diseases shall he expressed as soon ag possible after they are dead to the Veterinary Department of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. They should be wrapped in cloth and heavy paper, packed in straw, nailed up in a box with a cake of ice and ex- pressed as promptly as possible. A letter should always be forwarded cither in the box or by mail ex- plaining the general symptoms and characteristics of the disease. Such shipments may be made C. O. D. THE MEDICATION OF FOWLS. The medication of individual fowls is not difficult, but requires care and patience. There are several forms in which medicines may be administered. Pills can be given most readily. It is only necessary te secure the bird, open its bill and drop the pill into the back of the mouth, then close the bill and if the bird resists, hold it together until the pill has been swallowed. Fluids are sometimes administered from a spoon, but if the fowl] is badly frightened this may be a matter of considerable difficulty. The best way is to introduce a small rubber tube, about a third of an inch in diameter, into the mouth, pass it into the oesophagus and down to the crop. A little experience will enable one to do this quickly and without discomfort to the bird. Fluid medicines in any desirable quantity can be introduced through this tube. 15 Pasty mixtures are sometimes given. Medicines are mixed with sticky materials, as molasses, honey, ete., made into pasty masses and placed in the back of the mouth with a small wooden paddle. Flocks can be treated, when the birds will eat, by mixing medicines with the food or dissolving them in water. Somevimes powders are given by sprinkling them on moist grain. Chalk is frequently given in this way to birds with diarrhoea by mixing it with rice that has been moist- ened. It thus adheres to the kernels and is eaten with- out reluctance. When a very sick fowl is under treatment, it is bet- ter to give small doses at frequent intervals than large doses at long intervals, for in this way the action of the medicine can be measured more accurately and the proper dose can be ascertained by trials. Fowls of different breeds and different sizes and ages require different doses. It is not always possible to determine these accurately, but the judgment of the poultry keeper must be called into play in all instances. DISINFECTION. Disinfection is alluded to very frequently in the fol lowing pages and is often of the greatest importance. Many poultry keepers are under the impression that it ‘sg sufficient te scatter strong smelling powders or li- quiids about the coops or poultry houses, and that so long as the odor of these materials is in the air, the premises are undergoing disinfection. Nothing could 16 be more misleading or further from the truth. Disin- fection is practised for the purpose of destroying dis- ease producing germs and disinfectants, or the mate- vials used for disinfecting, will only destroy germs that they come in contact with. It is perfectly evident that when disinfectants are scattered about carelessly they come in cortact with a very small fraction of the entire surfaces that may harbor germs, and unless all of these surfaces are covered and all cf the germs reached the disinfection is apt to be fruitless. In order that dis- infection may be carried out properly it is essential, first of all, to remove the manure, litter and rubbish of all sinds. This should be mixed with lime and placed in barrels, or it should be spread on fields at such a dis- tance from the poultry runs that it cannot possibly contaminate them. However, if the disease is a viru- lent one it is always best to burn manure rather than take any chances with it. Then the interior of the building should be thoroughly swabbed or serubbed out, and afterwards the disinfectants can be employed. Disinfectants are best used in solution because they can then be applied more evenly and perfectly. They can be applied with a brush, with a sprinkling pot or, best of all, with a spray pump, such as is used fer spraying fruit trees. The disinfectants to be employed in special cases are mentioned hereafter in connection with the prevention of the different diseases. White- wash is always a good disinfectant, but its value can be ereatly increased for this purpose by adding chloride of lime to it, one pound to three or four gallons, or car- bolic acid, one pint to the bucketful. CHAPTER L. DISEASE OF THE SKIN. A. Those caused by parasites. 1. FLEAS. The bird flea, known as Pulexavium, is a very small, brownish insect. It has six legs but is without wings. Its body is somewhat elongated and flattened from side to side. This little parasite is exceedingly annoy- ing to poultry and especially to pigeons. It is very active and lives not only on the bird but also on the perches and in the nests and crevices of poultry houses. By its constant biting it keeps fowls awake and causes them to scratch and hop about so that their rest is disturbed and eventually they become thin and weak and if they are not actually killed by the fleas, which occurs very rarely, they are so harassed that they are predisposed to other diseases and in this way the flea may be an_ indirect cause of death. Pig- eons are annoyed by fleas far more than other poultry. LARVA OF THE CHICKEN FLEA. The remedy is to al- Twenty times natural size. (17) 2--I 18 low the birds a dusting place and if the parasites are very numerous insect powder or sulphur should be mixed with the dust and when the fowls scratch and burrow in this powder it enters the spaces between the feathers, reaches the skin and so obstructs the breath- ing openings on the surface of the flea that it finds the conditions yery disagreeable and becomes stupefied and falls off or goes away. Or insect powder can be blown by means of a powder gun or blower between the feathers of the afflicted fowl. It is also necessary to so treat the roosting places, nests and poultry houses geap or rae CHrcKEN FLEA. that the fleas will be either Thirty times natural size. destroyed or driven away. Because if this is not done they return to the birds as soon as the dust is shaken from their feathers. Disinfection can be accomplished by spraying the interior of the building with a solu- tion of carbolic acid (one part to twenty parts of water). Or a kerosene emulsion, such as is used for spraying fruit trees, can be employed for the same pur- pose. 2. LICE. Bird lice differ considerably from the ordinary lice of haired animals. They do not suck blood as those do and cannot, for they are provided with a mouth 1 that only erables them to bite. They live on the crusts, scales and dead cells that gather on the surface of the skin and that are prevented from falling off by the feathers. There are several varieties of lice belonging to four principal genera: these are Goniodes, Goniocotes, Lip- eurus and Menopen. While these parasites differ con- siderably as regards their shape and size they resem- ble each other very closely in their habits. All of them are very small insects, from 1-199 to 1-6 inch long and their bodies are plainly divided into three parts; the head is very large and flat, the thorax, or second segment. is roundish and considerably smaller than the head; the abdomen, o1 most posterior segment, is long, oval and plump. Their color is usually grayish or yellowish, but some of them show differ- ent shades of brown. Although these parasites do not pene- trate the skin and suck the blood as fleas do, and as the lice of mammals do, they cause a great deal of itching and an- noyance while crawling about over the surface and sometimes GinGnes Tae they bite the skin and in that — Goniodes dissimilis, male. i z AE: : One of the most common va- Way occasion much irritation. rsieties. 20 times natural size. At one time it was thought that lice were bred by) filth and that they generated themselves, as it were, in dirty places, but it has been shown that this is not the case and that they are only produced by like para- sites and have the property of reproducing themselves 20 with great rapidity. It has been estimated that the third generation springing from a single individual may reach the enormous number of 125,- 000 within twelve weeks. While it is true that ne- glect, dirt, filth, etc., favor the growth and propagation of lice, it should always be re- membered that they cannot appear in the poultry yard unless they are brought in by an infested fowl or by a cage that a fowl has been in or CHICKEN Louse. b i Goniocotes gigas, female. some other object that an in- Ten times natural size. fested few] has been in contact with. But fowls are interchanged so frequently and fowls of different owners come in contact in so many ways at poultry shows, in markets, etc., that it is not at all difficult for a yard that was previously free from these parasites to become infested when least suspected. These parasites Gccasion as much loss as any disease that fowls are subject to. While they alone do not often kill birds, in many cases they so annoy them by their constant irritation that they prevent sleep and rest so that fowls and especially young ones do not vrow and thrive as they should, and become thin and delicate. In this condition they do not produce eges nor are they good for food, and so long as they con- tinue to remain badly infested with lice they are ab- solutely unproductive and worthless. The conditions that are most favorable to the pro- pagation of lice have already heen mentioned briefly. 21 Attention should also be called to the fact that poultry houses that are dark and damp furnish very favorable places for the growth of these insects. Then, also, fowls that are poor in condi- tion are mire apt to be in- fested with lice than those that are in good condition, healthy and sturdy. It has been noticed frequently that where there are a number of fowls in an infested pen those that are least rugged harbor the most lice. The probable reason fcr this is that fowls in poor condition have a somewhat dry and scurfy skin which provides Gonigcotes. hilogaster, male. 2 Forty times natural size. more hiding places and more food for lice than the smooth, pliable skin of the perfectly healthy bird. When fowls are afflicted in this way it can be noticed that they are uneasy and restless, they are constantly pecking at different parts of the body and scratching and shaking themselves. They also have an inclina- tion to dust themselves and when caught and ex- amined the lice can frequently be seen, when the feath- ers are spread apart, and especially about the head and neck, where they cannot be reached by the bill of the animal, beneath the wings and sometimes on all parts of the body. They may also be found in many cases, if a careful search is made, in the nests, on the perches and in cracks and out-of-the-way places at any point in the building. In attempting to destroy lice it is necessary not only to treat the fowl but also the premises oecupied by it. . 22 because if we simply destroy those that are on the bird they will return again from the surroundings just as fleas do. Im treating an animal] for the purpose of destroying lice two methods may be employed. We may use substances that will poison the lice outright or we may use _ sub- stances that are not poisonous in themselves but which destroy lice by obstructing the pores on the surface of the insect and thus shutting off its supply of air and suffocating it. The latter plan is preferable in the case of young and weak birds. Little chick- ens but a few days old frequently 7** Loxa CurckEn acquire lice from their mothers or Dpeurys vartabilis, their surroundings and are sometimes annoyed ser- iously by them. In these cases it is advisable to apply a small quantity of bland oil, such as sweet oil or cot- ton-seed oil, to the chicken’s head and perhaps to the sides of the neck if the parasites are very numerous, or lard may be used for the same purpose. In the case of older fowls sulphur ointment is a very efficient remedy. It should be applied in small quantity about the head, sides of the neck, beneath the wings and around the vent. Or insect powder (pyrethrum) may be blown be- tweent the feathers and this will destroy or drive away the lice. If the fowl] is to be liberated immediately af- ter the powder is applied it is well to first dampen the feathers so that it will not be at once shaken off.