Part 31 (1/2)

Withhold all food for at least eighteen hours; then feed stale bread moistened with boiled milk every three hours. When they are three or four days old, feed rolled oats, ground corn moistened with pure water, finely chopped meat and boiled vegetables. Feed them often and you will be well repaid by their rapid growth, strength, and the low death rate.

After they reach the age of one week or ten days, watch them closely and regulate their feed to their apparent needs.

INCOMPLETE EGG

(Abortion)

CAUSE: Irritation of the oviduct; improper secretion of alb.u.men or internal egg-producing material.

TREATMENT: Careful feeding will overcome this condition. Warm wheat bran mashes, ground bone, beef sc.r.a.ps, all tend to allay the irritations of the oviduct and stimulate the secretions of alb.u.men.

JAUNDICE

CAUSE: Obstruction of the bile duct, due to rich, nitrogenous food and insufficient exercise.

SYMPTOMS: Disease is not easily detected. The yellow color of the wattles and comb is the first symptom; the appet.i.te is variable, the feathers appear rough and dry, the head is retracted, and the bird finally dies owing to the absorption of bile in the blood.

TREATMENT: Change food. Feed upon a vegetable diet, also give one grain of Calomel, which is particularly useful in a case of sluggish liver in poultry. Also give one grain of Pulv. Gentian Root and one grain of Bicarbonate of Soda, twice daily in feed.

MANGE

(Scabies of the Body)

CAUSE: Due to a parasite that resembles the mite.

SYMPTOMS: When the affected bird is closely examined large quant.i.ties of scales or scabs are found in the soft feathers. The appet.i.te is poor; the bird walks slowly about showing signs of uneasiness. If the disease is allowed to run its course, the bird grows weak and eventually dies.

The disease is easily transmitted from one bird to another and should be treated without delay.

TREATMENT: Disinfect roost, coops and pens with undiluted Crude Carbolic Acid. Apply to the irritations that present themselves on the body of the birds: Sulphur Ointment twice a week and feed good nouris.h.i.+ng food as wheat bran mashes and vegetables.

PIP

(Inflammation of the Mouth)

CAUSE: Irritations, injuries, or micro-organisms. It is sometimes caused by nothing more than a dry condition of the mucous membrane due to the bird breathing through the mouth when suffering from respiratory diseases.

SYMPTOMS: Dryness of the mucous membrane of the mouth; especially the part covering the tongue, which becomes hard and ragged, forming rough edges along its sides. These dried portions become loose and partially detached from the tongue, interfering with its movements and causing more or less pain and annoyance.

TREATMENT: Do not forcibly detach these pieces, but a.s.sist nature to remove them. This can be accomplished by mixing Glycerine and Water, equal parts, and dropping into the mouth with an ordinary syringe or dropper. It is advisable to add Boracic Acid, one teaspoonful to every gallon of drinking water, which will prevent the entrance of parasites into the blood.

RED MITE