266 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 6, 1902. 



S-^m" 



POULTRY. 



)f Mr. Barclays 1 



The lulluwingf is n, contiriuati(in ot Mr. liarclay .s 

 notes on the cause and treatment of thsea.ses of connnon 

 occurrence among ponltiy. Here lie give.s practical 

 suggestions for the treatment of Rou]). His notes on 

 the cause and treatment of Yaws will appear in the 

 next issue : — 



KOUP. 



The greatest trouble, I think, espefially iu moist 

 climates, is rouii, which term covers several different kinds 

 of colds. In bad cases, all the forms may be iiresent at 

 once. The Krst .symptoms are a .slight watering in the eye.s, 

 and the skin above the eyes looks blue. Then there will 

 also be watery stuff ruiuiing from the no.strils, and the 

 mouth of the chicken will have a foul .smell Later, if left 

 unattended, the eyes l)ecome tilled with sticky, yellow 

 matter, and closa up altogether. If still neglected, the 

 yellow matter becomes hard, covers the whole of the ej'e- 

 ball, and if left alone it will work outwards and the fowl 

 will ultimately scratch the lump of hard matter out, when 

 the eye will also be found to be gone, that is, if the fowl 

 does not die before it reaches this stage. In the very worst 

 ca.ses the mouth becomes filled with a yellow growth which 

 lias a very foul smell. This form of cold is called canker, 

 and is very contagious, and when the growth extends down 

 the throat, it is diphtheric roup, the worst of all. In such 

 cases the fowl .should be killed at once and either burned or 

 bin-ied at the root of .some tree, covered with lime, and stones 

 jiiled on the toji, to prevent dogs scratching the body out, 



TUK.iTMKNT. 



If taken in hand at once, it is .seldom that sini|ile roup 

 cannot be checked ; but as it is usually left until the eye 

 becomes closed, it then causes a good deal of trouble to cure. 

 AVheuever a hen or chicken ajijieais with watery matter iu 

 its eyes, ten drops of Jeyes' Huid or some otlier good 

 di.sinfectaut, or if nothing of tlu' kind is at hand, a teaspoou- 

 ful of kero.seuc or even lime juice and a litttle sweet oil 

 should be added to half a pint of water, well stirred, and 

 the eyes washed out in the morning. If done in the evening 

 and the birds arc left to go to roost with wet eyes, the cold 

 will probaVdy be worse in the morning. It is imjiortant to 

 note this, as many jieople work away iu the evening, trying 

 to cuio their chickens, and when later the cold breeze blows 

 upon their wet eyes, the trouble is aggravated. When the 

 watery matter i.s seen about the nostrils of the bird, they 

 shouM also be gently washed, and the mouth should be clean- 

 ed out daily. To clean the eyes and nostrils, a small piece 

 of rag should be taken, dipiieil in the mi.Kture mentioned, 

 the smplns wati^r .scpieezed out, and the eyes cleaned first : 

 then the uostiil.s, and the mouth c\u be cleaned with the 

 little finger or another |iicce of rag rolled up like a cpiill, or 

 a feather. The rag slioTdd afterward be burned. When the 

 liurd yellow matter ha." alrc.idy gathered in the eyes of the 

 bird, a little piece of [lointed stick, not too sliar[i, should be 



ird sleepnig- 

 iredisposed to 



taken, the toji eyelid of the fowl turned far back, the red 

 skin then noticeable down over the eyes should be lifted 

 by the stick, the latter is worked round, and the hard matter 

 hooked out. This is a delicate operation but may generally 

 be done safely, without injuring the eye. In canker or 

 diphtheric roup where the mouth and throat becomes filled 

 with a cheesy gathering, the bird .should at once be killed 

 as already mentioned. There is nothing gained by trying to 

 cure such l)irds, and the ri.sk of infection is great. In all 

 cases of cold in the eyes, tincture of iodine, to be got from 

 all chemists in a small phial, cost three-i)ence, which will 

 last for a long time, shcuild Ije jiainted round the eyes of the 

 irds, with a small camel hair lirush, taking great care that 

 the stulf does not get into the eyes. The iodine draws out 

 the infianiation 



C.^USE OF niSE.VSE. 



Roup is caused bj- a chill, and through the 

 on dam|) ground or wet roo.sts. They are 

 roup and all troubles by running and feeding on .stale 

 ground as described under ' cholera,' — or by Ijeing shut up 

 iu a bad-smelling house. Cleanliness and comfort will keep 

 them clear of rouji. 



ISKONCHITIS. 



Birds otherwise well kept, but which have been subjected 

 to a sudden change, .such as exposure to sudden heavy rain 

 after a long, dry, hot .spell, suddenly develop a rattling or 

 wheezing noi.se in the throat. This is bronchiti.s, and it is 

 most difficult to get ri<l of, while if hapi>ily you manage to 

 cure it, it still recurs very readily. 



HOW TO cur.E. 



To cure, stop feeding corn ; feed ground peas and dry 

 rice for hard food ; give a dose of Epsom salts once a week j 

 put a drop or two of sulphate of iron in the drinking water 

 (a couiile of rusty nails will do), and }iaint the bird's throat 

 persistently with tincttu-e of ioiline twice a day. 



A good [pill to give is made thus: - Take a piece of tallow 

 candle (n\ust be tallow), work some Epsom salts and a little 

 ginger or pc]i|ier into it, and give to the birds. This is 

 wonderfully effective. 



.\ CENEIIAF. IM.MEDY. 



For all forms of roup, but bronchitis especially, and 

 also for gape.s, the following [ilan will cure when cure is. 

 possible at all, but it necessitates care and judgement when 

 putting into effect, so that the fowls may not be suffocated. 



Take Stockholm tar, eucalyptus oil, or tuipentine, 

 (either is good) and put into a little tin dish : have your fowl 

 in a clo.sed box, ]iut a red-hot iron in the tar and allow the 

 fumes to fill the box. Tlie f iwl shouUl be lifte<l out for a 

 breath after half a minute, and put back again for small 

 intervals. Where many fowls are thus ailing they can be put 

 in a closed house and thus subjected to the fumes of tar, or 

 turiientine. 



Raising Chickens at Grenada. 



The Rev. ti. W. Rranch ct (iood Ho[ie Estate, (irenada 

 is at present conducting an interesting experiment in raising 

 chickens by the aid of an incubator. So far he has been suc- 

 cessful in rearing .•several hundred ( hickeu-i. Mr. Rraiudi tind.^ 

 that a mixture of cracked corn, ground bones and fresh nu-at 

 forms an excellent diet. His method of supplying nuMt, 

 in an economical manner, is very ingenious. A flock of 

 (iuinea pigs, kept in a hurdle-jieu, is every day drawn 

 upon to supply frc>h meat at the rate of "_* oz. to every dozen 

 chickens. 



