282 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 20, 1902, 



POULTRY. 



The following conehules Mr. Barclay's interesting 

 notes on the prevention and treatment of sonic of the 

 (lise;ises of common occurrence among poultry. His 

 next contribution will deal with 'Setting Hen.s' and 

 ' Chicken Rearing' : — 



YAWS. 



When little pustules or swellings hrcak out ahont the 

 heads of tliickens, the trouble is souietiuies called chicken 

 pox, but in the Vi'eat Indies it is called yaws. It seldom 

 attacks liens here, — only chickens. 



The diseased growths, if left untended, grow numd the 

 ej'es and beak until these are closed, and often grow into 

 the inside of the beak. 



TREATMENT. 



The first thing to do is to remove the cause. This is 

 uncleanliness in some form, generally through the chickens 

 .sleeiiing in a close coop among the accumulations of their 

 own excretions. Keep the chicken coop open and airy. 



Wire netting or simply wooden bars across the front of 

 a chicken coop is enongh protection, and ventilation is 

 secured. Clean out the coop every day and fling in some 

 fine earth and sand : lime is a little too caustic if used alone 

 and may injvue the chickens : wood ash is good. (Jive the 

 chicks a dose of l'"i>som salts. These may be dissolved in 

 •water and given, but the surest way is to mix with soft food. 

 One teaspoonful of the salts will do for a dozen, week or two- 

 week old chickens ; two teasiioonfuls will do for a dozen three 

 week to four-week old chickens, and a good dessertspoonful 

 to a dozen chickens just over four weeks, and a little more 

 a.s they grow older. Twice a week the salts should be 

 administered to assist a cure : as a preventive, once a week 

 is enongh. Such burning stutls as carbolic acid are often 

 rcconnnended and undoubtedly are efl'ective, but when the 

 pustules or swellings arc near the eyes, or at the edge of, or 

 inside, th.' Ix'ak, there is a danger of the chickens getting 

 carbolic acid in their eyes or mouth. b)dine is much milder 

 and is ett'ective, though slow. Take a cpiill or camel-hair 

 brush, dip lightly in iodine and paint the sores. 1 jirefer to 

 take an old penknife, make it sharp, then make it red-hot, 

 and cauterize each swelling. This can be done safely no 

 matter where the swellings or pustules are. Tiny do not 

 grow again when thus treated, although, of course, they niay 

 break out in other places so long as the blood of the chic-ken 

 is not cleared of the poison inhalcil in its tilthy or ill venti- 

 lated COOJI. 



OAPES. 



When you see a fowl going about listlessly, and every 

 ni.w and then gai.ing as if it had a ditticulty in breathing, 

 iind then seems to be swallowing .something, suspect gapes. 

 (Japes is the result of a collection of little threail-like red 

 worms ill the wiiiilpii e, and the trouble is caused by fowls 



drinking tilthy water such as you see them doing around 

 kitchens where sloppy water is thrown about. It is also 

 caused by feeding on the same piece of ground for a long 

 time, so that the soil is stale and sour with remains of 

 old food and the droppings of the fowls. Again, cleanliness 

 will prevent this disease. 



TKEATMKNT. 



To cure it, take a stitf wing feather from a fowl, trim it, 

 only leaving half an inch of feather at the tiji : dip this in 

 kerosene or turiientine, \>ut the fowl under your left arm, 

 shove up its gullet with the fore finger and thumb until you 

 see the opening into the windpi|ie plainly, then put the 

 feather gently down, turn it cpiickly round three times and 

 withdraw. Let the chick have a breath, take a fresh feather, — ■ 

 dry this time, — and repeat the operation. You will [irobably 

 see specks on the feather like blood, and it may be ; l)Ut these 

 will likely be the minute gape worms. Repeat the operation 

 a third time with a feather dipiied in sweet oil. If the worms 

 do not come up on the feathers, they are at any rate dis- 

 lodged and killed, and the fowl will cough them up and 

 ex[iel them. 



DIAUl'.IUEA 



In diarrhcea, which is easily noticed, a mild dose of 

 half salad oil (cocoa-nut, cotton seed, olive, sun flower, or pea- 

 nut) and castor oil is best, followed by feeding on dry rice for 

 a week. 



LICE. 



When fowls seem to mope without any aiiparent cause, 

 suspect lice. Give them a dusting with insect powder, let 

 them have some dry earth and wood ash for a dust bath, and 

 apply kerosene oil to the ends of their roosts. 



(RAMI'. 



Sometimes the legs of a fowl stiffen so that it is unable 

 to walk and simply sits, yet it has a hearty aiipetite. This will 

 probably be cramp in the legs and is caused by damp. To 

 cure, steep legs in warm water, or rub with hot water cloths, 

 then rub with a good end)rocation, or turpentine ; wrap up 

 legs in cloth, and put the bird in a cosy box during the 

 night. l!ei>eat every night until better. 



OTHEK DISEASES. 



Eowls are subject to many other diseases like bumble 

 foot, apoplexy, comb-di.sease, constipation, consumption, 

 dysentery, rheumatism, crop-bound, debility, egg bound, 

 inflammation of ovary, eyes and liver ; gapes, gout, indigestion, 

 liver diseases and worms, but those fully described are most 

 common in the West Indies. 



SU.MMAIIV. 



In conclusion 1 will summarize what I have said. Keep 

 only good layers of active disposition ; give them as free a 

 run as possible ; have an airy, comfortable house built of 

 materials at hand, sheltered from the wind and rain, have 

 dry, comfortable nests free from lice, and made private ; feed 

 scraps in the morning, and corn varied with householil scraps, 

 cocoa-nut, brown rice, and cheap peas like Congo peas in 

 the evening: purcha.se as little food as you can helii, grow it 

 all if iiossible ; keep everything clean ; give a dose of Kpsom 

 salts all round once a week as a [irevcntive of diseases ; take 

 care of the manure ; keei) chickens by themselves ; do not 

 ill-breed: breed only from pure-bred cocks, and then eggs 

 will be plentiful with you who are careful and follow out 

 these ideas, and the many who do not know liow to get 

 good results, the many who have not the oi)portunity of 

 iceciiing fowls cheaply.'if at all, as in towns, and the many 

 who have not the aptitude, and the many who will not 

 trouble to exercise care and th'Uightfuluess will have to buy 

 t'.icm from you. 



