Sept, 2, 1908.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S. W. 719 



Diseases of Fowls, 



[Continued from page 656.] 



G. BRAU8HAW. 



Chapter XT — continued. 



Various Diseases — continued. 



Egg-eating. — This vicious habit is quite common amongst fowls, and once 

 acquired is difficult to cure, and at times the trouble is serious, for one or 

 two hens may be laying, and the owner unaware of it, owing to the disap- 

 pearance of the eggs as soon as laid. 



Many causes are assigned for this habit, such as the want of shell-making 

 material, &c. The principal cause, however, is fi'om the accidental breaking 

 of an egg. The hen tries this, finds it good, and then begins to peck at the 

 whole article, which she breaks, and eats the contents, and repeats at every 

 opportunity. 



The suggested remedies are many and varied. Catching the culprit and 

 with a file removing the sharp end of her beak, is a method adopted by some 

 poultry keepers, with success. 



Keeping a plentiful supply of china eggs in the nests and throughout the 

 runs has also been effective. 



A common method is filling an egg shell with mustard, made into a paste, 

 and placing them in the runs. Aloes have also been used instead of mustard, 

 while some breeders have been successful in curing the habit by leaving 

 rotten eggs about ; but in many instances all the above remedies have been 

 ineffective, the hens leaving the artificial eggs, and continuing to eat the 

 genuine ones. 



This habit, if acquired by a few hens in a run. may be responsible for the 

 disappearance of every egg laid, and the losses due to it have been serious. 



The following is extracted from an article by a Sussex poultry breeder : — 



Sometimes the cock is the culprit, but the question of sex matters little. When egg 

 ^ating breaks out it must be checked — for no eggs, no protit. 



There is no disease — for it is a disease — in the poultry world with so many infallible 

 cures for it as egg-eating. But. prevention is better than cure: First, keep fowls 

 well sup))lied with shell-forming material, so that shell-less eges are not laid ; also 

 see that the nests have plenty of straw or litter of some kind, then there is less liability 

 of the eggs being broken. It is very uncommon for a hen to drop her egg when 

 on her perch, but eggs are often dro])])ed in the run, and care should be taken to 

 remove them imniefliately. Eggs should never be lying about within sight of the hens, 

 especially wheu they are in confinement; often, for want of something better to do. they 

 peck at them. Fowls at liberty seldom turn egg-eaters. 



The best cure, and I have tried a good many, is cutting the bird's beak. The mandibles, 

 both upper and lower, are rpiite soft, save for the edging of horn ; this is hard enough : 

 we often carry the marks of a hen-])eck for days on our fingers, don't we? Procure a 

 fairly sharp penknife, and take the egg-eater between the knees. Now proceed to cut 

 the point of the beak ; do it very delicately, whittlinu away the hard, clear edge. Presently 



