OSTRICH CHKK DISEASES. 559 



resorted to on a much larger scale than hitherto. Unfortunately, 

 with the increase in production chick fever became more preva- 

 lent. For the purpose of noting to what extent aspergil- 

 losis existed, a careful examination was made of all 

 chicks sent in for post-mortem, and cultures were made 

 from infected and suspected infected tissues, with the 

 result that in a number of cases in which the owner ascribed 

 the cause of death to yellow liver, aspergillus infection was 

 found to be responsible. {A. funiigatus being the commoner 

 and more pathogenic species.) 



During the course of investigations a number of experiments 

 were made for the purpose of ascertaining the natural methods 

 of infection, with the result that aspergillosis was found to be 

 contracted by chicks from — 



(i) Infected straw used in the chicks' sleeping boxes; 



(2) From infected incubators; 



(3) From infected eggs. 



The infection of the incubators was traced to infected eggs. 



Aspergillus fumigatus exists frequently in the air cham- 

 ber of eggs, and was found to be transmitted through the shell 

 from contaminated to clean eggs in the incubators, and dissemi- 

 nation occin-s when the shells of infected eggs are broken or 

 opened, e.g., at time of hatching, etc. 



The examination of decomposed and unfertile eggs collected 

 from incubators showed that in all cases in which the contents 

 were decomposed, a bacterial infection was found to exist, in 

 some instances in which the contents had no perceptible bad 

 odour, the medium remained sterile. 



Aspergillus funiigatus spores were found lodged in the air 

 chamber of some eggs and cultures made from the inner mem- 

 brane of the shell of others resulted in the growth of a fungus 

 with a sterile mycelium. 



It is important to note that the bacteria found in decomposed 

 eggs show considerable motility, and that in many cases the 

 contents were found escaping through the shell wall. The prac- 

 tical importance of these observations lies in the fact that in 

 contact, eggs may become infected and that the bacteria escap- 

 ing with the contents of decomposed eggs, may infect the incu- 

 bators. 



In young chicks of a few days old the lirst indication that 

 there is something amiss is a disinclination to feed. When watched 

 closely it will be noted that the chick either picks at the food 

 without taking any in the beak, or lifts some from the ground 

 and allows it to fall. Chick appears dull and weak, eyes half- 

 closed, moves about slowly or stands and frequently utters a 

 plaintive note. The neck is usually flexed and the head lowered 

 and kept close to the body. The abdomen soon loses the tense 

 and full feeling found in healthy chicks, the respiration may or 

 may not be visibly accelerated, in some cases at the later stages, 

 the beak is partly opened from time to time, a long inspiration 



