THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS AND AILMENTS 



is nearly always distended with a blackish-coloured bile, 

 so much so that the surrounding tissues are generally 

 deeply stained, especially the under surface of the liver 

 and the commencement of the intestine ; but the staining 

 may extend into the flesh and cellular tissue. The dis- 

 coloration of the liver — particularly at the borders — is 

 commonly observed post-mortem, the colour assumed being 

 that of buff. The bowel shows evidence of acute inflam- 

 mation particularly at the beginning of the small intestine, 

 and this may involve the whole of the coating of the 

 intestines or the mucous membrane alone may be mainly 

 implicated. The last-named is frequently stained by the 

 offensive contents of the bowel. 



Measures to be Adopted when an Outbreak of 

 Infectious Enteric is Suspected 



Although enteric is a disease particularly prone to attack 

 chicks, it is not confined to such, though the mortality mainly 

 occurs between the ages of three and six weeks. The 

 slightest illness amongst chicks in a coop should receive 

 sufficient recognition to warrant the immediate isolation of 

 birds in that coop from the rest of the stock. The ground 

 where the coop has been should be freely sprinkled with 

 slaked lime or gas lime or other matter of an allied nature. 

 When the chicks are carried off suddenly with the symptoms 

 already indicated enteric should be suspected, and perhaps 

 the most economical way is to destroy all the birds in the 

 coop, also the coop itself. It must be borne in mind that 

 fowls and other gallinaceous birds are liable to be the 

 victims of infectious enteric and may be the source of the 

 introduction of the disease. Two factors stand pre- 



267 



