326 Diseases of Poultry 



Bumblefoot 



This is an abscess of the foot which may result from a 

 variety of causes, e.g., too high roosts, too narrow roosts, 

 undiscovered wounds caused by stepping on nails, splinters 

 of glass, etc. It is usually not discovered until the bird 

 becomes lame. 



The best treatment to follow is first to tie a cord tightly 

 about the leg above the foot to control the flow of blood; 

 then with a clean, narrow bladed, sharp knife open up the 

 abscess thoroughly. Go clear to the bottom and dig out 

 the core. Then follow in detail, omitting nothing except 3, the 

 treatment given above for wounds. Two days after the 

 first treatment take off the bandages and repeat the treat- 

 ment, going through in order steps, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7. In 

 some cases a third treatment after a lapse of 2 or 3 days may 

 be necessary, but usually not if the first treatment is thorough. 



Of course the bird under treatment should be isolated and 

 kept in a small pen with soft litter on the floor. 



Broken Bones 



If a bird is sufficiently valuable to warrant the trouble it is 

 possible to set fractures of the long bones of legs and wings, 

 and get successful union. A splint should be made for the 

 affected part and carefully and thoroughly bound into place. 

 Healing is rapid, and it should be possible to remove the 

 splints in three weeks from the time they are put on if not 

 before. In our experience firm union has occurred in less 

 time than this. 



Frozen Combs and Wattles 



In northern parts of the country frozen wattles and combs, 

 especially in male birds, are very common occurrences. The 



