MORE ABOUT TURKEYS 121 



Symptoms Diarrhoea is the most pronounced symptom. The 

 discharges are frequent, thin, watery, and generally of a yellowish 

 color. This, however, sometimes occurs from othe*r intestinal dis- 

 orders, and does not alone signify the presence of the malady. The 

 next symptom is the drooping tail, followed by a drooping of 

 the wings, after which death soon ensues. When the disease is at 

 its height, the head assumes a dark color, hence the name, Black- 

 head. Young turkeys are much more susceptible or they may be 

 more delicate, and cannot withstand the invasion of the parasites 

 so well. They begin by moping and bunching up as though they 

 were cold, diarrhoea soon sets in, the tails droop, then the wings 

 droop, and they go about uttering a pitiful "peep," after which they 

 soon die. A blackening of the head does not always occur. 



It is only by careful post mortem that the true cause of the dis- 

 ease may be determined. 



The Cause The disease is caused by animal parasites, which 

 can be detected only by the aid of a microscope. Because of their 

 minuteness and growth in the mucous membranes of the digestive 

 tract, they are easily carried by the excreta to food, which upon be- 

 coming contaminated, transmits them to other fowls. This is the 

 usual means of infection. 



Remedies Food given to fowls should never come in contact 

 with their droppings, as one bird with the disease will infect the 

 feeding ground of others. Better sacrifice the bird at once than 

 run the risk of spreading the infection to the whole flock. A sick 

 bird should be removed from the flock and placed in close quarters, 

 which may afterwards be disinfected, or the bird may be killed at 

 once and then should be burned. Medical treatment is not very 

 successful, owing to the difficulty of reaching the parasites at the 

 seat of the disease; yet treating them with some of the following 

 remedies is well worth the trouble : Sulphur, 5 grains ; sulphate of 

 iron, 1 grain ; sulphate of quinine, 1 grain. Place this amount in 

 capsules and administer one night and morning to each turkey for 

 a week. If the bird does not respond to treatment, kill it at once 

 without drawing blood, and then burn the carcass, disinfecting the 

 coop. 



A solution of carbolic acid prepared by mixing five parts of the 

 acid to 100 parts of water makes a good disinfecting solution, or 

 chloride of lime, 5 ounces to 1 gallon of water, is good. Corrosive 

 sublimate in the strength of 1 ounce to eight gallons of water, is a 

 strong disinfectant, and may be used with a broom or spray to wet 

 every part of the coop and floor, but it is poisonous and must be 

 handled with great care. To disinfect the entire premises when the 

 fowls are running at large is impracticable ; but lime should be used 

 freely on the droppings beneath where they roost. When the dis- 

 ease becomes seriously destructive, it is more than likely all the 

 flock are affected, and it may be necessary to destroy all the re- 

 maining birds and disinfect the premises as thoroughly as possible. 

 In such cases it would be better to suspend the raising of turkeys 

 for one year, 



