CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



139 



cure them. They run on a yard of 

 green grass all the time. Mrs. A 

 L. S. 



Answer The starting point of near- 

 ly all cases of blindness in chicks is in 

 roupy breeding stock. A slight chill 

 or cold is sufficient to start an epi- 

 demic of this blindness in a flock of 

 chicks, if they already possess the in- 

 herited tendency to weakness of these 

 parts from parents that were not in fit 

 breeding condition. This blindness is 

 a result of an inflammation of the mu- 

 cous membrane of the eye and lids, 

 which produces a sticky exudate, 

 which gums the eyelids together. 



Sometimes the inflammation of the 

 lids is excited by irritating substances 

 like lime or sharp, dusty sand, insect 

 powders or kerosene getting into the 

 eyes. These causes may produce 

 blindness in chicks that do not have 

 roupy ancestors. That form of in- 

 flammation of the lids accompanied 

 by hardening of the lids is not uncom- 

 monly caused by irritants, kerosene 

 particularly. 



Uncleanliness is another cause of 

 blindness of this sort, and too many 

 who attempt to raise chicks are care- 

 less in this respect. Lice and mites 

 also do their share to cause the trou- 

 ble. 



The best way to remedy such cases 

 is to prevent them or remove the 

 cause if possible. In cases where 

 there is an amount of exudate it will 

 be well to bathe the eyes with a solu- 

 tion of boracic acid, fifteen grains to 

 a half cup of water, and then dry with 

 a soft cloth and apply a little carbolic 

 salve. It is difficult to get satisfac- 

 tory results dosing young chickens 

 with medicine, but you might give 

 them either a little bread and milk 

 with a sprinkling of red pepper and 

 sulphur on it, or rice boiled in milk 

 with a tablespoonful of ground cinna- 

 mon for each pint of milk. 



Cancer The writer wished to know 

 if poultry are subject to cancer. J. H. 



Answer Poultry are not subject to 

 cancer, but they are to tuberculosis, 

 which may be taken for the same. 

 There is no cure for this but the 

 hatchet. A thorough disinfecting of 

 the premises must be made. The 

 bodies of any fowl dying from this 

 disease should be burned, or buried 

 very deeply, as it is an infectious dis- 

 ease, 



Canker I am anxious to know if 

 the heavy Black Orpingtons are 

 hardy. I have just bought a fine 

 cockerel and four hens; one of them 

 has just got canker. What is the 

 cause and remedy? They are kept in 

 a yard by themselves and get clean 

 drinking water and sleep in a fresh 

 air house with open side facing east. 

 Do you favor open front houses for 

 fancy breeds? I feed them with mash 

 in the morning and wheat in the af- 

 ternoon, and alfalfa grows in their 

 yard. Mrs. M. N. 



Answer The Black Orpingtons are 

 very hardy. Am sorry your pen has 

 canker. The cure for that is to paint 

 the spots with sulpho-carbolate of 

 zinc (four grains in an ounce of dis- 

 tilled water) night and morning. This 

 will kill the germ, but in case it is 

 diphtheritic roup, would advise you 

 to paint it one day with the sulpho- 

 carbolate of zinc and the next day 

 with peroxide of hydrogen, as the lat- 

 ter kills the diphtheritic germ. The 

 open front houses are the best for 

 every kind of fowl in this climate. A 

 change of diet will often affect the 

 droppings of the fowls, when they are 

 normal. You had better slightly 

 change the foods, or if you feed them 

 charcoal, it will materially assist the 

 digestion, and you need fear no trou- 

 ble. A little Epsom salts in the wa- 

 ter, if the fowls are very fat and 

 heavy, is also an assistant, but by 

 giving them plenty of green food, you 

 will have no trouble. 



Cannibalism I had a hatching of 

 Black Minorcas three weeks ago of 

 115 chicks; today I have about 80. In 

 the first place, the chicks are hearty 

 and well, but will bite the rectum of 

 the other chicks and in two or three 

 minutes will just tear the bowels out 

 and kill the little chicks. Every one 

 will give it a nip, and if we are not 

 constantly on the alert all would be 

 dead. No one of whom I have in- 

 quired has ever heard of such a thing. 

 I have raised these just as I raise my 

 White Leghorns. I hatched 160 seven 

 weeks ago, and today have 158 fine 

 chicks. You would oblige me very 

 much with a remedy. W. P. H. 



Answer The remedy for "canni- 

 balism" is first, to keep all the chicks 

 busy with exercising; in order to do 

 this, keep the floor of the brooder 



