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MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



you are now giving; keep this up for 

 a week and then turn the birds out on 

 a grass range if possible, otherwise 

 give the birds as scratching material 

 the waste from an alfalfa hay mow 

 and allow them only a little grain, 

 wheat, and make them scratch hard 

 for that. It would not be advisable 

 to use the male bird for breeding. 

 Breed only from the most vigorous 

 stock you have. 



Why Combs Are White We have 

 two Buff Orpington hens that are 

 sick. They mope around and do not 

 eat. Their heads and gills are almost 

 white, and sometimes one is almost 

 blue. They look as though they have 

 lice, but they have not. Can you give 

 me some advice as to how to treat 

 them? Thanking you in advance, I 

 am, respectfully, A. G. O. 



Answer The comb tells quite a lit- 

 tle story as to what is going on in the 

 organs of the whole body. The nor- 

 mal condition of the comb presents a 

 healthy look that the poultrymen call 

 the "standard red." Any deviation 

 from this red is an indication of 

 changed action in the workings of the 

 organ, or to a change in the vitality 

 of the whole bird. The light colored 

 comb shows an anemic state of the 

 bird and is a sign of underfeeding, 

 lice, poor ventilation, and absence of 

 green vegetable food, impure water 

 and uncleanly surroundings. 



As you say, nothing of the feeding 

 and treatment of the birds, I am un- 

 able to say which of these conditions 

 fits your case. I think probably they 

 are infested with lice or their houses 

 with mites, and the only remedy is the 

 extermination of these. 



Cough We have a disease in our 

 poultry. They have a phlegm in their 

 throats and cough; they seem all right 

 to look at them; they eat and drink 

 until the day before they die, when 

 they begin to droop. I notice it only 

 when I let them out in the morning, 

 or by disturbing them at night. They 

 are fed about twelve pounds of wheat 

 a day, two sheaves of barley, a pan of 

 soaked bread, occasionally a feed of 

 boiled potatoes mixed with bran and 

 a little cayenne pepper. I have been 

 giving them carbolic acid in their 

 drinking water, about seven drops to 

 a milk pan full; they usually drink it 

 before being let out of the feed shed. 



We have lost only two birds, a pea- 

 cock and a young turkey, but they all 

 seem to have it. I will be much ob- 

 liged if you can tell me what the dis- 

 ease is and how to treat it. M. G. 



Answer Your chickens have a 

 slight cold, more like bronchitis than 

 roup. I would advise you to put some 

 germazone into the water given them 

 for drinking and some chopped onions 

 in their food, and considerable red 

 pepper. There is a possibility that 

 their coughing comes from dust of 

 some kind in their sleeping coop, or 

 from barley beards in the straw. You 

 had better not give them any more 

 carbolic acid in the water. It is very 

 injurious to turkeys. It is always best 

 to try dieting and simple remedies. 

 A teaspoonful of honey once or twice 

 a day will often cure phlegm in the 

 throat. 



(H. M. C, Inglewood, Cal.) You 

 say you have a fine White Leghorn 

 cockerel whose breathing is labored, 

 that you can hear him breathe when 

 on the roost. Also you have a Buff 

 Orpington hen that coughs, but other- 

 wise both of these are apparently 

 well, and you want me to diagnose 

 the case and give you some remedy. 

 It is difficult to diagnose any case of 

 sickness among birds without seeing 

 them or understanding their environ- 

 ment. I think that it may be a slight 

 touch of bronchitis in both cases, and 

 I would treat for that. First, how- 

 ever, try to discover what has caused 

 this trouble. Bronchitis is caused by 

 anything that gives a cold, overcrowd- 

 ing at night, sleeping in a draught, 

 etc., but it also is caused by dust, 

 especially lime dust from scattering 

 slacked lime in the henneries; that is 

 one reason I do not like air slacked 

 lime. The lime seems to affect not 

 only the bronchial tubes and lungs, 

 but also enters the air sacks. 



The irritation of the bronchial tubes 

 is sometimes the remains of an attack 

 of roup. I have found a little honey 

 one of the best remedies. I would 

 advise you to mix one teaspoonful of 

 eucalyptus oil or teaspoonful of tur- 

 pentine (I prefer the eucalyptus) in 

 one cupful of strained honey; mix 

 thoroughly and give the bird one tea- 

 spoonful night and morning. At the 

 same time give a nourishing diet. I 

 would like to recommend a very little 



