146 



MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



thick. There was plenty of grit in 

 the gizzard but no food. The heart 

 seemed in good condition, the body 

 a good color, and flesh firm. In the 

 cavities of the back is a substance, of 

 which I do not know the name, that 

 seems to be enlarging and hardened. 

 There were many eggs but very small 

 and undeveloped. Is this the kind of 

 liver which is used as a delicacy and 

 produced by over-feeding? My fowls 

 were fed corn all winter and were 

 much too fat this Spring. In March 

 they had layers of fat an inch in 

 thickness. I did not suppose that 

 a laying hen ought to have any fat 

 inside of her. How should that be? 

 G. S. H. 



Answer Your hens certainly had 

 fatty degeneration of the liver, or the 

 disease which the over-fat geese have 

 when their liver is considered a deli- 

 cacy. She simply had been fed an un- 

 balanced ration containing too niuch 

 of the fat element, and being a Fly- 

 mouth Rock, had become over-fat. 

 The substance in the cavities of the 

 back is the kidneys. There are three 

 lobes of these on each side. Your 

 fattening ration had also affected 

 them. So much fat will also affect 

 the egg laying, will make small eggs 

 and chickens will be weakly, as there 

 will be preponderance of fat in the 

 eggs from which they are hatched. 

 A laying hen should not be anything 

 like as fat as those you describe. 



Feather Pulling Will you kindly 

 tell me the cause of chickens pull- 

 ing feathers from each other and 

 eating them? We feed them wheat, 

 cracked corn, etc., also ground bone. 

 G. H. T. 



Answer Various causes have been 

 assigned for this habit, the most 

 probable being improper rations and 

 idleness. In some instances it is 

 caused by mites or lice. As in some 

 cases, the habit is due to insufficient 

 animal matter in the rations, or to 

 feeding too long on a single kind 

 of grain, particularly corn, one of the 

 first measures adopted should be a 

 well balanced ration, containing 

 skim milk, meat bone, vegetables or 

 green feed and frequently varied. 

 The Geneva, New York, experiment 

 station applied to the feathers lard 

 or vaseline in which powdered aloes 

 had been mixed. After continuing 



this treatment for some time the 

 habit disappeared, due to the dis- 

 agreeable taste of the aloes. The 

 skin and feathers should be carefully 

 examined for lice and mites and if 

 these are found the remedies recom- 

 mended for such parasite should be 

 applied. 



Green Droppings I have a White 

 Rock pullet eight months old. She 

 is dumpy, does not care to eat, her 

 droppings are grass green and cream 

 color and very loose. I feed alfalfa, 

 cabbage, lettuce, beef-scraps, blood- 

 meal, bone meal, wheat, kaffir corn, 

 cracked corn and they have plenty of 

 sand. Sometimes I put salts, soda 

 and blijestone in their drinking water, 

 and sulphur and red pepper in their 

 mash. Mrs D. A. S. 



Answer I think you are giving 

 your pullet too much medicine, and 

 have upset her digestion. Put her by 

 herself, give her rice boiled in milk 

 with a little cinnamon added and 

 sharp grit and charcoal. Sand is not 

 coarse enough for hens. Also give 

 her green crisp lettuce. Green food 

 does not give hens looseness of the 

 bowels but keeps them in good 

 health. 



Heart Trouble I have a very fine 

 rooster two years old. For the past 

 two months he has been troubled by 

 some difficulty in breathing. At times 

 his comb and wattles become purple 

 for two or three minutes, then the 

 color gets red again. I have looked 

 for canker but cannot find anything 

 that seems wrong. Have used vase- 

 line but it has not done any good. 

 It seems to me more like asthma or 

 bronchitis. Wish I could cure him 

 for he is a valuable bird. Mrs. I. G. 



Answer I am sorry to say that 

 your bird has heart-trouble. This has 

 been brought on by some great excite- 

 ment, such as fighting, fright or being 

 chased. It may possibly be fat on 

 the heart, which weakens that useful 

 organ. You might try giving him in 

 the drinking water mix vomica and 

 sulphur comp. 2x twelve tablets to 

 each pint of drinking water. Be 

 careful to give him plenty of green 

 food and grit, besides his ordinary 

 food. Cases of this kind are almost 

 incurable, but the treatment I have 

 indicated may help him and prolong 

 his life. 



