CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



is; 



Poisoned Yesterday morning I 

 found nine big chickens in my yard 

 dead and about twelve more are dy- 

 ing. What is the cause? They sit on 

 the ground, do not eat and the head 

 hangs loose on the ground. The comb 

 is dark and in the throat is a sticky 

 slime like white mucilage. No bad 

 smell; sometimes they jump a foot 

 and lay down again. I fear they will 

 all die. To a few I gave a teaspoon- 

 ful of olive oil, and to some others 

 fresh milk. I cannot imagine what it 

 is. 



Other fowls in the next yard are 

 not affected, and all had the same 

 food. Mrs. F. C. P. 



Answer Your chickens have lim- 

 ber necks from ptomaine poisoning. 

 Give the whole flock hypo-sulphite of 

 soda; dissolve one teaspoonful in a 

 quart of drinking water. And to each 

 chicken that is affected give a piece 

 of asafoetida about the size of a green 

 pea. Use the gum form, and repeat 

 the dose the second day. This dis- 

 ease usually comes from severe at- 

 tacks of indigestion, caused by eating 

 bad animal food, or the decaying car- 

 cass of a dead animal. Putrid' meat 

 or putrid milk will cause it. 



Rheumatism I have a White Ply- 

 mouth Rock hen about eight months 

 old, which seems to have rheumatism. 

 She is very fat, and a few days ago 

 she walked lame in one leg and the 

 next morning she was lame in both 

 legs and now she cannot stand erect, 

 but walks and crawls on her legs, the 

 legs being drawn up under her so 

 that in moving around she does not 

 seem to be able to straighten out her 

 legs, but moves with them underneath, 

 from the knee down being flat on the 

 ground. Can you tell me what is the 

 matter, and a remedy? W. A. B. 



Answer I am afraid your hen has 

 rheumatism from liver trouble, 

 brought on by overfeeding, with in- 

 sufficient exercise, and I cannot hold 

 out any hope of a cure at her age. 

 If she is not feverish, she would be 

 good for the table, but being very 

 fat, and with this rheumatic ten- 

 dency, she would never make a good 

 'layer, and the hatchet is the only 

 cure for her. For the rest of the 

 flock, give them Epsom salts in the 

 drinking water for a week, and bi- 

 carbonate of soda for a second week; 



increase the amount of green fooc 

 and meat, and cut in half the amounl 

 of grain, and let all of the grain be 

 fed in the scratching pen to induce 

 exercise. 



Rheumatism in the Feet I have a 

 very fine Buff Leghorn rooster and 

 he seems to have rheumatism in his 

 feet. Do you know any cure? Mrs. 

 J. M. S. , 



Answer Rheumatism many result 

 from long exposure to cold and 

 moisture; it may be produced by over- 

 feeding of meat; induced through the 

 under-feeding of vegetable food and 

 is helped along by previous rheumatic 

 tendencies of ancestors. 



Treatment Bathe the feet and 

 shanks with the following: One cup- 

 ful of vinegar, one of turpentine and 

 a heaping teaspoonful of saltpeter, 

 mix in a bottle and shake well before 

 using. For internal treatment there 

 is no better remedy than iodide of po- 

 tassium. This is given in the drink- 

 ing water, fifteen grains of iodide of 

 potassium to every quart of water. 

 Give in small dishes so that it all may 

 be used while fresh and thus avoid 

 waste from having to throw away 

 any, because it is mixed with dirt. 

 Common cooking soda, one level tea- 

 spoon to each quart of water, or sali- 

 cylic acid, one grain a day, has given 

 good results, but the iodide is the 

 best and most satisfactory. Give 

 plenty of green food. 



Roup, Bronchitis, Pneumonia (F. 



M. S., California) Can you favor me 

 with a little information which I fail 

 to locate in your valuable book and 

 it covers the ground very well. On 

 a cold and windy night two weeks 

 ago a careless boy left a window open 

 in a house, allowing a strong draft to 

 blow on my precious four-months-old 

 pullets. Consequence, about half of 

 them (586 all told) came down with 

 bad colds. Some developed roupy 

 catarrh, others eyes swelled close 

 shut. Sprayed nostrils with glyco- 

 thermoline and carbolic acid. No good 

 effect noted. Put roup cure in drink- 

 ing water and dipped head in same. 

 Majority are improving. There is 

 one phase of disease that puzzles me 

 and of course it attacks the largest 

 and finest pullets. They seem to have 

 difficulty in getting their breath. Act 



