Diseases. 133 



COUGH. See under " Consumption." 



CRAMP. All birds are more or less liable to this troublesome 

 complaint ; sometimes it attacks the limbs, at other times the 

 stomach. It may arise from a vitiated state of the bile, or 

 from having eaten something indigestible. The most effectual 

 remedy I know of is, when in the limbs, to immerse them in 

 warm water and administer some gentle aperient. When in 

 the stomach, give twenty drops of antimonial wine and ten 

 drops of laudanum to one-and-a-half ounces of water, in place 

 of the regular drinking water. 



D. 



DECLINE. " Going light," or " wasting away," as many 

 fanciers are pleased to term this disease, is hereditary in most 

 cases, and caused by breeding from diseased parents. It is 

 only the final stage of consumption (see p. 130), or gradual 

 decay engendered by that disorder. 



DEFORMED HIND CLAW. This deformity is attributable to 

 a contraction of the flexor tendon of the hind claw, which 

 may result from a variety of causes. It is much more pre- 

 valent than it was a few years ago, a fact for which I am 

 quite unable to account. Treatment : Bind back the affected 

 claw firmly to the shank of the leg with a piece of silk thread, 

 worsted, or cotton, but not so tight as to interfere with the cir- 

 culation. In the course of a fortnight or so the binding may 

 be cut, and the contracted claw liberated. A cure should be 

 effected in this time. If the remedy is not applied for some 

 time after the deformity is observed, a longer time, say three 

 weeks, will be necessary to effect a cure. If the contraction is 

 allowed to go on for months without the application of a 

 remedy, it may be necessary to amputate the toe, but if 

 attended to at once a cure is certain. 



DIARRHCEA. This term is used to express laxness of the 

 bowels and purging. It is a symptom more than a disease, 

 for it depends upon irritation of the stomach or bowels, which 

 may arise from a variety of causes, the principal being cold. 



