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POULTRY— DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 



in front of the coop must be removed 

 when the fowls have ceased eating, the 

 remains of food taken out, and the 

 troughs scalded and laid in the sun to 

 dry daily. Not a particle of food that 

 has become sour should be given to them; 

 indeed, they will eat better if fresh food, 

 and of a different kind, be given to them 

 at each meal. When first put into the 

 coop they should not have any thing 

 placed before them for some hours, till 

 they have recovered from their fright at 

 being caught, and have become accus- 

 tomed to their new residence. Afterwards 

 they should be fed with much regularity 

 three times each day, giving them at 

 each meal as much as they can eat, but 

 not leaving anything for them to pick up 

 in the intervals. 



When first placed in the coop they 

 may be fed twice a day on boiled pota- 

 toes, mashed up with coarse oat meal, 

 and moistened with a little new milk. 

 The third meal may be Patna rice, well 

 boiled, with a little milk added. When 

 the fowls are nearly fat, the rice may be 

 given twice a day and the potatoes only 

 once; the rice makes the flesh white and 

 clear. A little vegetable, chopped fine, 

 may occasionally be given to vary the 

 character of the food; the earth in the 

 coop will supply the small stones neces- 

 sary for their digestion. The first meal 

 should be given early in the morning, the 

 second about mid-day, and the last at 

 dusk, when the other fowls are going to 

 roost. 



On this system of feeding a fowl will 

 become perfectly fatted in from two to 

 three or four weeks at the outside. When 

 fat it should be immediately killed; for 

 not only is it unprofitable to keep it any 

 longer, but it deteriorates very rapidly, los- 

 ing weight and becoming hard and coarse 

 in the flesh. Before being killed the fowls 

 should be kept for fifteen or sixteen hours 

 without food or water. If this precau- 

 tion is not taken, (and it is unfortunately 

 often neglected,) the food in the crop and 

 intestines ferments. When this is the 

 case in summer, the fowl in a few hours 

 turns green, and is entirely unfit for the 

 table. 



POULTRY, Costiveness.— " The exist- 

 ence of this disease," says Dr. Bennett, 

 " will become apparent by observing the 

 unsuccessful attempts of the fowl to 



relieve itself. It frequently proceeds from 

 continued feeding ot dry diet, without 

 access to green vegetables. Indeed, with- 

 out the use of these, or some such substi- 

 tute, as boiled potatoes, costiveness is 

 sure to ensue. The want of a sufficient 

 supply of good water will also produce 

 the disease, on account of that peculiar 

 structure which has already been ex- 

 plained, by which fowls are unable to 

 void their urine except in connection with 

 the foeces of solid food, and through the 

 same channel." 



Remedy. — Soaked bread, with warm 

 skim-milk, is a mild remedial agent, and 

 will usually suffice. Boiled carrots, or 

 cabbage, is more efficient. A meal of 

 earth-worms is sometimes advisable, and 

 hot potatoes, mixed with lard, are said to 

 be excellent. 



POULTRY, Houses, to Fumigate— Fu- 

 migating poultry houses with sulphur, 

 thrown on glowing coals in an earthen 

 vessel, and keeping the house closed for 

 several hours, is said to be a perfect rem- 

 edy for insects of all kinds. The poultry 

 must of course be removed before the ex- 

 periment, and the person using it must 

 guard against being suffocated, and the 

 building from being fired. 



POULTRY, Vermin, to Destroy in.— 

 Tobacco smoke, with good food and 

 cleanliness. If infested with lice, damp 

 the skin under the feathers with water, 

 then sprinkle a little sulphur on the skin. 

 If the bird be covered with insects or par- 

 asites, they will all disappear in the course 

 of twelve hours. 



POTLTRY, Blindness, Remedy for.— 

 Foment with warm water, then drop a 

 few drops ot the following solution into 

 the eyes: Laudanum, one teaspoonful; 

 Water, a teaspoonful. 



POULTRY, Dry Picking— The practice 

 of scalding poultry before plucking has 

 very properly been vetoed by the market 

 dealers. Fowls may be plucked with 

 equal facility and with better effect in 

 preserving the flesh immediately after 

 death, and before they have had time to 

 cool. The action of the market men is 

 to be commended, and those sending 

 dressed poultry to market will do well to 

 act in accordance with it. 



POULTRY, Rump-Root or Inflamma- 

 tion of the Oil Vessel in. — Open the ttt' 

 mor and squeeze out the oil. 



