76 POULTRY DISEASES 



Treatment. — A saturated solution of boric acid 

 should be used for bathing the affected parts. If 

 ulcers are present they should first be cleansed 

 \Yith full-strength hydrogen peroxide. 



Impaction of the Crop— Crop Bound 



Obstruction of the crop is generally due to 

 swallowing bodies that cannot pass readily from 

 the crop through the second portion of the esopha- 

 gus to the stomach and gizzard, that is, to an ob- 

 struction of the second portion of the esophagus. 

 Hog bristles, small feathers, straw, etc., are usu- 

 ally the cause of the obstruction. Of the cases 

 examined in the author ^s laboratory some have 

 been due to each of the agents named. Two in- 

 cubator-hatched and brooder-raised chicks, just 

 beginning to feather, were given potato parings, 

 after which they died. There was found, in each 

 crop, a potato paring, extending from the crop 

 through the second portion of the esophagus into 

 the stomach. 



By referring to Plate I these organs and their 

 relations can be seen. 



A second cause of impaction of the crop is due 

 to low vitality of the bird; as a result of acute 

 disease, e. g., cholera, or from improper nourish- 

 ment the thin muscular walls of the crop may be- 

 come paralyzed or so weakened as to be unable 

 to force its contents onward into the proventricu- 

 lus. 



Treatment. — Surgical interference is the only 

 treatment for this condition likely to be effective. 

 Having diagnosed the case, it is not difficult to 

 clip away the feathers, clean up the surface with 

 mild antiseptics and with a sharp knife open the 

 crop and remove the obstruction. The crop and 



