POULTRY DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 73 



ally covered with a thick opaque yellowish exudate. This gives 

 it the appearance of ])eing much thicker than usual. In some 

 cases small lumps of whitish matter (pus) are found. The 

 abdomen may contain more or less liquid which is usually yel- 

 lowish and turbid and may have an offensive odor. If a mis- 

 carried Qgg is the cause of the trouble portions of this will 

 usually be found. 



Treatment and Prognosis. — Only very seldom is treatment 

 for peritonitis successful. The disease is not usually recog- 

 nized until in an advanced age. Ziirn recommends w^rapping 

 parts of the bird in wet cloths and to give internally tincture of 

 aconite, 2 drops (at the most) with a teaspoonful of water 2 or 

 3 times a day. Sanborn recommends i grain opium pills twice 

 a day to relieve pain, and warm liquid foods such as meat juice 

 and milk in equal parts. 



Abdominal Dropsy or Ascites. 



Etiology. — This disease is sometimes called chronic peritonitis. 

 It is characterized by the accumulation of a large quantity of 

 liquid in the abdominal cavity. In some cases the abdomen 

 iDecomes so distended that it nearly or quite touches the ground 

 when the bird is standing. Salmon says: "If examined by 

 slight pressure of the hand the swelling is found to be soft and 

 fluctuating; it will yield in one place and cause greater disten- 

 sion at another. That is, it gives the sensation of a sac filled 

 with liquid." 



Abdominal dropsy may begin with a mild case of peritonitis 

 Avhich has continued for a long time without becoming serious. 

 In young chicks it is said to be due to an anaemic condition 

 produced by bed feeding and insanitary conditions. In older 

 birds it may also result from this same cause or may be due to 

 some obstruction of the venous circulation either by a tumor or 

 by some structural disease of the abdominal organs. 



Diagnosis. — The most marked symptom, of course, is the 

 enlarged, flabby abdomen. Salmon says: "Fowls affected in 

 this way are dull, disinclined to move, generally feeble with 

 pale comb and diminished appetite." 



Treatment. — "Treatment of this condition is not profitable, 

 "but in special cases, stimulating diet with considerable animal 

 food, tonics and diuretics, may be tried. Iodide of potassium 



