DISEASES OF THE DKiESTlVE TRACT 119 



Postmortem Findings. — In fatal cases the most noticeable 

 alterations are in the intestinal tract and the liver. Upon 

 opening the small intestines, areas of inthnnmation are noted, 

 and occasionally a small hemorrhagre is fonnd. ^licroscopic 

 examination of stained sections from the vital oro:ans (liver, 

 kidney, etc.) reveals retrogressive changes; clondy swelling 

 being most marked. Fig. 51 illnstrates one of these cases. 



Treat^nent. — Give the same treatment as that given for 

 blackhead in turkeys and for fowl cholera. A diet of sonr 

 milk is helpful. (See white diarrhea, page 124.) 



WHITE DIARRHEA 



The loss to American poultry raisers from white diai-rhea 

 is greater than from anything else, perhaps greater than from 

 all other infectious diseases combined. It strikes at the root 

 of the poultry industry; no one can successfully conduct the 

 business if he is unable to rear a reasonalile number of chicks 

 annuallv. 



AYithout treatment the resulting mortality, when white 

 diarrhea has secured a foothold in a poultr}^ plant, is ex- 

 tremely high, often reaching ninety per cent of the season's 

 hatch. The loss from white diarrhea in dollars and cents is 

 enormous, almost beyond calculation. It is widespread through- 

 out the United States and causes the loss of perhaps ten per 

 cent of all the chicks hatched in this country. By proper meas- 

 ures the disease is fairly easily preventable and a large num- 

 ber of the affected chicks will recover under proper treatment. 



Causes. — There are two forms of white diarrhea, due to 

 two distinct causes. A bacillary form due to the Bacterium 

 pullorxim, a rather short, plump, rodshaped germ with rounded 

 ends; and a protozoal form due to the Coccidium tenellum. 

 I have isolated the germ causing the disease from the liver, 

 spleen, kidneys and other organs of chicks dead of the bacil- 

 lary form of the disease, and in the coccidian form from the 

 ulcers of the cecum and the intestines. 



Symptoms: BaciUanj Form. — In young chicks there is 

 drooping Avings, ruffled feathers, sleepy appearance, huddled 

 together, little or no appetite, abdominal yolk not properly 

 absorbing; whitish or whitish-brown frothy dscharge from 

 bowel which adheres more or less to the vent fluff ; eyes closed 

 part of the time and apparently no interest in life. "Peep- 

 ing" much of the time, the appearance in many is stilty, ab- 

 domen prominent behind. In these cases after death one 

 finds the yolk unabsorbed or only partially so. The intes- 

 tines are more or less full. Late fall, winter or early spring 

 hatched chicks are freer from the disease than summer 



