270 THE GROUSE IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE 



only pigeons, but sparrows, visit poultry yards, etc., for food, and 

 there take up coccidian cysts which, voided elsewhere in their 

 droppings, serve as new sources of infection. The damage thus 

 done by sparrows, in their wanderings and flights, as agents in 

 the spread of disease can be easily inferred. The access of such 

 birds to infected spots should be prevented as far as possible. 



Should incubators be used for hatching chicks, these should 

 be carefully disinfected a few days previous to their use, care 

 being taken that no fumes are apparent when the eggs are 

 introduced. The eggs themselves, whether for natural or 

 artificial incubation, should be wiped with some disinfectant 

 solution 90 to 95 parts of alcohol (or strong methylated spirit) 

 with 10 or 5 parts of water respectively can be used for this 

 purpose. 



Treatment. 



As Coccidiosis is nearly always accompanied by anaemia, 

 it has been found that a little ferrous sulphate dissolved in the 

 drinking-water given to infected birds is of service, its tonic 

 action helping them to make a better resistance against the 

 disease. 1 



The following method of direct treatment of Coccidiosis 

 has been successful in the case of hand-reared fowls, Grouse, 

 pigeons, hand-reared pheasants, and canaries. At two large 

 poultry farms, where serious outbreaks of Coccidiosis occurred, 

 the owners also tried the treatment detailed below, with uni- 

 form success. 



When Coccidiosis was discovered by the presence of cysts in 

 the droppings, the infected birds were supplied with drinking 

 water in which crude catechu was dissolved 10 to 15 grains 

 of catechu being dissolved in a gallon of water. The solution 

 so obtained was of a deep sherry or old ale colour. It should 

 be noted that the catechu solution always darkens on keeping ; 

 but this does not affect its curative properties to any extent. The 

 fowl chicks, pheasants, etc., were given this strength of solution 



1 Vide, p. 266. 



