PARASITES AND DISEASES OF POULTRY 



Isolate all afflicted birds; give the coops a 

 thorough application of hot whitewash, sprinkle 

 the runs well with air slaked lime and plow under ; 

 this is a good preventive measure to take in the 

 chick yards every spring, as one can never be quite 

 sure that gapes will not attack his chicks sooner or 

 later. Scald all drinking vessels frequently, burn 

 all chicks which die with the disease, and whenever 

 you find gape-worms or extract them from sick 

 chickens be sure to burn the worms. 



There are many different treatments advised, 

 and none is thoroughly dependable in every case. 

 A safe course for the beginner to pursue is to 

 use one of the prepared gape cures on the market, 

 which come in powder form and may be used in the 

 soft food or drinking water. Extracting the 

 worms from the windpipe with a horse hair or 

 special gape-worm extractor often gives quick tem- 

 porary relief, but it is a tedious and more or less 

 uncertain task. A small quantity of spirits of 

 camphor in the drinking water is often beneficial. 

 A common method is that of dipping a feather in 

 turpentine and insert it in the windpipe of the 

 chick and twist it around a few times; this causes 

 the chick to cough and sneeze, and some of the 

 worms are expelled. In cases of long standing it 

 is often impossible to effect a cure. People who 

 are bothered with gapes among their chickens year 

 after year, should give their ground a rest from 



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