POULTRY 367 



8. Poultry Diseases 



The poultryman's aim should be to prevent diseases 

 rather than cure them in his flock. For a fowl sick with 

 any serious disease is hard to treat, and should usually be 

 killed at once to save time in caring for it and the danger 

 of infecting others. 



Sanitation in the poultry yard. Chickens are subject 

 to a number of diseases that depend chiefly on lack of 

 cleanliness around the premises. ' Lice and various para- 

 sitic mites attack little chicks or older fowls alike. Fre- 

 quent whitewashing of the poultry house, washing the roosts 

 with kerosene, and spraying with kerosene emulsion such 

 as is used for fruit trees, are some of the preventatives for 

 these pests. 



A simple and effective lice powder is made of one pint of 

 tobacco dust mixed with two quarts of fine road dust. Sul- 

 phur may be used in place of the tobacco dust, and finely 

 sifted hard coal ashes in place of the road dust. The soil of a 

 poultry yard should occasionally be sprayed with kerosene 

 emulsion, or coated with whitewash after all refuse has 

 been removed. If the ground is plowed or spaded late in 

 the fall and allowed to freeze during the winter many para- 

 sites and disease germs will be destroyed. 



White diarrhea. This is a disease affecting young 

 chicks within the first four days of their life. They are 

 most subject to attack the first twenty-four hours, and im- 

 mune after ninety-six hours. The disease is caused by a 

 bacterium found in the egg laid by a hen that carries the 

 germs in her body. It may also be caught by contagion 

 from chicks that have the disease, or from contact with in- 

 cubators where the germs have lodged. There is no suc- 

 cessful remedy. A good measure of prevention is to keep 

 incubators, brooders and all feeding utensils disinfected. 



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