426 Diseases of Fowls, 



CHAPTER VIII. 



DISEASES OF FOWLS. 



General Remarks. 



Diari^hoea. 



Fowl Cholera. 



The Gapes. 



The Roup. 



Leg Weakness and Loss of Feathers. 



Chicken Lice and Fleas. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



There is a great deal of money to be made in keeping 

 poultry, if only they can be maintained in a healthy condi- 

 tion. Indeed, when their eggs, their feathers, and the price 

 of their flesh for food are all taken into account, they pay 

 better for outlay and attention than any other domestic 

 animal. In this we do not refer to the extravagant prices 

 which fancy breeds and their eggs bring in the market, but 

 to ordinary varieties. 



The drawback to all this is their peculiar liability to dis- 

 eases, which carry them off in great numbers. But we are 

 backed by the opinion of the best veterinarians in this and 

 other countries, when we say that by intelligent attention 

 these diseases can be pr evented j and this mortality checked. 



To attain this result, the chief points are cleanliness, pure 

 water, the frequent use of disinfectants (especially the sul- 

 phuric acid one, to be mentioned later), isolation of sick 

 fowls, proper food, the prompt and appropriate treatment of 

 those that are sick, comfortable housing, and a judicious 

 selection of breeds to suit the climate. In what relates to 

 hygiene and the treatment of the sick, we shall give in this 



