230 



any which remain will be killed by contact with the creolin solution. 

 Be gentle and keep your hand steady. You may strangle a chick or 

 two at first, but with a little patience you will acquire skill and be 

 able to treat the chickens easily and rapidly." 



If you move your chickens to fresh ground or cultivate the ground 

 year after year and keep oats, rye or some crop growing in the yards, 

 you will seldom, if ever, be troubled with this disease. Don't let the 

 chicks out in the morning until the sun is up well and the earth worms 

 have been driven into the ground if you are troubled with this disease. 



LEG WEAKNESS. 



Treatment. Pearl, Surface and Curtis in Poultry Diseases and 

 Their Treatment, have this to say regarding Leg Weakness : "The 

 term 'leg weakness' is sometimes used by poultrymen to indicate the 

 lameness due to rheumatism in adult birds. The more usual use of 

 the term 'leg weakness' is to denote a disease or ailment which is 

 found in growing chicks, from one month to six months of age. It 

 is said to be more common among cockerels than pullets, and is more 

 frequent in the heavier than the lighter breeds. The chief cause of 

 -the trouble seems to be that in birds growing rapidly and fed heavily 

 the weight sometimes increases faster than the strength. This re- 

 sults in a weak-kneed, wobbling bird. The disease is sometimes 

 ascribed to other causes, such as overcrowding, close, unventilated 

 quarters, overheating, etc. Salmon says 'It may develop in young 

 chickens kept in brooders in which the heat is not properly distri- 

 buted or where there is too much bottom heat, also in those which 

 are kept constantly upon wooden floors.' Regarding these cases, 

 Robinson says, 'Where such conditions are present the leg weakness 

 Is more likely to be an accompaniment of diseases which plainly show 

 other symptoms.' 



"The symptoms are indicated in the name of the disease. It first 

 appears as an unsteadiness in the walk. This may gradually become 

 worse until the bird is unable to stand alone and is constantly tum- 

 bling over. The birds are found sitting while eating and are inclined 

 to walk very little. When the trouble first appears there is little else 

 wrong with the bird. The eye and comb are bright and healthy, the 

 appetite is good. Later, however, the bird being weaker than the 

 others, gets less grain and becomes thin, feather out poorly, and is a 

 distressed object. It is said that rheumatism can be distinguished 

 from leg weakness by the swelling of the joints in the former disease. 



"Treatment. This consists chiefly, of course, in removing the 

 cause. Since the most common cause is the overfeeding with fat 

 producing foods, the amount of these should be reduced. The weak 

 birds should be removed to a pen by themselves. Substitute bran, 

 wheat and oatmeal for the corn and corn meal. Give skim milk, if 

 possible, instead of water. Feed plenty of green food. This is one 

 of the most important measures. Sanborn recommends rubbing the 

 legs with tincture of arnica and adding one-half teaspoonful of tinc- 

 ture of nux vomica to each quart of drinking water." 



THE TREATMENT OF CUTS AND WOUNDS. 



The above authorities also sum up the best method of treating 

 cuts and wounds as follows: "Very severe wounds may be success- 

 fully treated by adhering to the following procedure: 



