ENEMIES AND DISEASES OF POULTRY 181 



ruffled. It is natural for fowls to sun themselves, but 

 there is a marked difference between the healthy fowl 

 basking in the sun for recreation and the sick fowl 

 standing there in the hope of warming its body. Dis- 

 ease in poultry is always accompanied by a loss of appe- 

 tite and generally by frequent voidance of the bowels. 



The temperature of normal fowls ranges from 106 to 

 107.5 F., but the temperature of fowls is rarely taken, 

 chilliness being usually accepted as an indication of 

 fever. The heart beat of fowls is quite rapid, varying 

 from 110 to 140 per minute. The rapidity, however, is not 

 of so much importance as the regularity. The normal 

 breathing rate of fowls is from 50 to 60 respirations per 

 minute. When the respiratory organs are diseased, the 

 respirations are quickened. The regularity or irregular- 

 ity of the heart beat or of respiration will be plainly 

 heard if the ear is placed against the backbone or the 

 ribs. 



Preventive measures are the best treatment for poultry 

 troubles. The fowls should be handled in such a way 

 that they will contract as few diseases as possible, and 

 the slightest ailment should be treated before it has a 

 chance to gain headway. This requires constant attention, 

 but this is the only way to success. 



None but very simple treatment is ordinarily neces- 

 sary for poultry, and any ailment that will not yield 

 readily to simple treatment is usually so serious that 

 even if a fowl is enabled to recover from it, the results 

 will not be satisfactory, for the vitality of the fowl 

 will be seriously impaired. Hence, the practical poultry- 

 man, except in the case of particularly valuable fowls, 

 usually kills any ailing fowls that do not recover quickly 

 from simple treatment. 



Medicine is most satisfactorily administered to a 

 flock of fowls by being fed mixed in a warm or slightly 

 warm mash. Pills are usually the most convenient 

 form in which to administer medicine to individual 

 fowls. When liquids are poured down a fowl's throat 

 care should be taken to avoid strangulation. 



