Diseases of the Kidneys, Rheumatism and Limherneck 201 



Early stages of this disease are often mistaken for rheuma- 

 tism on account of the stiffness and soreness of the joints. 



Etiology. — The cause of this disease is a disturbance of the 

 normal physiology of excretion so that the uric acid which 

 should be excreted by the kidneys is first retained in the 

 blood and then deposited within the body as crystals of 

 urate of soda. The disturbance is probably due to a diet 

 which is too rich in proteids. It has been experimentally 

 produced by feeding meat.^ Beef liver produces the condi- 

 tion more quickly than horse meat. 



Treatment. — In case of articular gout Salmon recommends 

 rubbing the affected joints with camphorated or carbolic oint- 

 ment. In well developed cases it is more profitable to kill the 

 birds than to treat them. Visceral gout is not usually recog- 

 nized while the bird is alive. Prevention is the only reliable 

 treatment for either form of gout. Birds should be kept 

 under sanitary conditions and given plenty of green food. 

 When several birds develop the disease it is well to give the 

 whole flock Epsom salts (^ to 1 teaspoonful per bird) and to 

 reduce the amount of meat scrap and increase the quantity 

 of green food. 



Prognosis. — The disease, especially the articular form, is 

 chronic and advanced cases are only found in old birds. 

 Badly diseased birds may live a long time. Mild cases may 

 recover on corrected diet. 



Rheumatism 



A lameness or stiffness is usually considered rheumatism. 

 Many such cases are due to tuberculosis of the joints (p. 121), 

 and others to articular gout, but there are muscular and joint 

 inflammations caused by exposure which are properly con- 



1 di Gristiana, G., Inlernat. Beitr. Path. u. Ther. Ernahrungsstdr. 

 Stoffw., Verdauungskrank. Bd. 1, pp. 29-47. 



