196 



THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



has been found most extraordinarily effica- 

 cious. 



Prevention. We know a person, a very large 

 breeder of fowls, who always gives his chickens, 

 at six weeks old, wheat steeped in turpentine. 

 This is given them once in the morning, when 

 fasting, and as a preventive against, instead of 

 waiting for the arrival of, the gapes. Let their 

 first food be coarse corn meal, almost dry ; then 

 give cracked corn. As soon as they can swal- 

 low whole grains, let them have them unbroken. 

 All poultry-yards, of course, should be supplied 

 with lime, and the chickens should have free 

 access to pure water. After the gapes appear, 

 the cure is always doubtful ; but crushed corn, 

 soaked in very strong alum-water, is also a good 

 remedy. 



THE PIP. 



This may be regarded as a token of derange- 

 ment of the mucous membrane of the aliment- 

 ary canal generally, and not as a local disease. 



Cause. This disease is generally attributed 

 to the want of water, or to bad water, such 

 as the drainings of dung-hills, sinks, etc., which 

 fowls will drink when they can get no other. 



Symptoms. The occurrence of a dry, horny 

 scale upon the tongue is generally regarded as 

 characteristic of this disease, which, however, is 

 by some confounded with gapes. We are quite 

 assured that the dry, scaly tongue is only a symp- 

 tom caused by some other disease, which forces 

 the fowl (which habitually breathes through the 

 nostrils) to respire through the mouth; in thi 

 case the constant current of air dries the tongue, 

 which becomes hard at the point, and assumes 

 a very horny character. Thus, in any inflam- 

 matory affection of the wind-pipe, in gapes, ca- 

 tarrh, or roup, when the nostrils are closed by 

 the discharge, the pip, as it is termed, makes its 

 appearance. It should be regarded, however, 

 as a symptom only, and not as the disease it- 

 self. The beak becomes yellow at the base 

 the plumage becomes ruffled, the bird mopes 

 and pines, the appetite gradually declines to 

 extinction, and at last it dies, completely worn 

 out by fever and starvation. 



Treatment. The treatment varies with the 

 cause. In all cases the mouth should be fre 



juently moistened ; and if the scale of hardened 

 nembrane is loose, it should be removed. The 

 absurd plan of nipping off the end of the tongue 

 n chickens is still practiced in some parts of the 

 country ; it is almost needless to say, that it is 

 alike useless and barbarous. 



A cure may be effected by a low diet ; that is. 

 in the case of common fowls, by an allowance 

 of fresh vegetable food, as onions or parsley 

 hopped and mixed with potatoes and a little 

 Indian or oatmeal, granting at the same time a 

 plentiful supply of pure water. Give, also, a 

 tea-spoonful of castor-oil or thereabouts, accord- 

 ing to the age or strength of the fowl. Do not 

 crape the tongue, nor use rough modes of clean- 

 ing it ; but apply a little borax, dissolved in pure 

 water, and tincture of myrrh, by means of a 

 camei-hair brush, two or three times a day. 



The following has been recommended : Give 

 three times a day, for two or three days, a piece 

 of garlic, the size of a pea ; if garlic can not be 

 obtained, onion, shallot, or chive will answer; 

 and if neither of these be convenient, two grains 

 of black pepper, to be given in fresh butter, may 

 be substituted. 



EOUP. 



There are no diseases to which poultry are 

 subject, from which we have suffered more than 

 from roup, catarrh, or swelled head, which we 

 consider one and the same disease. The term 

 roup is very indefinite, being applied to very dis- 

 similar disorders of poultry, such as the obstruc- 

 tion of the rump gland, the pip, and gapes, al- 

 ready described, and to almost every sort of ca- 

 tarrh, to which gallinaceous fowls are much sub- 

 ject. But the chief disease to which chickens 

 and fowls are liable, originates in changes of 

 weather and variations of temperature ; and 

 when the malady becomes confirmed, with run- 

 ning at the nostrils and other well-known symp- 

 toms, they are termed roupy. 



The word roup is supposed to be a corruption 

 of croup, to which children are subject, and which 

 often proves fatal. It affects fowls of all ages, 

 and is either acute or chronic, beginning some- 

 times suddenly and sometimes gradually, as the 

 result of neglected colds, stormy weather, or 

 damp lodgings. 



