172 POULTRY dise;ase;s and t.hkir tre;atment. 



from may get to the parts and help to relax and procure deliv- 

 ery of the egg. If this has not the desired effect after an hour's 

 rest in a quiet coop, the vent should be oiled gently with a feath- 

 er, and the hen given a powder composed of i grain of calomel 

 and I- 12 grain of tartar emetic. The powder may be mixed in 

 a bolus of food, and put into the bird's crop. If it be acting 

 properly a marked improvement should be noticeable in the 

 bird a few hours afterwards, while a second powder given two 

 days subsequently wall probably complete the cure. It is advis- 

 able for a while to feed the fowl sparingly on a somewhat low 

 diet, withholding any fat forming food, and giving lime-water 

 to drink, after the system is rid of the powder. The second 

 remedy was advocated by Dr. H. B. Greene, ****** 

 and is best applied when the egg can be felt. It is : — Let an as- 

 sistant, seated on a chair, hold the bird firmly on his knees on 

 its back, with the vent directed away from him. Seating your- 

 self opposite, with the finger and thumb of the left hand out- 

 side the bird's body, push the egg firmly but carefully towards 

 the vent, until it is plainly visible, and, keeping it in that posi- 

 tion, with a bradawl in the right hand puncture the egg shell, 

 evacuate the contents of the egg with an egg-spoon, and after- 

 wards with a pair of tweezers break down and take out the 

 shell piece by piece until assured by passing the finger into the 

 vent, that the cloaca is empty. Special care must be taken to 

 avoid injuring the bird with the point of the awl; and one's as- 

 sistant must maintain a steady and firm hold on the fowl. A 

 third method of relieving an egg bound hen was recommended 

 by a correspondent in our issue of June 10, 1898, and. has since 

 been frequently tried by several poultry keepers, and found very 

 efficacious. 'When a hen is in that state I hold her over some 

 hot water, bathing the vent at the same time. After this I use a 

 small penknife (blunt) in the following manner: — ^Placing the 

 edge of the blade along the first finger so that the end is level 

 with the finger end, I push the finger with the knife into the 

 vent until they touch the egg ; then I begin to scrape until I hear 

 that I have scraped the rind or skin away from the egg (I mean 

 outside the egg). The hen is then placed on the nest, and I 

 will guarantee she will lay in 20 minutes, or in most cases even 

 less than that. I got this advice from a man who has kept 

 poultry on a small scale for 50 years. I have tried it several 

 times, and have never known a hen to be egg bound a second 



