CHAPTER X 



CONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF POULTRY APPEARING 



IN FALL 



Note to Teacher : Bring into the classroom a bird with one of these 

 diseases. 



124. Roup, sorehead, swollen eyes, and diphtheria most often 

 occur in the fall. 



125. Cause of Roup. Roup is caused by a germ. A germ or 

 bacterium is a vegetable organism so small that it must be mag- 

 nified one thousand times by the microscope in order to be 

 visible. Roup affects the nose and nasal passages of the head. 



126. How Roup Is Spread, The germs of roup may live in 

 the yards and hen houses from one fall or winter to the next. 

 The disease may be spread by. a chronic carrier, that is, a bird 

 that has had it and has apparently recovered but that still 

 gives off the germs. Such a bird will sit around on the perch 

 much of the time. It has a pale face, dried down, hard, stiff 

 comb, and is light in weight. , It will be observed occasionally 

 to sneeze ; and if examined closely, a small amount of dried 

 scab around the nostril will be seen, besides a very thin dis- 

 charge, scarcely observable and of an offensive odor. Such a 

 bird should be killed and its head and body burned, as it con- 

 stantly deposits this discharge, containing the germs of the 

 disease, in eating and drinking. As soon as the weather con- 

 ditions are such as to favor the development of roup, the disease 

 again breaks out. Roup may be spread by introducing a sick 

 bird into the flock, or by shipping a bird in a coop in which 

 a roupy bird has been kept, or by placing birds in runs or houses 

 where birds sick of roup have been kept. 



127. How You Can Tell Roup. A bird may have a light or 



