S8 THE PIGEON BOOK 



The best remedy is to hold the bird's vent gently over 

 steam from a jug, taking care not to scald the parts, or 

 hold it in warm water for half an hour so as to relax them. 

 Administer a dose of castor oil, and then anoint well up 

 the vent with hot olive oil applied by means of a feather, 

 gently pressing the parts to help the passage of the egg. 

 It is not advisable to handle birds suffering from egg- 

 binding too much. 



If the above treatment fails an operation may be neces- 

 sary to remove the egg, but if undertaken by an unskilled 

 person will generally prove fatal. 



Feather Rot. 



This is one of the worst diseases I know, and, unfor- 

 tunately, in latter years has become more common than 

 formerly. 



I cannot find in any of the old pigeon works a single 

 reference to this disease. My old edition of Fulton is 

 silent with reference to it. 



Lyell does not speak of it. 



Nor is a single reference made in any of the Belgian 

 works. 



Why is this the case? 



Is this disease a modern one, and is it conunon to this 

 country only ? 



Feather-eating fowls I have seen denuded of their feathers. 



I have also owned feather -eating or plucking parrots. 



But the disease known as feather rot is altogether of a 

 different nature to either of these troubles. 



It is becoming common in some districts, more so than 

 others. It frequently attacks most valuable birds. 



I have visited Belgium pretty regularly for nearly 

 twenty years past, and yet I have never seen a single case 

 there of feather rot. 



