POULTRY FOR PROFIT 187 



"The segregation of chicks in small lots during 

 this interval. 



"Perfect disinfection and cleanliness of brooders 

 and brooder coops. 



"Food and water supplied in such a manner as to 

 prevent contagion by the droppings. 



"The use in the brooder of a liberal amount of 

 fine, absorptive litter which will quickly cover and 

 seal up the droppings. 



"Raise and maintain the vigor and vitality of the 

 breeding stock and chicks by every reasonable means 

 known to the poultryman." 



Gapes 



Gapes is a disease which frequently attacks young 

 chicks, especially on old ground, and is caused by 

 minute parasitical worms in the trachea or wind- 

 pipe. The disease is thus described by Woods in 

 "Reliable Poultry Remedies": "The symptoms of 

 gapes are frequent gaping, sneezing, a whistling 

 cough with discharge of mucus and worms, dump- 

 ishness, weakness and drooping wings." The only 

 sure cure is to extract the worms from the wind- 

 pipe with a gape worm extractor or a loop of horse- 

 hair or fine wire, though good results have been re- 

 ported from medicating drinking water with fifteen 

 grains of salicylic acid or three drams of salicylate 

 of soda to the quart of water. 



Reliance must be placed chiefly on prevention. 

 Whenever cases of gapes occur in a flock, all chicks 

 should be moved to clean new soil — indeed, young 

 chicks ought always to be upon soil which has had 

 at least a year of purification by some green crop 

 since fowls were last upon it. No soil on which 

 gapes has been known is safe for several years after. 

 Salmon says the eggs of this worm live a long time 



