POULTRY FOR PROFIT 193 



in the cloaca and renewed as necessary and kept for 

 some hours may yield better results. The bird 

 should be kept in a small coop, partly darkened, so 

 that it will be as quiet as possible for a few days. 



3. Obstruction op the Oviduct, "Egg-bound". 

 — This is the commonest of all abnormal con- 

 ditions of the oviduct, and is caused by the egg 

 being too large or by exhaustion or paralysis of the 

 muscular walls of the oviduct. A hen that is egg- 

 bound goes often to the nest, but is unable to lay. 

 She becomes restless and afterward dull, and by 

 pressure of the finger about the vent the egg can be 

 felt. Treatment should not be hasty, for sometimes 

 the hen will ultimately, though with difficulty, rid 

 herself of the egg. When there is no doubt that she 

 cannot pass it, try : 



1. Holding the hen over a vessel of boiling water 

 to help relax the muscles. 



2. If this does not work, oil the vent with a 

 feather, after the hen has rested for an hour, and 

 give her a powder composed of one grain of calomel 

 and one-twelfth grain of tartar emetic. This can 

 be given in a bread pill. If this acts properly the 

 hen will improve in a few hours, and a second pow- 

 der two days later will probably complete the cure. 



3. If the egg can be seen or pushed into sight, it 

 may easily be punctured with an awl or a large darn- 

 ing needle, and the contents removed. In such case 

 the shell must be carefully removed, bit by bit. I 

 have performed this operation more than once, and 

 it is very easy. 



In all these cases the bird should be kept quiet and 

 fed a light ration without any fat-forming food, but 

 with plenty of green food. 



4. Rupture of the Oviduct. — It sometimes hap- 

 pens when the oviduct is obstructed or inflamed that 



