520 POULTRY DISEASES AND PARASITES 



ways. The possibility of the infection being transmitted 

 from a mother to her offspring by means of tlie yolk material 

 in the egg has already been discussed in its relation to the 

 inheritance of disease (see page 94). 



The danger of bringing the disease onto the farm and 

 causing a serious epidemic thi'ough purchasing eggs from a 

 breeder whose stock has previously been infected cannot be 

 too strongly emphasized. The same danger presents itself 

 in buying breeding females from a flock where infection 

 has previously occurred. 



The symptoms of this disease usually appear between a 

 week and ten days after hatching. The chicks become 

 dumpish and sleepy, tend to stand around, lose their appe- 

 tites, and not infrequently give a characteristic plaintive 

 cry as if in pain. At the same time there is usually a marked 

 diarrhea, the discharge appearing white and somewhat 

 mucilaginous in consistency. There appears to be no 

 characteristic symptom that can be depended upon as a 

 means to an accurate diagnosis of this disease. Chicks 

 that are suffering from scours as the result of eating grains 

 that have musted or molded in the bin, present symptoms 

 that are very similar. The same is true of another form 

 of contagious diarrhea that is referred to as mtestinal 

 coccidiosis. 



The loss from white diarrhea is usuall}- heaviest when the 

 chicks are from one to three weeks of age. So far as is known, 

 there is no definite cure. One's whole attention should be 

 directed to preventing its spread to miinfected stock, both 

 young and old, by means of which a similar outbreak maj' 

 occur during a later season. It is stated by investigators 

 at the Storrs Station where the most important work on this 

 disease has been carried on that infection in baby chicks 

 seldom takes place after they are four days old. That is to 

 say, the birds seldom contract the disease after this age, so 

 that they are themselves inconvenienced. This does not 

 mean, however, that they may not transmit the disease to 

 older fowls. In fact, this forms one of the great difficulties 

 in ridding one's farm of the scourge. 



If chicks suffering from this disease are allo's\ed any 

 considerable range, the organisms are likely to be picked up 



