DISEASES OF POULTRY. 53 



mucus tinged with blood may escape from the mouth. 

 The comb is dark red or bluish from lack of oxygen 

 in the blood. The symptoms appear suddenly and the 

 bird lives but a few minutes or hours. 



Treatment. — The treatment of congestion of the 

 lungs in birds must consist entirely of measures for its 

 prevention, since the course of the disease, when it has 

 once developed, is exceedingly rapid and fatal. Young 

 birds and fowls which are molting should be guarded 

 from exposure and cold, particularly when wet. Birds 

 in confinement should be given a varied ration with 

 green food, roots, or fruit and plenty of exercise. 

 When birds are dying from any cause a careful exami- 

 nation of the carcasses should be made. If the lungs 

 are found very dark in color and distended with blood, 

 particularly if blood has escaped into the bronchi and 

 air sacs from ruptured vessels, this indicates the nature 

 of the disease and should lead to the adoption of proper 

 measures of prevention. Medical treatment of sick 

 birds is impracticable on account of the rapid progress 

 of the disease. 



PNEUMONIA, INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 



One of the most common diseases with our four- 

 footed animals is inflammation of the lungs, technically 

 called pneumonia, but this malady appears to be much 

 less common with birds. Some veterinarians who 

 have given considerable study to this subject state that 

 they have never seen typical pneumonia in these 

 creatures. There is no doubt, however, that it does 

 occur quite frequently, and that it is essentially the 

 same in symptoms, nature, and effect as the pneumonia 

 of mammals. 



Pneumonia is an alteration of the lungs which is 



