290 MAKING POULTRY PAY 



cause. Put a good warm linseed meal poultice on the 

 foot as soon as the trouble is discovered. When the 

 swelling softens up lance at the point where the skin 

 over abscess seems thinnest, and after lancing wash 

 the Wound out thoroughly with a solution of hydrogen 

 dioxide one part, with two parts warm water. Use 

 this solution to bathe the wound daily until healed. 

 Do not be afraid to open the abscess freely when you 

 lance it. One lancing should be sufficient. After you 

 have opened it keep it open by packing the wound with 

 gauze. So treated it will heal from the bottom out, 

 and will give a good foot when healed. The wound 

 should be bathed and dressed every day, and better, 

 twice a day. Keep bird by itself in clean coop on clean 

 straw, with foot well bandaged until well. If your 

 roosts are too high, lower them. 



Cholera is a highly contagious disease affecting all 

 poultry and is caused by bacteria. The infection occurs 

 by taking food or drink contaminated by the excre- 

 ment of sick birds, or even by inhaling the germs float- 

 ing in the air. It may run rapidly through a flock, 

 destroying a large portion of the fowls in a week, or 

 it may assume a chronic form, spread slowly and be 

 troublesome for weeks or even months. The earliest 

 symptoms are a yellow color of the urates, or excre- 

 ment secreted by the kidneys, followed by loss of 

 appetite. The bird separates from the flock, the feath- 

 ers become rough, the wings droop, the head is drawn 

 toward the body and the fowl becomes weak and 

 sleepy. These symptoms are usually accompanied with 

 a high fever and intense thirst. The disease lasts 

 usually about three days. Medical treatment is of little 

 avail. A dessertspoonful of a solution of one dram 

 carbolic or hydrochloric acid to one quart of water for 

 adult birds is recommended. Affected birds should be 

 isolated and the greatest dependence placed on a 



