38 POUIvTRY DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



health of the bird. In most cases of this simple diarrhea the 

 bird will recover without any treatment. Nevertheless the care- 

 ful poultryman will watch his dropping boards for signs of 

 "looseness." When such are found in any quantity the methods 

 of feeding and housing should be carefully examined to see if 

 the cause does not lie in them. 



Concerning the normal droppings of fowls, Robinson says: 

 "Normally the droppings of fowls are rather dry, retain the 

 shape in which they are voided, and may readily be removed, 

 leaving the spot on which they had fallen either slightly stained, 

 or not at all." 



Further, about 1-3 of the normal droppings consists of a whit- 

 ish substance. This is the uric acid and urates excreted by the 

 kidneys and is removed from the cloaca along with the feces. 



"Without marked departure from the normal, droppings may 

 be wet — watery — with a tendency to flatten on the surface on 

 which they rest. On boards they moisten the surface for some 

 distance around them. * * * It is perhaps most appro- 

 priately described as "looseness." It is not diarrhea, though 

 fowls having it are probably more susceptible to intestinal dis- 

 eases than others. Mere looseness of the bowels is not accom- 

 panied by any ofifensive odor. 



"When the excrement becomes soft and pasty or liquid in 

 consistency and whitish, yellowish, greenish or brownish in 

 color, and has a more or less marked offensive odor, the con- 

 dition is properly described as diarrhea. The evacuations in 

 diarrhea are often of such consistency that the water in them 

 is not readily taken up by absorbents with which they come in 

 contact, and they are decidedly nasty, not only adhering to 

 utensils used in removing them, and making ordinary cleaning 

 difficult, but soiling the feathers of the fowls and sticking to 

 roosts, nests and feed troughs." (Robinson.) 



Diarrhea may result simply from an upsetting of the digestive 

 organs due to improper feeding or it may be a symptom of some 

 more serious disease. Simple diarrhea may arise from the pres- 

 ence of indigestible matter in the alimentary canal, it may be 

 due to exposure to heavy rains or to draughts in the roosting 

 house. In the latter cases a cold develops which afifects the 

 bowels rather than the head and lungs. Diarrhea from colds 

 occurs much more frequently than is generally supposed. This 



