POULTRY DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 89 



beyond this stage but soon disappear. In very severe cases the 

 birds become very sleepy and refuse to eat. The wings droop. 

 The feathers are roughened and breathing becomes more and 

 more difficult, until finally the bird dies. The less severe forms 

 of the disease may become chronic while the symptoms of rat- 

 tling breath and coughing up mucus may persist for a long time. 

 In this form of the disease the birds appear well except for the 

 above symptoms. 



Etiology. When it follows a hard cold, bronchitis may be 

 caused by an extension of the inflammation of the mucosa of 

 the throat to the mucosa of the bronchial tubes. It may also be 

 caused directly by exposure to cold, draughts, and dampness ; 

 01 it may result from irritation of the mucous membrane caused 

 by inhaling irritating vapors, dust or foreign particles. 



Treatment. Place the patient in a warm, dry, well ventilated 

 but not draughty rooms. Feed bread or middlings moistened 

 with milk, and add to this food 2 grains of black antimony 

 twice a day. A demulcent drink is often beneficial. A 

 very good one is made by steeping a little flax seed in water. 

 Other demulcent drinks are made by dissolving honey or gum 

 arable in water. This treatment is sufficient for mild cases. 

 Salmon recommends the following treatment for severe attacks : 

 "If the attack promises to be severe, it may sometimes be 

 checked in the early stages by giving 10 drops of spirits of tur- 

 pentine in a teaspoonful of castor oil and repeating this dose 

 after 5 or 6 hours. It should not be continued after there are 

 signs of purging, for fear of exhausting the strength of the 

 patient. In the very acute cases, where the whistling or snor- 

 ing sounds with the respiration indicate a croupous form of 

 inflammation, and where the gasping shows great obstruction 

 of the air passage, relief may be obtained by giving from 3 to 

 6 drops of either the syrup or the wine of ipecac." 



"Medicines should be administered very carefully in diseases 

 affecting the trachea and bronchi, as otherwise they may enter 

 the air passages and increase the irritation." 



Prognosis. In the ordinary and chronic forms the birds usu- 

 ally recover. In the more severe forms a large per cent of the 

 affected birds die. 



Influenza (Epizootic, Grippe, Distemper). 

 This disease is mentioned by Woods as "a contagious germ 



