102 POULTRY DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



The birds which are being treated should be kept in a dry, 

 warm, well ventilated room with good nourishing food. The 

 drinking water should be frequently changed. 



Prognosis. In infected flocks this disease caused a direct an- 

 nual loss of ID to 15 per cent of the flock. Also many birds 

 contract a chronic form of the disease which affects them for 

 months or years. Careful individual treatment will save the 

 lives of many birds, but such treatment is economically inadvis- 

 able except in case of very valuable birds. 



"Pip" (Inflammation of the Mouth). 



Robinson describes "pip" as follows: " 'Pip' is a term in very 

 common use among poultry keepers, and applied chiefly to a 

 symptom occurring in many cases of cold or fever when the nos- 

 trils being obstructed and the fowls breathing through the mouth 

 the skin of the mouth and tongue become hard and dry, and 

 a bony tip may form on the tongue by the hardening and drying 

 of the skin of that member, this condition being aggravated 

 when catarrhal discharges adhere to the skin and dry and accu- 

 mulate." 



Etiology. It would appear to be the case that the symptoms 

 above described originated from different causes in different 

 cases. The trouble may be due to specific infection, though a 

 particular organism has not yet been definitely isolated as the 

 cause. In some cases the symptom is apparently purely physi- 

 ological, arising from a failure of the mucus-secreting glands to 

 function properly, owing to a lowered physiological condition. 



Treatment. The essential points in the treatment of this dis- 

 eased condition is first to treat the primary cause (cold, catarrh, 

 etc.). In removing the scale or "pip" gentle measures are to 

 be followed, otherwise a raw surface likely to ulcerate, will be 

 left. 



The following advice as to treatment, given by Salmon, is 

 excellent. 



"In case of simply drying of the mouth, it is sufficient to 

 moisten the tongue with a few drops of a mixture of equal 

 parts of glycerine and water. In case there is redness of the 

 membrane, or if the epithelium is beginning to separate, or if 

 a deposit has formed, add 20 grains of chlorate of potash to 

 each ounce of this mixture. An excellent remedy for such cases 

 is made by dissolving 15 grains of boric acid in an ounce of 



