l66 POULTRY DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



Diagnosis. Hill (Diseases of Poultry) gives the following 

 symptoms : "A bird affected with inflammation of the egg pas- 

 sage suffers acutely. At first there is a continual and violent 

 straining (sometimes resulting in apoplexy). The wings are 

 dropped and the feathers puffed out. The vent is usually hot 

 and if a thermometer be inserted the temperature will be found 

 high, frequently 105 to 107 degrees.* As the inflammation pro- 

 ceeds the bird becomes more and more mopish and exhausted 

 but does not strain so violently, pain and exhaustion acting as 

 preventatives. Ultimately the temperature becomes lower, the 

 body cold and with a few, convulsive gasps the sufferer dies." 



To these symptoms Salmon adds the following, basing his 

 account largely upon the statements given by Ztirn : "The bird 

 at first shows indications of a desire to lay without being able 

 to produce eggs or it may lay eggs containing more or less blood 

 or eggs without shells or small and misshaped eggs containing 

 albumen but no yolk, or finally the yolk may be dropped with- 

 out any covering of albumen or shell. As the inflammation in- 

 creases there is high temperature, straining and an effort to rub 

 the abdomen upon the ground. In later stages the bird becomes 

 dull, indisposed to move, the comb is pale, the plumage rough 

 and the temperature falls to normal or below." 



Etiology. There are probably to be distinguished three 

 classes of causes which" lead to inflammation of the oviduct. 

 These are : 



1. Physiological; from irritation due to too frequent laying 

 or from too stimulating foods or condiments. 



2. Traumatic ; from irritation due to too large eggs, or to the 

 breaking of eggs within the oviduct, or similar causes. 



^ 3. Specific infection ; it is probably that alone or in combina- 

 tion with the causes classed under i and 2 a specific infection 

 of the lining membranes of the oviduct may occur. 



In an inflamed oviduct there very often is a copious sero-fibri- 

 nous exudate. This hardens about any foreign body (egg, 

 broken egg, etc.) which may be in the oviduct, and by accretion 

 causes this foreign body to increase in size. This, of course, 



*There must be some mistake about this. 105° to 107" are not at all 

 high temperatures for the domestic fowl. In fact in our experience 

 at this Station 105° would seem to be a slightly subnormal temperature 

 rather than one indicating fever. 



