508 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



Lacking the sour milk, it has been found that 15 grains of 

 powdered catechu dissolved in a gallon of drinking water tends 

 to prevent the development of the diarrhea. This treatment 

 should be continued for about ten days, or until the danger 

 pcjriod is past. 



Preventative measures should begin, of course, with the eggs 

 used for hatching. In the first place, no eggs should be used 

 which are known to be laid by hens afflicted with white diarrhea 

 or any other communicable disease at any time. If the eggs are 

 purchased the buyer should insist upon some assurance as to the 

 health of the parent stock, and if possible he should visit the 

 farm and inspect the flock. 



Before the eggs are set under hens or placed in the incubator 

 they should be disinfected, which is easily accomplished by sev- 

 eral methods. Wipe the shells with a soft cloth saturated with 

 grain alcohol of 70 to 80 per cent strength. Or the eggs may be 

 dipped in a weak solution of creolin and water. Both methods 

 have been used effectively, and neither treatment has had any 

 serious influence on the hatchability of the eggs. 



If the hatching is done in an incubator it goes without saying 

 that the interior of the machine, especially the egg trays and 

 nursery drawers, should be carefully disinfected after each hatch. 

 The same precautions should be adopted in regard to the brooder 

 and any other coop or device that is used by the chicks. If the 

 hatching is done by hens the broods should be put upon fresh 

 ground, and frequently moved to fresh ground, so that if any 

 cases develop the risk of contagion will be reduced to a minimum. 

 It may be asserted positively that, though there is no positive 

 cure for the disease, it may be eliminated, and if reasonable 

 sanitary measures are practised as a part of the routine work, 

 there is little reason to fear the ravages of white diarrhea. 



Agglutination Test. — It is possible to detect the presence of 

 white diarrhea in grown fowls by a blood test, called the aggluti- 

 nation test, but owing to the delicate nature of the work it 

 must be performed in a laboratory. Some of the Experiment 

 Stations will perform this work for a nominal charge. 



