RELIABLE POULTRY REMEDIES 



Many poultry keepers assert that roupy birds show fever; and it is 

 certain that the head is often very hot, but the body temperature is nor- 

 mal, or only very slightly higher than normal. 



Special Symptoms of Roup 



By the term Roup we generally understand a more or less putrid dis- 

 charge from the nostrils, which lasts for weeks or even months. The 

 disease often foUowa a common cold, to which fowls, especially young fowls 

 and those of the more delicate breeds, are much predisposed. 



In the first stages of Roup, the birds often cough or sneeze, and the 

 breathing is noisy, caused by the partial closing of the air passages, which 

 become blocked with the discharge from the nostrils. When the air pas- 

 sages are entirely closed by the discharged products, the fowl has to open 

 its beak in order to breathe. 



Sometimes a yellowish cheese-like mass forms in the nostrils, growing 

 quickly and pressing the upper walls of the nose upwards; and if this mass 

 is removed, an uneven bleeding surface is left, which forms a new cheesy 

 mass in from 24 to 48 hours. 



Whilst many roupy birds show only the above mentioned symptoms, 

 others become more seriously diseased. The face of roupy birds is very 

 often swollen, especially between the eyes and the nostrils; and this swell- 

 ing, which is hot and sore, sometimes grows into a tumor as large as a walnut 

 — generally firm and hard. A bird in this condition is frequently found 

 scratching at the tumor with its claws or wings, as if endeavoring to remove 

 it. If the tumor grows on the inner side, towards the nasal passage, it 

 forces the roof of the mouth downward, and the upper and' lower beak are 

 slowly pressed out of their normal position, so that the bird cannot close its 

 mouth. 



On making an incision into the tumor, we find a solid, cheesy, yel- 

 lowish matter, which may be pulled out like the root of a plant; but it 

 usually has to be broken into small pieces in order to get it out. Around 

 this mass, there is a more or less smooth, gray or brownish membrane that 

 is capable of again forming a cheesy mass similar to what has been removed. 



The mass itself, when not attended to, often grows into the nasal canals, 

 and blocks them up completely. Generally combined with the formation 

 of the tumor on the face, there is an affection of the eyes; or the eyes be- 

 come diseased without the preliminary discharge from the nose, in which 

 case poultry keepers speak of fowls as suffering from "Roup pf the Eyes." 



Roup of the ^lyes 



The first symptom of the eyes is generally an inflammation of the eye- 

 lids. These become red, swollen and hot; then the mucous membrane 

 and glands of eyes become inflamed and begin to secrete a liquid — at first 

 clear, and'then of a gray, slimy, putrid character, which dries on the feathers 

 at the side of the head, causing them to stick together or fall out. If the 



28 



