94 POULTRY DISEASES 



Without treatment the resulting mortality, when 

 white diarrhea has secured a foothold in a poultry 

 plant, is extremely high, often reaching ninety 

 per cent of the season's hatch.* The loss from 

 white diarrhea in dollars and cents is enormous, 

 almost beyond calculation. It is widespread 

 throughout the United States and causes the loss 

 of perhaps ten per cent of all the chicks hatched 

 in this country. By proper measures the disease 

 is fairly easily preventahle and a large number 

 of the affected chicks will recover under proper 

 treatment. 



Causes. — There are two forms of white diar- 

 rhea, due to two distinct causes. A bacillary form 

 due to the Bacterium pullorum, a rather short, 

 plump, rodshaped germ with rounded ends; and 

 a protozoal form due to the Coccidium tenellum. 

 I have isolated the germ causing the disease from 

 the liver, spleen, kidneys and other organs of 

 chicks dead of the bacillary form of the disease, 

 and in the coccidian form from the ulcers of the 

 cecum and the intestines. 



Symptoms: Bacillary Form. — In young chicks 

 there is drooping wings, ruffled feathers, sleepy 

 appearance, huddled together, little or no appetite, 

 abdominal yolk not properly absorbing; whitish 

 or whitish-brown frothy discharge from bowel 

 which adheres more or less to the vent fluff ; eyes 

 closed part of the time and apparently no interest 

 in life. "Peeping" much of the time, the ap- 

 pearance in many i^ stilty, abdomen prominent be- 

 hind. In these cases after death one finds the yolk 

 unabsorbed or only partially so. The intestines 

 are more or less full. Late fall, winter or early 



*A diet of sour milk is said to reduce the loss from white diar- 

 rhea fifty per cent, but as the treatment here outlined will reduce 

 It ninety per cent, the sour milk treatment is not worth considering 



