154 Diseases of Pheasants. 



swallowed, work their way from the oesophageal tract into the 

 respiratory tract from the pro-ventriculus or possibly the crop. 



No intermediate host is necessary for the development of 

 this parasite as was once suggested by Dr. Spencer Cobbold. 

 Ehlers has shown that by feeding birds on Syngamus ova, or with 

 ova containing embryos, in about twelve days he found coupled 

 individuals, and after seventeen days females full of eggs. 

 Megnin also in 1879 infected a parrot with gapes by feeding it 

 with a certain number of worms collected from the pheasants. 



In treating the disease the first step is, where possible, 

 to isolate all infected birds and put the healthy birds on to 

 fresh ground ; all birds that die of the disease should be at once 

 burnt, not buried — burning is the only way to effectually destroy 

 the worms in the carcase and their ova. All drinking vessels 

 should be well cleaned, and salicylate of soda, three drams 

 added to a quart of drinking water, is stated to kill the embryo 

 worms. In treating the disease many remedies are recom- 

 mended, but in dealing with pheasants it must be remembered 

 that generally large numbers of birds may be affected, and that 

 such remedies as removing the worms from the trachea of each 

 bird by manual efforts would be impracticable. Besides, the 

 handling of young birds is not unattended with danger, and 

 may have fatal results ; it is better to resort to methods that can 

 be utiHsed on a large scale and with more safety. The parasites 

 can of course be removed by a feather, and in America a treat- 

 ment by means of intra-tracheal inoculation has been success- 

 fully carried out (Ward and Gallagher), but all these operations 

 require time, individual attention and a considerable amount 

 of manual dexterity, and are not at all adapted for the ordinary 

 pheasant breeder, in places where large numbers of birds are 

 reared. The treatment most commonly adopted at the present 

 time is the insufflation of one of the various gape powders 

 now in use ; the basis of most of these powders is Hme and 

 carbohc acid, but many keepers make their own. Theobald 

 recommends a mixture of loz. of powdered chalk and. Joz. 

 of finely powdered camphor, which he says is the safest and 



