PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



Symptom: Tail twisted or carried to one side. 



Treatment: If a natural deformity there is no cure. Birds should 

 be kept in roomy quarters with roosts removed from the wall. 



Crooked Back. Cause: Probably inherited in most cases, though 

 some cases may arise from crowding in coops. 



Symptom: The bird appears as a hunchback. 



Treatment: No cure and such specimens should not be used for 

 breeding. 



Crooked Keel. Cause: Improper feeding of chicks, malnutrition, 

 inherited. 



Symptoms: Keel bent, twisted or curved. The rocker keel is not a 

 deformity, but indicates large capacity, therefore good fecundity. 



Treatment: No cure, a disqualification. Chicks should be supplied 

 with bone-forming material. 



Deformed Beak is probably due to some accident or unfavorable 

 environment preventing the proper development of this structure. 



Symptoms: The mandibles may be crossed or one mandible is 

 shorter than the other. 



Treatment: There is no cure for cro.s-sed mandibles, but when they 

 are of uneven length, the longer one can be trimmed to some extent 

 so as to make possible the seizing of food. 



Sidesprigs occur on the sides of single combs and are creatures of 

 heredity. 



Symptoms: They may occur on the sides of blade or upon the 

 points. 



Treatment: They disqualify and should never be removed. 



Hypertrophy is the undue enlargement of any organ, such as the 

 liver, spleen, kidney or heart, and may be due to any one of several 

 causes. The more common causes are overfeeding, lack of exercise, 

 malnutrition and bacterial infection. 



Dropsy is an accumulation of liquid, serum or water, in heart or 

 abdomen. Dropsy of abdomen is caused by unsanitary conditions and 

 improper feeding; dropsy of the pericardium is associated with other 

 diseases and is probably caused by them. 



Symptoms: Sluggishness, rapid heart beat. Dropsy of abdomen 

 can be detected by its swollen condition and it is soft to the touch. 



Treatment: Puncture the skin to remove the liquid and then give 

 a good tonic, nux vomica, strychnine, or tonic No. 1. 



Atrophy is wasting of the tissues of any organ, due to pressure from 

 excessive fat, or the result of inflammation. Atrophy of the ovary and 

 testes occur as the result of age. Such birds should be conditioned 

 for market. 



Treatment: Epsom salts may be helpful in early stages. .\ strong 

 stimulant, such as mustard, would be helpful. 



2. — Abnormal growths 



A tumor is a new growth of tissue believed to be caused by tlie 

 development of dormant or unused embryonic cells. They begin to 



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