PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



Symptoms: Inflammation of the liver, loss of appetite, sluggishness, 

 yellowish color to the skin, liver enlarged, tender, and engorged with 

 blood. 



Treatment: Epsom salts in drinking water, one pound to 100 fowls, 

 together with an equal quantity of bicarbonate of soda. Give a balanced 

 ration and compel exercise. 



Jaundice. Cause: Overfeeding, lack of exercise, decayed or tainted 

 food. 



Symptoms: Excessive formation of bile which is absorbed into the 

 blood, giving yellowish color to comb and wattles. 



Treatment: One teaspoonful of Epsom salts, good sanitation and 

 balanced ration. 



Fatty Degeneration of the Liver. Cause: Ration too rich, resulting 

 in a deposit of fat in the liver tissue. 



Symptoms: Similar to hypertrophy of the liver and it is believed 

 to be a stage of that disease. 



Treatment: Encourage exercise, give green food and more variety 

 in the ration. 



Leg Weakness. Cause: Improper feeding, growth of flesh out of 

 proportion to the bone development, lack of exercise. Board and cement 

 floors are unfavorable. 



Symptoms: Leg weakness is the loss of control of the muscles 

 of the legs. There is weakness and the chick sits down to eat; this is 

 followed by loss of appetite. 



Treatment: Give less carbohydrate and more protein in the feed, 

 such as meat scrap, granulated bone and milk. 



Soft Shelled Egg. Cause: It may be due to a lack of lime or the 

 fowl may be too fat or there may be inflammation of the oviduct. 



Treatment: Give plenty of charcoal and grit and green feed. A 

 balanced ration and exercise will cure the disease. 



VII. Affections produced by parasites 



1. External animal parasites cause such affections as emaciation, 

 anemia, feather-pulling, scaly leg. See Chapter XIII. 



2. Internal animal parasites. 



Emaciation. There are three species of round worms that seriously 

 affect poultry. 



Ascaris inflexa is about two inches long and is generally found in 

 the fore part of the small intestine. It is yellowish white in color. 



Heterakis perspicillum attains a length of two and one-half inches. 

 It is yellowish white and is found in all parts of the intestinal tract. 

 Sometimes it causes constipation by obstructing the course of the food. 



Heterakis papillosa is a very small white worm from one-third to 

 three-fourths of an inch long and may be found in any part of the 

 digestive tract, more especially in the ceca, where it accumulates in 

 great numbers. It is believed to be instrumental in inciting the disease 

 among turkeys known as black-head. All these worms produce emacia- 

 tion and. if unchecked result in death. Blindness, limberneck, epilepsy, 

 and emaciation are some of the symptoms. 



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