PRAIRIE FARMER'S POULTRY BOOK 



communicated to the embryo during incubation. Only a few of the 

 chicks that hatch may have this disease, but it is quickly communicated 

 to the remainder of the brood. The contagion spreads through droppings. 



Sj'mptoms: Stupor, rough feathers, emaciation, loss of appetite, 

 whitish discharge, pasting up behind, sharp cries from chicks, and they 

 act as if chilled, and keep close to the hover. 



Treatment: Begin with foundation stock and cull out all weaklings. 

 Dip eggs in alcohol, thoroughly scrub and disinfect the incubator, using 

 four per cent solution of creolin. When chicks are hatching darken 

 the incubator so they cannot pick at the droppings. Remove from the 

 brooder any chicks that show signs of the disease. This must be done 

 very promptly and the chicks should be destroyed and their bodies 

 burned. Keep the feeding floor scrupulously clean and scald all vessels. 

 Add to the milk and water for all chicks of an infected brood about five 

 drops of creolin and one teaspoonful of Epsom salts to each quart of 

 fluid. Good sanitation may prevent the spread of the disease, but there 

 is little hope of cure when it has reached an advanced stage. 



Bacterial Enteritis or Mixed Infection is an inflammation of the 

 small intestine and is often of bacterial origin. It may be caused by 

 toxic poisons produced by worms, or from eating paint skins, salty 

 meat, or other poisons. If it is produced by infection, due to filthy 

 conditions and tainted food, the cause must be removed. It is then 

 known as bacterial enteritis. 



Symptoms: Diarrhea, loss of appetite, comb pale to dark. 



Treatment: Disinfect. Give each sick bird a teaspoonful of Epsom 

 salts and follow with a good tonic. Give one pound of Epsom salts to 

 100 fowls in drinking water. After which give permanganate of potash 

 in drinking water as long as the disease persists. 



.This disease is a true mixed infection, as several species of bacteria are 

 known to contribute to its existence in the flock. 



Dysentery is a bacterial inflammation of the large intestine. 

 Symptoms: Diarrhea, the discharges often being bloody. There is 

 loss of appetite and drowsiness. 



Treatment: The same as for enteritis. 



Cholera is a contagious disease produced by a minute bacterium. 

 Bacillus avisepticus. The disease spreads rapidly and is fatal in most 

 cases. The bacteria are found in the blood of infected fowls. 



Symptoms: The urates which are normally white assume a yellow- 

 ish tinge; afterwards the droppings become a bright yellow and in the 

 final stages turn to a bright green. There is drowsiness, ruffled feathers, 

 loss of appetite, thirst, fever and pale face and comb. An autopsy 

 shows inflammation of the digestive organs, kidneys, and mesentery. 



Treatment: Renovate and disinfect buildings and yards frequently. 

 Remove and promptly destroy all infected birds. As a general treat- 

 ment for the flock give one teaspoonful of creolin in three gallons of 

 drinking water. Epsom salts should be given once a week until the 

 disease disappears. If sick birds are to be treated, give creolin in 

 drinking water as advised and tonic No. 1 (page 26). Remember that 

 this is a highly contagious and incurable disease and all infected birds 

 should be far removed from the healthy flock. 



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