CAUSE AND CURE OF SICKNESS 



169 



every time they come near you. It is 

 far kinder to keep them- working for it 

 and so keep them healthy. 



Inflammation of the Crop— I have a 

 Buff Orpington hen that has a -disease 

 I have never seen before. Her craw is 

 swollen to several times its normal size 

 and is filled with wind or gas. She eats 

 but not as much as she should, and is 

 getting thinner all the time.— H. Y. 



Answer— Your hen is suffering from 

 inflammation of the crop. This is like 

 a very severe attack of indigestion. The 

 causes of this are irregular feeding or 

 too much food being taken at one time. 

 Partially decomposed meat, or putrid 

 food of any kind will also cause con- 

 gestion and fermentation of the contents 

 of the crop. The same disease occurs 

 when birds eat substances containing 

 phosphorus or arsenic, or rat poison. 

 The feeding of too large a quantity of 

 pepper or stimulating "egg food" in the 

 mash will also cause inflamed crop as 

 well as trouble with the egg function. 



Treatment — A clean, dry pen should 

 be provided for the affected bird. Empty 

 the crop of its irritating and decompos- 

 ing contents by careful pressure and ma- 

 nipulation while the bird is held with its 

 head downward. When the crop is 

 freed of its contents, give two grains of 

 subnitrate of bismuth and one-half grain 

 of bicarbonate of soda in a teaspoon of 

 water. The bird should then be kept 

 without feed for eighteen hours and 

 then fed sparingly upon easily digested 

 food, such as bread and milk. Half a 

 grain of quinine morning and night for 

 two or three days will complete the cure. 



Influenza — I am in trouble with my 

 chickens. Five of them have died since 

 Monday. They open their mouths and 

 gasp for breath and sneeze and their 

 eyes are very watery. I feed wheat, 

 cracked corn, plenty of green stuff and 

 table scraps, and they have a good run. 

 I always wash out their drinking pans 

 and rake out under their roosts at least 

 every other morning.— Mrs. J. F. S. 



Answer — Your chickens have influ- 

 enza. They are taking cold in some 

 way. Either there is a draught in their 

 house or the rain comes in on them ; a 

 few have had the cold and they are giv- 

 ing it to the rest. Keep bluestone in their 

 water, and give each of them a bolus of 

 the following, night and morning: Mix 

 two tablespoons of lard, one tablespoon 



each of cayenne pepper, mustiird, vine- 

 gar; mix thoroughly, add enough flour 

 to make stiff dough; roll out; give a 

 bolus as large as the end of your little 

 finger. Put carbolated vaseline or Kile- 

 roup up their nostrils and in the cleft of 

 the mouth, and give them chopped on- 

 ions in their food. 



LEG Weakness — I am in trouble over 

 my White Rock chickens. I only have 

 a few, so would like to save them. When 

 they are about three weeks old they get 

 weak in the legs, and after a week or 

 so they begin to tremble like a person 

 that is nervous. They eat well until the 

 last. I feed boiled egg and bread 

 crumbs. They have green barley to run 

 on. I feed kaffir corn at night. During 

 the day I feed onions and table scraps. 

 If you could tell me what to do I would 

 be a thousand times obliged. — Mrs. 

 W. K. 



Answer — Your chickens are suffering 

 from what is called "leg weakness." 

 Leg weakness comes chiefly from wrong 

 feeding, also from overcrowding at 

 night and overheating. 



Young chickens should either be al- 

 lowed free range with a hen or be en- 

 couraged to work and scratch for their 

 food. This strengthens their legs. The 

 green food should form at least one- 

 third of their diet and for such young 

 chickens it would have to be chopped up 

 finely. They cannot peck off sufficient 

 green barley. It soon becomes too tough 

 for them. The cure for leg weakness 

 is a little tonic (a few drops of iron in 

 their drinking water) and plenty of 

 green food and cracked wheat instead 

 of kaffir corn. If it comes from over- 

 crowding or overheating, either under 

 a hen or in a brooder, you must rectify 

 this. See that they have "chick grit and 

 charcoal." 



Acute Indigestion — I am in trouble 

 with some incubator chicks and I write 

 to ask you to be kind enough to diag- 

 nose it. 



The chicks are Black Minorcas and 

 are fourteen days old. They seemed to 

 be doing well till yesterday. One or two 

 all at once got so they could not stand 

 up or walk, but looked bright. This 

 morning there are half a dozen affected 

 the same way. I feed them a chick 

 feed I have used for several years, curd, 

 charcoal, and plenty of grit and always 

 give the fresh water three or four times 

 .a day. For the last three days they have 



