504 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



Symptoms. — In chicks the symptoms of white diarrhea are 

 virtually unmistakable, the most prominent one being a more or 

 less profuse diarrhea, the droppings consisting almost entirely 

 of mucus from the intestinal tube and the white secretion of the 

 kidneys. The white substance predominates, hence the name 

 white diarrhea. It is caused by an irritation of the intestines, 

 fever, and a rapid breaking down of the tissues of the kidneys. 



Hens infected with this malady produce chicks which have the 

 germs of the disease within them when they are hatched, and 

 these chicks usually show manifestations of the trouble within 

 the first few days of their life. From the experiments conducted 

 it appears as though chicks are most susceptible to infection dur- 

 ing the first twenty-four hours, and that after the fourth or fifth 

 day they are practically immune. 



Chicks which sicken of the disease later must have taken the 

 microbes into their systems at an early age, which for some 

 reason remained dormant for a time. Adult fowls are practically 

 resistant to the germs, and do not show any symptoms though 

 they may be inoculated with the disease and lay infected eggs. 

 Thus incubators and brooders, as well as coops, become infected 

 with the disease and preserve the contagion indefinitely, unless 

 scrupulous measures are taken to destroy it. The ground is also 

 impregnated with the contagion, and should be plowed under 

 and sowed to plant life. 



Pasting Up. — A large brood of chicks may be hatched from 

 eggs subject to the germs of white diarrhea, and to all appear- 

 ances they are hail and hearty when taken from the machine. 

 But they soon commence to wilt. The first indication of some- 

 thing wrong is a disposition to huddle together and remain under 

 the hover or under the hen, as the case might be. Apparently 

 they suffer from chills. They are listless, stupid and sleepy, and 

 take no interest in food or their environment. They stand still, 

 heads drawn in, eyes closed, and chirp and peep almost con- 

 stantly. Their wings droop or project slightly from the body, 

 instead of being folded tightly against it, and the characteristic 

 diarrhea soon appears. Usually the excreta is mucilaginous, 



