GAPES 487 



interferes seriously with production for the time being, but 

 if the birds are properly housed the birds frozen will be so 

 few that it will not pay to take special pains to prevent 

 freezing. In the case of large wattled males it is sometimes 

 advisable to grease the wattles with vaseline, which offers 

 some protection against their being frozen through dipping 

 in freezing water when the bird drinks. After freezing 

 occurs there is little that can be done beyond anointing 

 the frozen parts with a mixture of vaseline and glycerine, in 

 which there are a few drops of turpentine, and manipulating 

 to restore the circulation. 



Gapes. — Gapes are usually noticed through a characteristic 

 gapping accompanied by coughing and the discharge from 

 the mouth of more or less mucus. The trouble is caused 

 by the presence in the air passages of very small parasitic 

 worms. These worms attach themselves to the mucous 

 membranes of the air passages, thereby causing an irritation, 

 and not infrequently an inflammation. They sometimes 

 gather in sufficient quantities to cause suffocation. Where 

 this condition is suspected as a cause of death, the correct- 

 ness of the diagnosis can be determined by opening the 

 windpipe where the small, thread-like apparently forked 

 worms may be observed. In live birds the presence of the 

 worms may be determined by inserting a loop of horse 

 hair into the windpipe and twisting it to loosen some of 

 the worms and then withdrawing it. If the worms are 

 present, some of them are very likely to be drawn out. The 

 forked or double-headed appearance of the worm arises 

 from the fact that the male and female are permanently 

 joined. 



The treatment is to isolate the affected birds and move 

 those not affected at once onto fresh sodded ground. It is 

 sometimes possible to affect a citte of diseased individuals 

 by means of a so-called worm extractor, which may be a 

 looped horse hair, as suggested above, a very fine looped 

 wire, or even a feather that has been stripped of the web 

 except at the extreme end. This treatment is likely to be 

 tedious, and there is no assurance that all the worms are 

 withdrawn. A better practice is to kill and burn affected 



