TUBERCULOSIS 495 



of the legs should be repeated once or twice a week until the 

 trouble disappears. 



Sunstroke. — Although the original habitat of at least a 

 part of the ancestors of our domestic poultry was a very hot 

 country, poultry, and particularly chickens, do not seem very 

 well equipped to stand extreme heat, and heat prostrations 

 are quite frequent. If the birds are discovered soon after 

 the prostration occurs they may sometimes be saved by 

 putting them in a cool place and tying the head in cold wet 

 clothes. It is well to give them as a purgative two teaspoon- 

 fuls of castor oil or Epsom salts. 



In order to guard against numerous prostrations shade 

 should be provided, and during hot weather it is well to give 

 a wet mash at noon, as this tends to cool the digestive 

 tract and keep the birds quiet during the heat of the day. 



Tuberculosis. — ^This disease is caused by a minute organism 

 which in many respects is quite similar to the onle causing 

 tuberculosis in man and other mammals. It seldom appears 

 in anything but adult or very nearly adult stock. It is highly 

 contagious, and may be introduced by means of birds, the 

 English sparrow being particularly susceptible. This disease 

 is serious, not only from the stand-point of economic loss, 

 but because tubercular fowls in all probability form a 

 serious menace to the poultryman and his family. It is 

 popularly understood that a tubercular hen is not likely to 

 lay, but this is not in accordance with the facts. Avian 

 tubercular bacilli have been found alive in eggs that have 

 been poached, and the avian form of the organism has 

 been found along with the form common to the human 

 family in persons suffering from tuberculosis. 



In a somewhat exhaustive discussion of tuberculosis, 

 Pearl, Surface, and Curtis^ make the following statement: 

 "It appears that while fowls are not very likely to contract 

 tuberculosis from domestic animals or from man, yet fowls 

 that have the disease are a serious menace to other animals 

 on the farm as well as to the poultryman and his family." 

 Avian tuberculosis is exceedingly diflBcult to recognize in 



' Diseases of Poultry. 



