478 



Minor Ailments of Poultry. 



receive that proper business attention which, as a great national 

 asset, it most certainly deserves. 



In this article I am taking the lesser ailments seriatim, and 

 those of my readers who will obtain leaflets Nos. 57, 58, 67 and 

 78, and the leaflet (25) issued by the Department of Agri- 

 culture and Technical Instruction for Ireland, will see the 

 similarity of symptoms in the cases of cholera, diarrhoea, 

 dysentery, and liver complaint. The gist of the whole matter 

 is that there should be no epidemic of any of the more 

 deadly diseases if the first symptoms are carefully noted and 

 the sick birds put away by themselves at once ; while if 

 the few rules given above be observed by all poultry breeders, 

 big and little alike, and if dirty floors and food troughs and 

 waste of food be tabooed, not only will there be no disease, 

 but there will be very greatly increased profits, and it will be 

 found that utility poultry-keeping, like dairying, can be made to 

 pay, and to pay well. 



In no case should the male bird be anything but pure-bred ; 

 to attain the best results the hens also should be pure-bred, or, 

 at any rate, only first crosses. Mongrels often lay well, but 

 they may have the germs of disease lying dormant within them 

 and now that there are so many hundreds of persons breeding 

 healthy, pure-bred birds solely for utility purposes, anyone can 

 obtain eggs or chicks from reliable laying strains at but small 

 cost. 



Spices for fowls are but the same as condition powders for 

 stock, exceedingly useful as medicines but more than deleterious 

 when given every day. The spring of the year is the natural 

 laying season of the fowl ; no artificial aids are then required 

 by the hen, and, if given, only tend to deplete the owner's 

 pockets and to spoil the constitution of his birds. On the 

 other hand, when moulting, fowls do require doctoring a little, 

 and they need more and better food to make up for the animal 

 energy- expended in the making of the new feathers. 



Apoplexy usually comes from overfeeding on starchy foods, 

 and can but rarely be cured. If the bird be very valuable, 

 proceed as follows : — Open the large vein under the wing and 

 hold the bird's head under a cold water tap- for a minute or two; 

 theny if it shows signs of recovery, feed it sparingly for a few days 



