4 8 4 



Minor Ailments of Poultry. 



Too much stress cannot be laid on the fact that light, airy 

 quarters and scratching sheds are an absolute necessity if 

 disease is to be prevented. This is generally only a matter of 

 shillings, whereas deaths may run into pounds. 



If abdominal dropsy occur it is usually traceable to filthy 

 quarters and bad feeding, but in this case also is secondary to 

 some internal disorder. The only cure is to tap the dropsical 

 parts with a needle, previously boiled in water, but as birds 

 so affected must never be used for breeding purposes it is 

 questionable whether treatment of any kind is worth one's 

 while. 



Dysentery may be treated, so far as mild attacks are concerned, 

 in the same way as diarrhoea, but all drinking water must be 

 boiled. 



The droppings are often frothy and may show signs of blood. 

 Give Douglas' mixture in the drinking water, keep the bird dry, 

 out of draughts and fairly warm, and give it one pill from the 

 following recipe once a day. Cure is generally certain but 

 somewhat slow : — 



If these pills cannot be obtained in time give from one to five 

 drops chlorodyne, according to whether the bird be chick, 

 fowl, or turkey. 



The Douglas' mixture tonic may be continued for a month. 



Egg-Bound, due to the inflammation of the egg passage, 

 or to the accumulation of surplus tat in and around the 

 intestines, is more common in the late winter than at any 

 other season. If birds be provided with large, airy, sunny 

 scratching quarters, and are fed on non-fattening rations, with 

 a good supply of grit and oyster shell, there should be no 

 trouble of this sort, though sometimes the disorder may be 

 caused by the straining in passing a very large egg. If 

 caused by internal fat the bird will usually die on its nest. 



Pullets which become egg-bound at the beginning of their 

 " lawter " generally come right of themselves, but if the hen 

 be really over-fat cure is out of the question. 



Powdered chalk 

 Rhubarb 

 Cayenne pepper 

 Opium... 



5 grains. 

 4 do. 

 2 do. 



h grain. 



