1908.] 



Fowl Cholera. 



345 



to respond most satisfactorily to the fattening process 

 proper. 



About a month before they will be required for killing they 

 should be confined in a large open-fronted shed, situated in 

 a quiet position. The best fattening food is Sussex ground 

 oats and milk, with fat added every other day, but barley 

 meal and maize meal is often added in equal proportions. 

 Swedes or potatoes may also be boiled and mixed with the 

 meal. Mix all the food soft but not sticky, and feed it in a 

 trough which must be kept well scoured, and supply plenty 

 of grit. If desirable cramming may be resorted to during 

 the latter portion of the period, but if the birds were in good 

 condition at the commencement of trough feeding it should 

 be unnecessary in most cases. 



Marketing. — Kill by dislocation of the neck and pluck 

 warm, drawing the feathers in their own direction, plucking 

 the bird clean except for the tail and outer wing feathers, 

 which it is usual to leave on. General details regarding shaping, 

 tying and packing will be found in the Journal of February, 

 1908, under the heading " The Marketing of Poultry." 



FOWL CHOLERA.* 



Fowl cholera is a highly infectious disease, which, though 

 comparatively rare in this country, has caused serious loss to 

 poultry keepers on the Continent of Europe, in North 

 America and in South Africa. It frequently assumes an 

 epidemic form, and in such cases often more than half the 

 stock have succumbed. The disease affects not only fowls, 

 as its name implies, but also geese, ducks, pigeons, pheasants, 

 and some wild birds, such as sparrows and finches. Rabbits 

 can be inoculated with the disease, but the larger domestic 

 animals are not susceptible to the complaint. 



The cause of the disease is a microbe, a minute ovoid 

 bacillus, which is found in the blood, organs and contents 

 of the intestines of the infected animals. It passes into their 

 droppings, and so is taken up in the food or drinking water 

 of the healthy birds. Occasionally the disease is introduced 



* This article is issued as Leaflet No. 66. 



