109 
Chaitkr XVII. 
DISEASES POULTRY ARK LIABLE i'O. 
It is an undoubted fact that nearly, if not all, Poultry diseases can be distinctly traced to neglect in some 
form or other, such as damp or draughty houses, impure water, filthy houses or runs, or careless feeding, and 
it is much easier to obviate the possibility of disease appearing in a flock of birds by attention to these details 
than it is to treat them when attacked ; but often, in the best managed yards. Poultry will succumb to disease 
in some form or other, but, if not too far gone, may be saved by judicious nursing and treatment, and if the 
bird or birds are of value the instructions here given, if carried out in a proper manner, will frequently effect 
a permanent cure, though, from our experience, which has covered a number of years, we have never found 
it worth while to breed from a bird which at any time of its life has suffered from a serious disease, though 
apparently healthy at time of mating. The stock thus bred, having a pre-disposition to disea.se, and being 
constitutionally weak, very little benefits are likely to be derived by breeding from birds thus 
contaminated. 
In placing the various diseases in alphabetical order for reference, we conscientiously state that the 
treatment here given is only likely to have a good and lasting effect if the affection is of an acute or sudden 
character, and if the symptoms of the disease are chronic little possibility of making a permanent cure is held 
out. In the latter case, it is far better to end the birds' life at once than allow them to linger on for an 
indefinite time, with small hope of recovery. 
Abortion. — Hens suffer considerably from this if violently driven about or worried by other hens, 
especially in a small run. If noticed within a reasonable time, removal to a quiet spot for a day or two, with 
a little carbonate of soda added to the drinking water, and fed moderately on soft food, will generally effect 
a cure. This must not be confounded with the regular laying of soft eggs, this arising from quite a different 
cause, which is mentioned later on in this Chapter. 
Apoplexy, Paralysis. — Generally arises from over-feeding, especially if the diet is of a fattening nature. 
As a rule, there are some symptoms noticeable, such as an unsteadiness of gait, or, again, the bird circling 
round and round ; in some instances this will be accompanied with the bursting of a blood-vessel, and in 
most cases ends fatally when this occurs. If the bird exhibits signs of unconsciousnes.s, opening one of the 
larger veins underneath the wing with a sharp-bladed penknife, allowing the fowl to bleed freely for a few 
minutes, will often effect a cure. If the bird is bleeding too freely this can be stopped by the application of 
burnt alum, or diluted carbolic acid, or solution of sulphate of zinc. The bird should be fed on a small 
quantity of soft food, such as bread and milk, for a few days. This is often confounded with paralysis, the 
latter, however, generally arising from pressure on the brain or an injury to the spinal cord, very little, if any, 
permanent advantage being gained by retaining a bird affected either with apoplexy or paralysis, even if 
cured. 
Asthma. — Asthma is one of the symptoms of roup. When it is noticed that the bird has caught cold, 
and there is heavy and _laboured breathing, or an apparent shortness of breath, nothing better can be given 
than five (5) drops of tincture of aconite in a teaspoonful of water twice a day, keeping the bird warm and 
dry. Another plan, where a pen of birds have to be treated, is to place a piece of asafcetida about the size 
of a marble, wrapped in a piece of muslin, in the bottom of the drinking trough, securing it in some manner 
so that the birds cannot pick it out, 
