Diseases Poultry are Liable To. 
Ill 
supply of green food, will quickly effect a cure ; but if in a bad state, an ointment made of equal parts of 
powdered bluestone, sulphur, and lard, rubbed on the sores night and morning, will be found efficacioui. 
Another excellent remedy is eucalyptus oil, applied by the aid of a small brush. In all cases soft food only 
should be given for a few days, and if the weather should be fine and dry, an ounce of Epsom salts, mixed in 
the soft food supplied to 20 chickens two to four months old, will be found of great benefit. A well-known 
medical gentleman, and a prominent Fancier, gives a certain preventive of the troublesome disease to which 
chickens are liable. He states : " After trying various methods of warding off this dread disease among 
chickens, I find nothing so successful as sprinkling chloride of lime about the house, particularly in and 
around the walls inside. It need not to be taken away while cleaning up the droppings. Some may remark 
that this is a dangerous experiment, and may poison the fowls by their eating the lime. As far as my 
experience goes, however, there is little fear of the latter catastrophe, as I never lost one through the poison, 
and on the other hand, after adopting the remedy given, I have never had a single chicken attacked, while at 
the same time my neighbours, who were afraid to use the chloride, lost great numbers of chickens annually, 
and many other chickens that the disease did not kill became bUnd, or partially blind. I can strongly 
recommend it to the notice of those who have been pestered each successive year with this horrible 
disease." 
Cholera. — This dreaded disease devastates whole yards at times, and is highly contagious, the principal 
cause being water heated by the sun and becoming foul, the birds attacked exhibiting symptoms of violent 
thirst, standing about the water trough, becoming that weak in an hour or .so that they cannot stand. The 
bird is purged, the droppings being of a greenish, slimy consistency at first, but later having a white and milky 
appearance. Plenty of cool water, a regular supply of green food, and ample shade resorts for the birds are 
the very best preventives. Neglect of these precautions often develops cholera. We have found that 
removal of the birds to a cool spot, allowing //r^/z milk only to drink for twenty-four hours, is an excellent 
remedy in the earlier stages. In severe cases pills made as follows will be found effective. 
Rhubarb 4 grains 
Cayenne Pepper 2 „ 
Sulphate of Iron 2 ,, 
Quinine ... ... ... ... ... 2 ,, 
One pill should be given every four hours until recovery. The drinking troughs should be thoroughly 
cleansed and disinfected with Condy's Fluid or carbolic acid diluted, and the birds given a plentiful supply of 
green food. Birds that have died from this disease should be burnt, not buried, to minimise as much as 
possible the spread of the epidemic. 
Consumption. — This is generally known by the term " going light," that is, a wasting away of the tissues, 
this condition being very prominent in the last stages of liver disease, the bird eventually becoming a mere 
bony frame and feathers. Highly-bred Fowls and those more or less in-bred are the most subject to this 
disease ; but other causes also tend towards encouraging the complaint, such as damp and filthy roosting 
houses and runs. Recovery is exceedingly rare where the disease has a hold on the system ; but if suspected, 
and treated in the earlier stages by removal to dry and clean quarters, giving a half teaspoonful of Parrish's 
Chemical Food daily for a week, fair results may be anticipated. A Httle quinine added to the soft food daily 
will also be found of marked benefit. 
Cramps. — Chickens are the most frequent sufferers from this affection. They make a plaintive noise, 
step backward, sit down, twist their heads over, the toes often being twisted out of shape, and seem to suffer 
great pain. This is mostly caused by the birds roosting on damp or wet ground, and, if noticed at an early 
stage, may be checked by removing to a perfectly dry house, with sandy bottom. Sound, wholesome food 
should be given, with a tonic, such as the Douglas Mixture previously described, placed in the drinking 
water. This is distinct from leg weakness, treatment for which we explain later, 
