90 
The Illustrated Book ol Pigeons. 
Sometimes canker will come out at the side of the eye-wattle, or at the top or back of the 
skull. In such cases it is best to let it “come to a ‘head” and break out of itself, when it almost 
always comes out externally in one hard solid mass, which finally separates, after which the bird 
recovers, and is troubled no more. If it be the eye-wattle that is affected, frequent bathing with 
warm water will hasten this natural process, but it should not be lanced as long as there appears 
any hope of its breaking out on the surface of its own accord. Such an operation frequently 
causes it to assume a more violent form, and spread all over the skull ; whereas, if left alone, this 
form of canker rarely fails to make a good cure of itself. 
Sometimes young Carriers suffer from canker in the mouth while in the nest-pan, from either 
a diseased state of their parents, or from these latter becoming disordered in their crops through 
unwholesome food or water. In such cases the best plan is to tie a piece of sponge on the end of 
a stick, and sponge the mouth of each affected bird with a strong solution of salt and water. Some 
use alum, but we prefer the salt. If not too far gone, three or four applications of this kind will 
generally stop this form of canker, and is in itself good for the birds besides. 
The worst form of canker in pigeons is what has received of late the name of “ small-pox,” 
owing probably in part to the time which elapses before the terrible nature of the malady is fully 
apparent, and partly to its virulent and contagious character. It seems to occur most frequently 
just before the bird goes into moult, from which we incline to the opinion that the primary cause 
is a stagnation of the blood. This is to some extent confirmed by the fact that birds are also 
frequently known to develop it when confined, and also after removal to a new place, where they 
are fed upon different food to that they have been accustomed to previously. Foul water, or a bath 
allowed to remain stagnant till it is almost putrid, will also cause it, and so will great overcrowding. 
The first symptom is a red pimple upon the edge of the eye-wattle, or sometimes on the beak- 
wattle, which resembles a small red wart. This gradually swells, and becomes a tumour filled 
with matter in a nearly solid form, which if opened appears full of roots, resembling sinews, but with 
little pus or other fluid matter. This terrible disease is the most infectious of all we are acquainted 
with ; and should a bird affected with it fight with a healthy one, or even perch beside it, it is 
almost certainly communicated, which will often also occur if the healthy bird be placed in an 
infected pen, unless the latter has been purified from the contagion. If allowed to run its course, 
the whole wattle becomes affected and swollen to a frightful extent ; but this should never be the 
case, and if taken in time, it can almost certainly be cured. 
Directly the first pimple is seen, the bird should be placed in a pen alone, the pen being 
well sprinkled with Condy’s Red Fluid, which if repeated daily will prevent any infection being 
communicated by the pen to other birds. The part affected is first to be cut off, and liberally, so 
that every particle of diseased structure be removed, and the cut show only healthy growth. The 
wound should then be well washed with the Condy’s Fluid, and afterwards thoroughly rubbed all 
over with lunar caustic, for which a “ caustic pencil” is best. Should another place break out after 
the first has been thus treated, which is very possible, apply the same treatment immediately. After 
the operation, give the bird two capsules of castor oil, and entirely change its food for a while. 
This treatment we are happy to say scarcely ever fails, though we lost terribly by the disease until 
we had discovered it. It is the only treatment we have found to have the slightest effect ; but we 
can say positively that treated in this way it may be mastered with ease and certainty, and we 
have by this method saved at least some hundreds of cases. 
Should the disease break out, as it sometimes will, inside the mouth, it is to be treated in the 
same way, first bandaging the bird, and placing on the upper mandible a small but thick ring of 
india-rubber to keep the mouth open, while the scissors or lance are used to cut off the infected 
