) r d 
A TREATMENT FOR 
WHITE DIARRHOEA. 
“Commercial Starter” 
for First Feeding. 
TN February, 1013, I 
-F took charge of the 
poultry department of 
broad Brook Farm, and 
for the first three 
months was accustom¬ 
ing myself to the work 
of a new position. There 
were about 2,000 pullets 
for egg production only: 
and 500 yearlings, the 
pick from the previous 
year’s 2.000 birds, used 
as breeders. About May 
1st I took personal 
charge of the young 
chicks and incubators 
and found them badly 
infected with bacillary 
w bite diarrhoea. The 
mortality previously had 
been very high, which I 
supposed was largel y 
due to this trouble. The 
chicks were d y ing in 
such large numbers, it 
was questionable wheth¬ 
er we would be able to 
till our laying houses in 
the Fall. I was in¬ 
formed there had been 
white diarrhoea in the 
plant the year before. 
After a talk with the 
superintendent, he wrote 
to three of the leading 
experiment stations on 
poultry. They advised 
having a State expert 
on white diarrhoea come 
down and go over the 
p 1 a n t. We requested 
him to* come down and 
advise us what it were 
best to do. 
EXPERT ADVICE.— 
lie arrived about May 
0th, and after looking 
over the baby chicks, 
and making a bacteri¬ 
ological examination of 
them and some hens, 
said the plant was badly 
infected with bacillary 
white diarrhoea (Bacil¬ 
lus pullorum), and that 
there was no cure. The 
State Expert advised us 
that the only way to get 
the plant free from 
white diarrhoea was to 
have a blood agglutina¬ 
tion test of all breeding 
stock, use eggs for breed¬ 
ing that were from hens 
that proved free of the 
disease, or sell all the 
stock and make a new 
start next season with 
eggs from a plant known 
to be free from the 
trouble. While he said 
there was no cure, he ad¬ 
vised us to use sulpho- 
carbolate compou n d 
with mercury, sulpho- 
carbolate 30 grai n s, 
mercuric one grain, and 
so try to reduce the 
high mortality and en¬ 
able us to raise the 2.000 
pullets. I state this to 
emphasize the serious¬ 
ness of the trouble. 
METHOD OF TREAT¬ 
MENT.—The method 
used was to make a 
stock solution, use it in 
the drinking water and 
in the wet mash, and 
squirt a pen dropper full 
down each chick’s throat 
as it was taken from 
the incubator. We tried 
this medicine on a num¬ 
ber of hatches, and 
found very little benefit 
from its use. Here, and 
where I had charge of 
poultry before, I always 
gave the baby chicks all 
the sour skimmed milk 
they would drink, keep¬ 
ing it always before 
them in open pans, also 
fresh water with per¬ 
manganate of potassium 
in it, in fountains. As 
sour skimmed milk has 
a 1 w a y s been a great 
help in r a i s i n g baby 
chicks, on account of its 
anti-putrefactive action 
in the intestines, I 
decide d to use sour 
skimmed milk, or still 
better, commercial start¬ 
er ( 6% to 7% lactic 
acid), on account of its 
higher percentage of 
lactic acid, in compari¬ 
son with the medicine. 
PREPARING SOUR 
M11 jK.—C o m m e r c i a 1 
starter is made by add¬ 
ing a goo d lactic fer¬ 
ment (which can be ob¬ 
tained from any dairy 
supply house) to a small 
quantity of sterilized 
skimmed or whole milk 
that has been cooled to 
a temperature of S5° F. 
after sterilizing, and let 
stand in a warm room 
(70° F.) until it has 
curdled; this takes from 
20 to 40 hours. As soon 
as it curdled it should 
be cooled down to 50° F. 
or lower; this prevents 
any further growth of 
