April 1, 1908 
THE AUSTRALIAN: GARDENER. 
LS CS 
The Poultty Yard. 
Diseases of Fowls. 
(Continued from last issue). 
TUBERCULOSIS 
Observations during the past year have 
demonstrated that turberculosis is dis- 
tributed broadly enough to demand the 
serious attention of poultry-men. The 
disease exists extensively among many 
large poultry ranches, but seldom kills 
enough fowls at any one time to excite 
the alarm of the owner. Its existence in a 
flock constitutes a steady drain, but it 
fails to attract much attention, because 
the losses are so evenly distributed in 
point of time. So far, tuberculosis has 
been observed in grown fowls only. It 
does not appear to occur in young chicks, 
In the first outbreak of the disease brought 
to notice, the owner reported a loss of 
about 250 fowls during a year out of a 
flock of 1,400. He had made a large 
number of post mortem examinations, and 
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_ as the alterations occurring in the disease 
are readily recognized, the observations 
have some interest. 
Symptoms.—There seems to be no 
noticeable symptom until the disease 
has progressed far enough to cause ema- 
ciation and weakness. In such cases the 
breast muscles are found to be wasted 
away, and the lisht weight is very notice- 
able. In the last stages of sickness the 
affected bird crouches, apparently from 
weakness The pale comb, the ruffled 
feathers, unnatural gait, and general atti- 
tude are features that attract attention 
to the victims of the disease. 
A very small percentage of affected 
fowls show tuberculous nodules on the 
skin of various portions of the body. It 
may consist cf single spherical masses 
each surrounding the root of a feather, 
or more often consist of large masses. 
These nodules, when occurring on the 
head, should not be confused with the 
swellings that appevr on the head in ad- 
vanced cases of roup (swell head), nor 
with the wart-like lumps found on the 
head in chicken-pox 
Facts concerning the length of time 
that fowls usually live when infected have 
not yet been secured. One hen, inocu- 
lated by injecting crushed tuberculous 
liver into the abdomival cavity, died in 
six weeks of generalised tuberculosis. 
In most cases the liver is affected, It 
is found enlarged, and studded’ through: 
out with yellowish-white nodules: of a: 
more or less cheesy consistency, varying 
greatly in size and» number in’ different: 
cases, 
The. nodules:are very readily separated” 
from: the surrounding’ tissue: Poultry- 
men are: familiar:with: the condition, and: 
refer to.it.as“liver complaint’ or “spotted: 
liver.” The» spleen;. in» health a: small 
15 
rounded purple organ about half an inch- 
in’ diameter, is frequently affected with 
tuberculosis, and in consequence greatly 
enlarged. Rounded masses of varying 
size may be found in the walls of any 
part of the intestines. The mesentery,. 
the thin membrane to the border of which 
the intestine is attached, is occasionally 
dotted with nodular masses. The lungs. 
are very rarely affected. Alterations of 
the bones, joints, or other organs occur 
more rarely, and are not so readily recog- 
nised as the changes described. Most 
hens badly affected with turberculosis are- 
very lean, but exceptions have been ob- 
served. Tuberculosis is an infectious 
disease caused by organisms, known as 
tubercle bacteria, which gain entrance to 
certain organs of the body and multiply 
there. The nodular .rowths (tubercies) 
so constantly found in tuberculosis are 
caused by the presence of these bacteria 
in tho affected regions. The spread of 
tuberculosis from one fowl to another 
occurs only when conditions permit the 
transfer of the live tubercle bacteria more 
or less directly from the diseased to the 
healthy. The presence of tubercular 
growths in the walls of the intestine and 
in the liver suggests that the tubercle 
bacteria enter the body with the food. 
The rarity with which tuberculosis occurs 
in the lungs of fowls would indicate that 
infection by inhalation of tubercle 
bacteria occurs rarely, if at all. 
An examination of the tubercular 
growths located along the walls of the 
intestine leads to the conclusion that the 
tubercle bacteria are liberated from the 
body along with the droppings A micro- 
scopic examination of the contents of the 
intestine at such points shows that enor- 
mous numbers of tubercle bacteria are 
present. The conclusion that they are 
liberated through the intestine is certain. 
The droppings of fowls affected must, 
therefore, be regarded as an important 
factor in the spread of the disease. 
No evidence is to hand to indicate that 
tuberculosis is spread through the egg. 
Considerable attention has been paid to 
the ailments causing the death of young 
chickens, but no tuberculosis has. been 
discovered among them, The location in 
which the droppings are. deposited bears 
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