Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1881-06-02

birds recently dead. The origin of the dis
ease can generally be traced in country dis
tricts, where houses are considerable dis
lance apart, to recently acquired poultry
1t Is only in districts more thickIy peoped,
and then in exceptional instances. that the
germs are carried by wild birds or animals
Or insects.
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES FOR GROUNDS AL
READY INFECTED.
l. Is the disease choler. ?-Fowls fire.
quentIy die in considerable numbers from
diseases that are not contagious, and hence
1t Is a matter of primary importance to de-
eide as to the nature of the affection when
cholera is suspected. In my own expert
cnce | have found that this might be done
with comparative certainty by inspection OF
the excrements. With fowls the excreions
Of the kidneys are joined in the cloaca with
the undigested parts of the TODD, and both
solid and liquid eXcrement are consequent
ly voded together. They are not mixed to
any great extent, however, the parts ex-
creted by the kidneys is easily distinguish
ed as during health, it is OF pure white
color, while the bowel discharges are of va
rious hues. The kidney excretion will be
hereafter referred to as the a7utes, and it is
the only part which claims our attention.
After fowl takes the contagon into its
body, the first and only reliable symptom
is cooration of the urates. At first these
have only faint yellow tint, which rapidly
changes, however, changes into deep vel
low color; up to this time the bird shows
no other signs OF the disease, it's tempera-
ture is exchanged and its excrement OF a
normal consistency. In one or more days
after this yellow color appears the urates
are greatly increased in quantity and con-
stltute the whole or greater part of the
discharges and an obstinate diarrhea sets
in; in a few cases the urates now become
greenish, and exceptionally they are OF a
deep green color.
The only lesion seen in post-mortem ex-
an'inations that is likely to attract the at
tention of non-professional observers is the
enlarged liver, which is nearly constant
it may be of various shades of color. Be-
sides this the presence Of yellow urates in
the cloaca and ureters is a valuable sign and
is generally present
2. Sick birds must be destroyed THE ex-
crements of sick birds are the principal
means of spreading The contagion, and the
first step in stamping out the disease is,
consequently, to destroy all that are void
ing yellow urateS. Care should be taken to
make the distinction between the urates
and the bowel dejections, for the latter are
frequently of a yellow color in health but
a little observation will preclude any mis-
take of this kind. The killing should not
be by any method which allows the escape
Of blood, as this fluid is even more virulent
than the excrement; wrnging the neck is
quick and easy method of destroying the
life. Once killed the bodies are to be taken
beyond the limits of the poultry yard and
deeply buried.
1t it is decided to keep the sick birds till
they die or recover. they should be placed
in an inclosure by themselves, as far as pos
sible from the healthy ones, where they
Hdy uC CdlCu lOI WltllOuU GtlUoflnO. so LflaC
there will be no danger of carrying parti-
cles of the eXcrement on the boots and
spreading the infection. 5os
3. Healthy birds must be placed on disin-
fected grounds.-lt a piece of land is at
hand to which the sick birds have not had
access, and Which is consequently free from
the contagion, the healthy birds should be
penned upon it; but if all the land is infect
ed, then piece is to be selected and thor
oughly disintected with the solution NEIL
toned further on in this paper. The fowls
are to be restricted to this disiufected
ground for several months, or even year
or more. ii practicable. The drinking YES
sells and feeding troughs are to be new, or it |
used before. they must be soaked tor twelve
hours with the same solution before being
placed in the new inclosure.
d Observations to be continued to note
the first re-appearance of the disease
Some of the fowls, though we'll at the time
OF removal to disintected quarters, may be
N tAnt1 mi tkIII .,,,I A..