The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1894-06-07
Gapes in Chickens.
Home and Farm.l


f. D. P, Powell, Texas, writes to
Home and Farm as follows:
Glow is it possible for anything eaten
or swallowed to get into the windpipe
and produce worms? think an egg is
laid upon uose Or in nostril of small
chickens by a fly, the eggs hatch worm
that goes into windpipe, grows and
strangles the chickens, unless relieved by
taking horse hair and twisting it out.
have seen my daughter get from one to
six different sized red worms out this
way and relieve the chickens. Coal oil
or anything strong enough to kill worms
put in the windpipe will kill young chick
ems. Put little fish oil Or tar on nose
OF young chicks to keep fly off and pre-
vent gapes. What will kill root and
branch pecan trees Cut one down or
deaden and twenty comes. You kill the
trees but the roots sprOut and continue
to spread and grow in one year as large
as your arm and ten feet high. Some
say deaden the tree at certain stage of
moon in May or August, but | have
never been able to learn that exact time.
Others say bore a hole in the tree and
put in saltpetre or coal oil and it will kill
both roots and branch. This | have
never tried, as | have no confidence in
it. They are the hardest tree on earth
to kill, very troublesome and are taking
some of our best lands. Can any one
give me sure and easy way to get clear
OF them?
We hope some of our readers will
give the information sought regarding
the pecan pfoblem-we can not. The
history of the insect that gives rise to
gapes in chickens is now pretty well
made out. 1t is known to scientists as
sclerostoma syngamus. Mr.. A. NJ.
Halstead, Rye, n. Y, gives his expe-
rience in dealing with this enemy of
| young poultry thus . A number Of
years ago, in examining some young
| chicks just taken from the nest, |
noticed on their heads some large in
sects. l found the head of the insect
| was imbedded in the skin of the chicks
head, and so deeply that, when pulled
them off, the chicks would cry out in
pain. [ have found from two to a
| dozen on a single chicken. l took the
| pains to pick all these insects off that
brood, and examined them every few
days until six weeks or more old, re-
moving what ticks wade their appear
ance after the first operation. l did
not follow it up in other hroods, re-
moving these more as an experiment
| to see what would follow. AS the
! season advanced, our chickens COM
| menced to die off with the gapes. Some
| entire broods died; others in part, but
Of this brood 1 did not lose one chick.
The next season l resolved to try it
on larger scale, but found the pick
ing off tedious operation. I tried
application of cold grease to the head
but it would not answer. Then tried
| mercurial ointment and killed good
many of the little chicks; then, with
| a like result, kerosene oil next melted
lard, and was partially successful with
that. Still had few cases among
those anointed. Finally compounded
an ointment of mercurial ointment,
one ounce; pure lard, one ounce; flour
! OF sulphur, one-half ounce; crude petro-
leum, one-half ounce. This is applied
to the head of the chick in melted OF
| fluid state and now for six years l
| have not lost a chicken when the ONT
ment has been applied at the time of
taking chickens from the nest. It is
| well known that on all animals that do
not perspire the parasites that infest
the body make their way to the nostrils
| to drink. And in some cases-sheep
Tor one, it is stated-the parasite either
penetrates the nostrils and there de-
| posts its egg, or deposits it at the
| opening of the nostril and it is con-
veyed back by natural causes. This
and causes disease. In the chicken
the worm follows the nostril back until
| 1t reaches the opening Of the trachea,
and there makes a Judgment; as they
grow they gradually fill the opening
and this produce the gasping for breath
consequent upon partial sutf'ocation,
| which is called the gapes. It seems
| possible that the disease is transmitted
the same as the bot-tly the tracheal-
| worm, on the death Of the chicken,
finding its way into the earth and re-
producing itself in the form of the tick,
or, perhaps, fly
Another authority on such subjects,
Mr.. j. J. Black, says of all this Il
| contend that the worm is caused by
the larger species of the louise that lay
their young in the chickens mouth.
Like the maggot from the blow-fy,
that begins at once to crawl. so the
worm finds its way into the opening
OF the chickens windpipe. One thing
l know, if You can keep lice off the
small chickens you will have no gapes."