Evening star., 1914-11-22
Questions and Answers.

Question-Several of my hens have
developed swellings about the head
near the eyes. The swellings feel hot
to the touch. and they cause the hens
to become blind, SO that they are un-
able to see to eat. What is the matter
with them, and how shall I treat them?
Answer-The hens have well develop
ed cases of roup. The hrst thing to do
Is to remove all affected birds from
the remainder Of the flock and place
them in warm, dry, well ventilated
quarters free from drafts. Anttseptic
solutions should be applied to the af.
fected parts. With a sharp-pointed
penknife cut a small slit in the swollen
part-usually just below the eye-and
remove the kernel Of yellow. cheesy
substance that will be found. The
formation of this mass is the cause of
the blindness. Sometimes 1t attains the
size Of a hickory nut, presses against
the eyeball until blindness results. or
even, in extreme cases. causes such
pressure that the bones OF the head
give way. Make a solution as follows:
Boric acid. one ounce; water. one quart.
Or, permanganate of potassium, one
dram: water. one quart. Or. boric acid.
one and one-quarter ounces; borate of
soda. one-haH ounce; water, one quart.
water. three ounces. 1t has been recon-
mended that the birds head be plunged
into the mixture and held there few
seconds, but not long enough to cause
suffocation. The best method, how
ever. is to use a good spraying ap-
paratus: lacking this, a small syringe,
an oil can, or even medicine dropper,
may be used with good results. The
main thing is to apply the antiseptic
solution where it is needed. The treat
ment must be continued until the birds
have completely recovered, after which
the house in which they have been
quarantined must be thoroughly disin-
fected before other birds are permitted
to use it.
Question: notice that a number OF
my fowls seem to have colds. They
sneeze and shuttle: in fact, I have call
ed the trouble "sniffies." as this ex-
presses 1t. Please advise me.
Answer-This is evidently the begin
ming of roup in the flock. and the birds
that are "sniffiing" are Just coming
down with the disease. Isolate all
fowls exhibiting the symptoms you de-
scribe and keep them away from the
birds that are as yet unaffected. Catch
each fowl and wash its head and nos
trils with lukewarm water in which
teaspoonful of table salt has been dis
solved to each quart. Then use one OF
Use permanganate of potash in the
drinking water given to all of the
fowls, sick or well. AS much of the
permanganate as can be picked up on
a =
about the right proportion. The water
shouIt be deep claret red color. Pre-
vention is always better than cure.
however, and the utmost care should be
taken to prevent an outbreak of roup
in the flock. Birds that are bought
from other breeders should be quaran
tined for a week or ten days before
they are placed with the flock, and the
same kind of quarantine should be
adopted in the case of birds that have
hill V
have been in the same show. Roup is
a highly contagious disease; 1t is really
Il contagious catarrh. closely akin to
the more malignant forms of inf1u-
enza in the larger animals and in man.
AS a matter of fact, 1t is cheaper and
safer to kill birds that have contracted
the disease and to burn the carcasses
or bury them deeply than it is to try
to doctor the SICK fowls. BIRDS that
have apparently made complete recov-
cry frequently develop chronic roup
and in this condition spread the in
fection for months after they appear
to be wholly cured.
Ouestion-At what age should white
Leghorn pullets begin to lay? l have
a lot of pullets that were hatchel last
March. They are we'll grown, in good
condition, but they have not begun to
lay.
hatched early last March should have
begun laying in October. Such pullets,
if they were pushed right along and
not stunted In any way. should begin
laying at six months. Many records
exist of pullets that laid their first
egg at less than six months; in fact.
there are many instances of pullets
laying before they were five months
old This is unusual, however. and not
to be taken as a standard. Perhaps you
are not feeding your white Leghorns
heavily enough. Try giving them an
ounce and half each Of mixed grains
fed at night, using three parts Of oats.
three of wheat. three of rye or barley.
and one of corn. Feed dry mash made