Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-05-30


chick.
Many of the diseased chicks chirp
or peep almost constantly, and when
attempting to void the excrement they
may give utterance to a shrill cry, as
If the efforts brought on paroxysms
Of pain. As death approaches the
breathing becomes labored and the
abdomen heaVes with each breath.
often the disease is of a more chron-
ic type and has a longer course. The
young birds with diarrhea gradually
waste away. become weaker and more
emaciated until their legs are scarce
ly able to support their bodies. They
try to brace themselves by standing
with the legs apart or they rest
against a wall or other object for
support Many of them have the
peculiar form of body called short
backed" which results from the dis
tention of the abdomen and its pro-
lection backward, which makes the
back appear too short for the body.
Toward the last the strength is com
pletely exhausted, and the chick sits
constantly or lies on the side with
outstretched wings until it dies
The most prominent and charac-
teristic symptoms in nearly all cases
are the white diarrheal discharges
affected birds. The losses vary from
so TO so per cent. of the chicks
hatched. Sometimes it is Impossible
to raise any of them.
Medical Treatment Impracticable
The medical treatment of affected
chicks is impracticable, as 1t Is too
expensive and has very little effect
on the course of the disease. Inc
birds may be given sour milk or
buttermilk to drink, or, lacking this,
fifteen grains of powdered catechu
may be added to gallon of drinking
water.
The preventive measures should be-
Gin with the eggs used for Matching
If these are purchased they should
only be accepted from flocks known
to be healthy, and the eggs of which
give rise to healthy chicks. If this
assurance cannot be obtained, 1t is
better to produce the eggs needed
for Matching on the home farm and
from hens that are known to be free
from infection.
Having obtained the eggs, they
should be kept until ready for in
cubation in a dry, moderately cool
place, so spread out that the air can
over them and carry away
the moisture which they exhale. They
should not be placed in hay, straw,
chaff, or other substance liable to
become musty or moldy. Before put
ting them into the incubator or UNI
der the hen they should be wiped
with a cloth wet in grain alcohol of
seventy to eighty per cent. strength
to remove any germs that might be
on the surface of the shell. The hens
used for Matching should be free from
all infection and the incubator should
Nv 4 1,r ole how hoU Ia i
been any sick chicks in it, it should
be disinfected by washing with COM
pound solution of cresol Give per
cent. solution). The same precau
tions should be adopted in regard to
the brooder.
If a Matching is done by hen the
brood should be put upon fresh
ground, and any chicks which sicken
should be Immediately removed and
isolated or killed By removing fire. !
quently to fresh ground or by fire.
quent distinction the disease may
be limited to few indivi-
duals.
If the Matching is done in an incu-
bator and there is reason to suspect
that the disease may develop. it is
we'll to divide the trays and the
breeders by light partitions SO that
not more than four or six chicks
will be in one lot and exposed to each
other If white diarrhea appears in
any of these lots, such lots may
be removed and the places which
they have occupied may be disin-
fected. After four or five days the
partitions may be removed and the
healthy lot of chicks put together.
In this way the greater part of the
chicks are protected against the
common form of the disease.
Cause of Brooder Pneumonia.
Brooder pneumonia is an inflam-
nation of the lungs caused by the
growth of the aspergillus fungus in
the smaller air tubes and in the long
tissue. It is believed that it may oc-
cur from infection carried within the
egg. Whether this infection is de-
rived from the hen or from the ma
terial in which the eggs have been
packed is not definitely known, but
the latter method of infection is the
more probable. The fact of the
lungs being the principal seat of the