Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-03-06
n
POOlrRyvneWS
PREVENTION OF
WHITE D|ARRHOEA
AND OTHER DISEASES
Best Treatment For DeUastGt-
ing Ailment Among Young
Chicks
Colds, Roup, ETC., Are PreU-
alent at This Season of the
Year Also
BY MICHAEL *. BOYER.
Poultry Editor of the Farm journal

Cleanliness and disinfcction are
among the best preyentives of dis
eases among chickens. But some
ailments seem to be transmitted from
the mother hen, and such cases can
only bc treated in Il scientific manner
White diarrhca is one of the most
devastating of this class. and FOR n
time il bafflCd poultry experts. The
elimination of the stock affected Is the
surcSt method of preventing its spread.
But for colds, rOup and other dis
cases that chickens are subject to there
are well tricd-out treatments that can
he counted on 10 cure il the case is
taken i'm time and intelligently han
died. Tho following article is there
fore timely at this season.
Much of the sickness prevalent dur-
ing early Spring can be prevented by
absolute cleanliness and regular disin-
! feCtion of the premises. 1t should be
the rule to clean up the droppings
daily-if possible-and each and every
month give the entire interior of the
houses a good disinfecting A spray
pump is a very important implement
on a poultry farm. All this, coupled
with plenty of fresh air. and with
| houses so constructed that sunlight
can enter and dry up any moisture
that might be present. will do more
good than a ton of cures after the
! fowls are sick.
For disnfection there is nothing
more effective than coal tar products.
These are diluted in water and make
| an excellent spray.
Fowls that have been properly win
! tered will he in good, strong health in
Spring, but it is well to give them a
tonic. such as rusty iron placed in the
drinking water; or a tablespoonful of
! permanganate of potash solution to a
| pail of drinking water. This solution
! is made by adding an ounce of the
| potash TO a quart of water. Keep it
in a bottle. This bracing up will pre-
| vent many cases of colds incident to
! Spring. Sneezing. watery eyes, rat
| Ting in the throat and other symp-
/ toms of colds are apt to show them
selves in the months of February,
March and April in tlocks that are
overcrowded-the weather at this
season being very changeable, the
fowls alternately sweat" and chill.
especially at night when on the roost
In the brooding of early chicks care
must be taken not to overcrowd. for
it is a very small step from colds to
roup, and If the colds are not nipped
/ i'm the bud roup is pretty sure TO ap-
pear.
Remedies For Colds
My favorite remedies for colds are
permanganate of potash in the drink
nine pill each night for a week. The
| sick bird must he removed from the
rest of the flock and kept in a warm,
dry place and fed soft, nourishing
| food.
Roup or cholera very seldom at
tacks the fowls of the veteran pOul-
tryman, as he is constantly on the
watch. His fowls are not pestered to
death with lice. and he nips all all
ments in the bud.
OF late years a new trouble has
arisen, that for time baffled the
| poultrymen of the country, 1t is what
! is known as bacilliary white diarrhea
among chicks, especially those Matched
( by incubators.
This disease is due to a germ life
that is deposited in the yolk of the
/ egg. Scientists claim that this germ
! is conveyed in the ovaries of the hen,
and it is in the small yolks as they
] lie in the abdomen. These germs,
with the yolk, are absorbed into the
abdomen of the chick just prior to its
emerging from the shell.
! When a chick has white diarrhea ii
wants to be alone and takes no inter-
! est in what may be going on about it.
| come rough. The appetite is very
poor or entirely gone, and every
movement il makes seems to be a
great effort. Then follows the whit
/ ish discharge from the vent, which
! sometimes is of creamy nature, and
at other times ii is mixed with brown,
/ but in either case it is more or less
sticky or glairy. Quite frequently il
sticks to the down in sufficient guam
! tity to stop the bowels. The chick
seems to be in great pain, chirping or
/ peeping continually, and, when at
tempting to void the eXcreta, will give
/ a shrill cry. In the majority of cases
the chick has the appearance of be-
/ ing short backed" or big bellied."
/ While chicks often die with but lit
tie warning, and showing but few of
| the above symptoms, in most cases
! they linger for a long time. showing
| all the symptoms mentioned above.
Disease Attacks Young
| White diarrhea does its deadly work
with chicks a month old or less. If the
disease is not fatal at that age, the
patient is apt TO live and mature. and,
| if a pullet, will carry the disease in
it's eggs to future generations. This