If a fowl dislocates its leg or its wing, the joint should be gently pushed back into place.
FROST BITE
A strain on the bird’s system
Symptoms. Combs and wattles are most liable to frost bite, particularly in breeds in which these parts are large.
Cause. Exposure to very low temperatures, especially if birds are suddenly turned out from warm quarters; dipping comb and wattles in water when the temperature is low.
Treatment. Prevent by keeping birds as warm as possible during winter, and do not allow them to go out early in the mornings in very cold weather. Drinking water should be provided in a vessel from which birds can drink without wetting their wattles. In a case of frost bite, thaw the affected parts by gently rubbing with vaseline and afterwards treat with a mixture of two grains of salicylic acid to one ounce of vaseline or lard.
GAPES
Serious in badly infested yards
Fig. 12.—GAPES
On left: Chicken affected with gapes. On right: a, male and female gape worms; b, gape worms in windpipe. (From Salmon.)
Symptoms. Frequent gaping and coughing; young chicks attacked, as a rule. Notice if any worms are coughed up by the chicken; if none can be found, but the gaping continues, put a stripped feather down the windpipe, as recommended under treatment, and see if any gape worms can be pulled up.
Cause. Small worms, red in color when engorged, which attach themselves to the mucous membrane of the windpipe. Affected birds cough up worms or ova, which infect the yard and sometimes the water supply. Earthworms taken from infested yards have been found to contain portions of gape worms, and may be one means of infecting poultry.