Poultry diseases / Causes, symptoms and treatment, with notes on post-mortem examinations

by E. J. Wortley

Soil. The most convenient of the following methods should be adopted:

(1) Spray surface with 5% creolin.

(2) Spread straw over ground and set fire to it.

(3) Fork over and lime. This method is not sufficient if serious contamination is suspected.

CHAPTER II
SUMMARY OF EXTERNAL SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT

Disease	External Symptoms	Treatment
1. Diseases affecting head andrespiratory organs:
Air under skin (see [Emphysema]).
Apoplexy	Staggering gait and appearances of a sudden fit	Keep fowl quiet; put in a dark place;give Epsom salts.
Aspergillosis	Loss of weight	Avoid musty grain and straw.
Brooder pneumonia	Affects chickens; whitish diarrhea; many deaths	No cure; prevent by strict sanitary methods.
Bronchitis (croup)	Rattling in throat	Paint throat with iodine.
Canker (see [Roup]).
Catarrh, contagious (see [Roup]).
Chicken pox	Scabby, wart-like growths on head and comb	Gently scrape off scab and paint withiodine.
Cold (catarrh)	Running at nose and eyes	Isolate and syringe nostrils with 2% carbolic acid.
Congestion of lungs (see [Pneumonia]).
Conjunctivitis—sore eyes (see [Roup]).
Diphtheria (diphtheritic roup)	Yellowish patches on throatfollowing an attack of roup	Isolate; paint patches with hydrogenperoxide or iodine; best to kill fowl.
Emphysema	Skin puffed out	Puncture with needle.
Epilepsy	Bird has fit	If worms are believed to be the causegive santonin.
Favus	Scurfy patches on comb and upperportion of neck	Anoint with sulphur ointment or iodine.
Frost bite	Frozen wattles	Rub with vaseline.
Influenza—grippe (see [Cold]).
Roup	Nostrils caked with offensive smelling exudate	Isolate; syringe nostrils with 5% carbolic acid;best to kill fowl with bad attack.
Pip	Hardened scale on tip of tongue	Soften and remove.
Pneumonia	Great difficulty in breathing	Paint shoulders above lungs withiodine; generally incurable.
Sore head (See [Chicken pox]).
Vertigo (see [Epilepsy]).
White comb (see Favus).
2. Diseases affecting organs of
digestion and reproduction:
Blackhead of turkeys	Drooping wings; dullness; many deaths	Strict sanitary measures; difficult to control.
Cancer (see Liver diseases and Ovary diseases).
Catarrh of crop	Distended crop with offensive liquid	Empty crop; diet sparingly.
Catarrh of stomach (see Gastritis).
Cholera	Yellow feces; bad diarrhea; sudden death of several birds	No cure known; kill fowl and burnbody; take every precaution to prevent spread.
Cloacitis	Offensive discharges from cloaca	Syringe out cloaca.
Constipation	Unsuccessful efforts to evacuate	Give castor oil; supply green food andmake bird scratch for grain.
Coccidiosis of adult fowls	Loss of weight, diarrhea	No remedies.
Coccidiosis of chickens (see White diarrhea).
Coccidiosis of turkeys (see Blackhead).
Crop-bound	Distended crop	Pour sweet oil down throat and kneadcrop, holding fowl’s head down; or slit crop and remove food.
Diarrhea	Frequent passing of liquid excreta; soiled vent	Isolate for fear of epidemics; in badcases give 6 to 10 drops chlorodyne.
Dropsy	Distention of abdomen	Kill bird or puncture abdomen.
Dysentery	Bad form of diarrhea distinguished byblood in the excreta	Treat as for bad cases of diarrhea.
Egg-bound	Unsuccessful efforts to lay	Remove egg.
Enteritis (see Diarrhea).
Fatty degeneration	Sudden death; excessively fat	Change diet of others.
Fowl typhoid (see Cholera).
Gastritis	Dullness; loss of appetite	Empty stomach; give castor oil andeasily digested food.
Impaction of crop (see Crop-bound).
Indigestion	Difficult to diagnose	Change diet.
Jaundice	Yellowish comb	One grain of calomel and green food.
Leukemia (see Cholera).
Liver diseases	Difficult to diagnose	Change diet.
Ovary diseases	Irregularity in egg production	No remedies.
Oviduct diseases	Prolapse of oviduct	Vaseline and replace.
Peritonitis	Fever; pain in abdomen	Aconite and opium.
Pyæmia	No external symptoms	No remedy.
Soft crop	Distended and soft crop	Empty crop; diet sparingly.
Tuberculosis	Wasting away; lameness	Kill affected birds; disinfect poultryhouses, etc.
White diarrhea of chickens	Dullness; many deaths; whitish diarrhea	Proper feeding; thorough disinfection;difficult to control.
3. Diseases affecting legs and feet:
Bumblefoot	Swelling on pad of foot	Lance, if bad; paint with iodine;lower perches.
Cramp	Difficulty in standing straight	Hold legs in warm water; rub withembrocation; keep bird in dry place.
Fractures	Broken shank or wing	Splints.
Gout	Pain in joints of legs and difficulty instanding	Difficult to cure; rub joints with embrocation.
Leg weakness	Unsteady walk	Select breeders.
Rheumatism	Stiffness in joints; difficult to distinguishfrom cramp and gout	Rub legs with embrocation; keep bird in dry place.
4. Parasites:
Fleas	On hen and in nest straw	Dust with insect powder; burn infested straw.
Gape worms	Gaping of chicks and effort to dislodge something in throat or windpipe	Extract by pushing feather moistenedwith turpentine down windpipe.
Lice	Unthrifty condition of birds; desertion of nests by setting hens	Dust fowl with insect powder; greasehead and neck of chickens; spray woodwork.
Maggots	Running wound	Remove maggots; treat with creolin or carbolic acid.
Mites (air sac)	In bad cases, suffocation	Difficult to treat.
Mites (depluming)	Bare patches	Sulphur ointment.
Mites (red)	Examine roosts at night	Kerosene.
Scabies (see Mites, depluming).
Scaly leg	Uneven crusts on legs	Scrub with soap and water; keroseneoil or sulphur ointment.
Ticks	Birds suffering from fever; ticksfound on the body, especially at night	Remove ticks from fowl; sprayperches, etc., with 5% creolin.
Worms	Loss of weight; segments of worms in excreta	Give 3 to 5 grains santonin, followedby 2 teaspoonfuls castor oil.
5. Miscellaneous:
Abscesses	Swelling with pus	Lance and dress with healing oil.
Anæmia	Loss of weight and unthrifty condition	Search for cause and treat.
Breakdown	Enlarged and pendulent abdomen	No satisfactory treatment.
Egg-eating	Remains of eggs	Trap nests.
Feather-eating	Injured plumage	Isolation of culprit.
Going light (see Anæmia).
Heart, diseases of	No external symptoms	No treatment possible.
Limber-neck	Muscles of neck unable to support head	Try purgative to correct cause.
Kidney diseases	No external symptoms except in gout	No treatment except for gout.
Molting	Unthrifty condition of bird	Feed up and give tonic.
Poisoning	Evidence of pain and depression	Give milk, white of egg and a stimulant.

CHAPTER III
Diseases of Poultry Other Than Fowls

All classes of domestic poultry are to a great extent subject to the same diseases that affect the common fowl. The symptoms of such diseases are for the most part similar to those noticed when fowls are affected, and treatment must be on the same lines. In the management of turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowls and pigeons, the strictest sanitary measures must be enforced, as in the rearing of fowls.

Owing to its importance, blackhead of turkeys is dealt with separately. It is one of the most serious of poultry diseases and causes heavy losses to turkey rearers. Careful study should be made of the reports of the recent investigations at the Rhode Island Experiment Station.

Severe epidemics of diarrhea or cholera occur among all classes of poultry. Geese are subject to a form of cholera that appears to be different from any kind that attacks fowls. Water fowl are not commonly infested with external parasites. Pigeons, on the other hand, are worried by fleas and ticks as well as mites. Smallpox of pigeons is similar to chicken pox of fowls, but pustular swellings may be found on the rump and the cloaca of the pigeon as well as on the head. The scaly leg mite attacks turkeys and the gape worm is sometimes a serious pest of poults. Below is given a list of some of the diseases of turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowls and pigeons: