Common Diseases of Farm Animals Part 34

Adult fowls and turkeys may act as carriers of the germ, and the young turkeys become infected at an early period.

_The symptoms_ are diminished or lost appet.i.te, dulness, drooped wings, diarrhoea, weakness and death. When the disease becomes well advanced, the head and comb become dark.

_The course of the disease_ is from a few weeks to three months. Very few of the young turkeys survive.

_The treatment_ is almost entirely preventive. The same precautionary measures for the prevention of the introduction of disease into the flock, recommended in other infectious diseases, should be practised. Turkeys that survive should be disposed of. As chickens may harbor the disease-producing germs, we should not attempt to raise turkeys in the same quarters with them. Eggs should be obtained from disease-free flocks. Wiping the eggs with a cloth wet with fifty per cent alcohol may be practised. The same recommendations regarding the cleaning and disinfecting of the quarters described in the treatment of fowl cholera should be practised.

If an outbreak of the disease occurs in the flock all of the sick birds should be killed, and their carca.s.ses cremated. Moving the flock to fresh runs and the administration of intestinal antiseptics are the only effective lines of treatment.

AVIAN TUBERCULOSIS.--Tuberculosis of poultry is a serious disease in some countries. Poultry usually contract tuberculosis by contact with a tubercular bird, and not from other domestic animals and man.

_The symptoms_ are of a general character, such as emaciation, weakness, wasting of muscles and lameness. Tubercular growths may appear on the surface of the body.

If we suspect the presence of the disease, it is advisable to kill one of the sick birds and make a careful examination. The finding of yellowish, white, cheesy nodules or ma.s.ses in the liver, spleen, intestines and mesenteries is strong evidence of tuberculosis. A bacteriological examination of the tissues may be necessary in order to confirm the diagnosis.

The same _methods of treatment_ as recommended in tuberculosis of other domestic animals may be used in eliminating the disease from the premises and flock. This consists in killing and cremating all birds showing visible symptoms, moving the apparently healthy portion of the flock to new quarters and wiping the eggs with alcohol. The old quarters should be cleaned, disinfected, and then allowed to stand empty for several months, when we should again spray with a disinfectant, and scatter lime over the runs. If the cleaning and disinfecting have been thorough, we may safely turn young or healthy birds into the old quarters. All possible precautions against carrying the infection to the healthy flock must be observed.

QUESTIONS

1. Give the cause and treatment for fowl cholera.

2. What diseases resemble fowl cholera? Give the treatment.

3. Give the symptoms and treatment for roup.

4. Give the treatment for "blackhead."

5. Give the treatment for Avian tuberculosis.

REFERENCE BOOKS

Pathology and Therapeutics of the Diseases of Domestic Animals, Vol. I-II, Hutyra and Marek.

Veterinary Medicine, Vol. I-V, Law.

General Therapeutics for Veterinarians, Frohner.

Prevention and Treatment of the Diseases of Domestic Animals, Winslow.

Age of the Domestic Animals, Huidekoper.

Veterinary Materia Medica and Therapeutics, Winslow.

Veterinary Anatomy, Sisson.

Chauveau's Comparative Anatomy of Domestic Animals.

Manual of Veterinary Physiology, Smith.

Annual Reports of Bureau of Animal Industry, from 1902 to 1911.