and a bacillus have been proved by different investigators to cause very similar forms of white diarrhea. A distinct form of white diarrhea, known as brooder pneumonia, is described on page 35. Treatment. This disease is a very difficult one to control. Incubators and brooders should be thoroughly disinfected. Special care should be taken in the feeding during the first few weeks. Chickens should not be overfed. The feeding of dry bran is recommended, as it tends to keep the bowels in a healthy, active condition. In the form of white diarrhea due to a bacillus, suspicion rests on the hen and the egg as sources of infection. When the disease becomes serious, and general sanitation and proper care of chickens do not control it, the advisability of obtaining the eggs for hatching from a poultry farm free of white diarrhea should be considered. WORMS Intestinal parasites that occasionally become serious Symptoms. General debility; worms or segments of worms; seen in the droppings. If there is doubt as to whether a flock is suffering from worms, give a suspected bird a strong purgative and keep it up so that the feces may be examined for worms. If doubt still exists, the suspected bird should be killed and a post-mortem examina tion made. Cut the intestines open lengthways (see Fig. 34) with a small pair of scissors FIG. 27.-WORMS IN INTESTINAL TRACT OF FOWL (After Bradshaw. From Pearl, Surface & Curtis.) and wash them out with water so as to detect the smaller worms, and the tapeworms attached to the lining of the intestines. Cause. Two classes of worms are commonly parasitic on fowls-round worms (see Fig. 27) and tapeworms. There are generally a few specimens of worms in the intestines of fowls; but only when the num bers are large do worms affect the health of the fowl. Treatment. Every bird suspected of having worms may be tested with a purgative as suggested above. Or, if it is established that several birds in a flock are suffering from worms, all in poor condition, without any cause being apparent, should be dosed with santonin-three to five grains in the morning before any food has been picked up. After about two hours give a purgative of two teaspoonfuls of castor oil and soon after let the fowl have its morning food. As important as dosing the fowls, is disinfecting the feed troughs, the water vessels, and the soil of the runs in order to prevent re-infection. Nodular tæniasis. Small nodules on the intestines, resembling the nodules in tuberculosis, are sometimes caused by tapeworms. The name "nodular tæniasis" has been given to this disease. |