Part 33

The three grand requisites in a poultry house are _cleanliness_, _dryness_, and _warmth_. A simple arrangement for this purpose is a shed built against the gable of the house, opposite to the part warmed by the kitchen fire, in which are placed cross-bars for roosting, with boxes for laying in, or quantities of fresh straw. This should always have an opening, to allow the poultry-house to be cleansed out, at least once a week. Fowls will never thrive long amidst uncleanliness; and even with the utmost care a place where they have been long kept becomes tainted, as it is called; the surface of the ground becomes saturated with their _exuriæ_, and is therefore no longer conducive to health.

To avoid this effect, some persons in the country frequently change the sites of their poultry-houses, to obtain fresh ground; while others, who cannot thus change, purify the houses by fumigations of blazing pitch, by washing with hot lime water, and by strewing large quantities of pure sand both within and without. Washing the floor every week is a necessity; for which purpose it is advantageous to have the house paved either with stones, bricks, or tiles. A good flooring, however, and cheaper than either of these, may be formed by using a composition of lime and smithy ashes, together with the riddlings of common kitchen ashes; these, having been all finely broken, must be mixed together with water, put on the floor with a mason's trowel, and nicely smoothed on the surface. If this is put on a floor which is in a tolerably dry situation, and allowed to harden before being used, it will become nearly as solid and compact as stone, and is almost as durable.

The inside of the laying-boxes should be frequently washed with hot lime water, to free them from vermin, which greatly torment the sitting hens. For the same purpose, poultry should always have a heap of dry sand, or fine ashes, laid under some covered place or thick tree near their yard, in which they may dust themselves; this being their means of ridding themselves of the vermin with which they are annoyed.

In every establishment for poultry-rearing, there ought to be some separate crib or cribs, into which to remove fowl when laboring under disease; for, not only are many of the diseases to which poultry are liable highly contagious, but the sick birds are also regarded with dislike by such as are in health; and the latter will, generally, attack and maltreat them, aggravating, at least, their sufferings, if not actually depriving them of life. The moment, therefore, that a bird is perceived to droop, or appears pining, it should be removed to one of these infirmaries.

Separate pens are also necessary, to avoid quarrelling among some of the highly-blooded birds, more particularly the game fowl. They are also necessary when different varieties are kept, in order to avoid improper or undesirable commixture from accidental crossing. These lodgings may be most readily constructed in rows, parallel to each other; the partitions may be formed of lattice-work, being thus rather ornamental, and the cost of erection but trifling. Each of these lodgings should be divided into two compartments, one somewhat larger than the other; one to be close and warm, for the sleeping-room; and the other, a large one, airy and open, that the birds may enjoy themselves in the daytime. Both must be kept particularly dry and clean, and be well protected from the weather.

A _hen-ladder_ is an indispensable piece of furniture, though frequently absent. This is a sort of ascending scale of perches, one a little higher than the other; not exactly above its predecessor, but somewhat in advance. By neglecting the use of this very simple contrivance, many valuable fowls may be lost or severely injured, by attempting to fly down from their roost--an attempt from succeeding in which the birds are incapacitated, in consequence of the bulk of their body preponderating over the power of their wings.

Some people allow their fowl to roost abroad all night, in all weathers, in trees, or upon fences near the poultry-house. This is a slovenly mode of keeping even the humblest live stock; it offers a temptation to thieves, and the health of the fowls cannot be improved by their being soaked all night long in drenching rain, or having their feet frozen to the branches or rails. There is no difficulty in accustoming any sort of poultry, except the pea fowl, to regular housing at night.

It is better that turkeys should not roost in the same house with the domestic fowl, as they are apt to be cross to sitting and laying hens.

No poultry-house is what it ought to be, it may be suggested, in conclusion, unless it is in such a state as to afford a lady, without offending her sense of decent propriety, a respectable shelter on a showery day.

DISEASES AND THEIR REMEDIES.

In our climate, the disorders to which poultry are liable are, comparatively, few in number, and they usually yield to judicious treatment. The little attention that has too generally been bestowed upon this subject may be accounted for from the circumstance that, in an economical point of view, the value of an individual fowl is relatively insignificant; and while the ailments of other domesticated animals generally claim a prompt and efficient care, the unhappy inhabitants of the poultry-yard are too often relieved of their sufferings in the most summary manner. There are reasons, however, which will justify a more careful regard in this matter, besides the humanity of adding to the comfort of these useful creatures; and the attempt to cure, in cases of disease, will often be rewarded by their flesh being rendered more palatable, and their eggs more wholesome.

Most of the diseases to which fowls are subject are the result of errors in diet or management, and should have been prevented, or may be removed by a change, and the adoption of a suitable regimen. When an individual is attacked, it should be forthwith removed, to prevent the contamination of the rest of the flock. Nature, who proves a guardian to fowls in health, will nurse them in their weakness, and act as a most efficient physician to the sick; and the aim of all medical treatment should be to follow the indications which Nature holds out, and assist in the effort which she constantly makes for the restoration of health.

The more common diseases which afflict poultry will be so described that they need not be misapprehended, and such remedies suggested as experience has proved to be salutary; and, taken alphabetically, the first on the list is

ASTHMA.

This common disease seems to differ sufficiently in its characteristics to warrant a distinction into two species. In one it appears to be caused by an obstruction of the air-cells, by an accumulation of phlegm, which interferes with the exercise of their functions. The fowl labors for breath, in consequence of not being able to take in the usual quantity of air at an inspiration. The capacity of the lungs is thereby diminished, the lining membrane of the windpipe becomes thickened, and its minute branches are more or less affected. These effects may, perhaps, be attributed to the fact that, as our poultry are originally natives of tropical climates, they require a more equal temperature than is afforded, except by artificial means, however well they may appear acclimated.

Another variety of asthma is induced by fright, or undue excitement. It is sometimes produced by chasing fowls to catch them, by seizing them suddenly, or by their fighting with each other. In these cases, a blood-vessel is often ruptured, and sometimes one or more of the air-cells. The symptoms are, short breathing; opening of the beak often, and for quite a time; heaving and panting of the chest; and, in case of a rupture of a blood-vessel, a drop of blood appearing on the beak.

_Treatment._ Confirmed asthma is difficult to cure. For the disease in its incipient state, the fowl should be kept warm, and treated with repeated doses of hippo-powder and sulphur, mixed with butter, with the addition of a small quantity of Cayenne pepper.

COSTIVENESS.

The existence of this disorder will become apparent by observing the unsuccessful attempts of the fowl to relieve itself. It frequently results from continued feeding on dry diet, without access to green vegetables. Indeed, without the use of these, or some substitute--such as mashed potatoes--costiveness is certain to ensue. The want of a sufficient supply of good water will also occasion the disease, on account of that peculiar structure of the fowl, which renders them unable to void their urine, except in connection with the _fæces_ of solid food, and through the same channel.

_Treatment._ Soaked bread, with warm skimmed-milk, is a mild remedial agent, and will usually suffice. Boiled carrots or cabbage are more efficient. A meal of earth-worms is sometimes advisable; and hot potatoes, mixed with bacon-fat, are said to be excellent. Castor-oil and burned butter will remove the most obstinate cases; though a clyster of oil, in addition, may sometimes be required, in order to effect a cure.

DIARRH[OE]A.

There are times when fowls dung more loosely than at others, especially when they have been fed on green or soft food; but this, may occur without the presence of disease. Should this state, however, deteriorate into a confirmed and continued laxity, immediate attention is required to guard against fatal effects. The causes of diarrh[oe]a are dampness, undue acidity in the bowels, or the presence of irritating matter there.

The _symptoms_ are lassitude and emaciation; and, in very severe cases, the voiding of calcareous matter, white, streaked with yellow. This resembles the yolk of a stale egg, and clings to the feathers near the vent. It becomes acrid, from the presence of ammonia, and causes inflammation, which speedily extends throughout the intestines.

_Treatment._ This, of course, depends upon the cause. If the disease is brought on by a diet of green or soft food, the food must be changed, and water sparingly given; if it arises from undue acidity, chalk mixed with meal is advantageous, but rice-flour boluses are most reliable. Alum-water, of moderate strength, is also beneficial. In cases of _bloody flux_, boiled rice and milk, given warm, with a little magnesia, or chalk, may be successfully used.

FEVER.

The most decided species of fever to which fowls are subject occurs at the period of hatching, when the animal heat is often so increased as to be perceptible to the touch. A state of fever may also be observed when they are about to lay. This is, generally, of small consequence, when the birds are otherwise healthy; but it is of moment, if any other disorder is present, since, in such case, the original malady will be aggravated. Fighting also frequently occasions fever, which sometimes proves fatal.

The _symptoms_ are an increased circulation of the blood; excessive heat; and restlessness.

_Treatment._ Light food and change of air; and, if necessary, aperient medicine, such as castor oil, with a little burned butter.

INDIGESTION.

Cases of indigestion among fowls are common, and deserve attention according to the causes from which they proceed. A change of food will often produce _crop-sickness_, as it is called, when the fowl takes but little food, and suddenly loses flesh. Such disease is of little consequence, and shortly disappears. When it requires attention at all, all the symptoms will be removed by giving their diet in a warm state.

Sometimes, however, a fit of indigestion threatens severe consequences, especially if long continued. Every effort should be made to ascertain the cause, and the remedy must be governed by the circumstances of the case.

The _symptoms_ are heaviness, moping, keeping away from the nest, and want of appetite.

_Treatment._ Lessen the quantity of food, and oblige the fowl to exercise in an open walk. Give some powdered cayenne and gentian, mixed with the usual food. Iron-rust, mixed with soft food, or diffused in water, is an excellent tonic, and is indicated when there is atrophy, or diminution of the flesh. It may be combined with oats or grain. Milk-warm ale has also a good effect, when added to the diet of diseased fowls.

LICE.

The whole feathered tribe seem to be peculiarly liable to be infested with lice; and there have been instances when fowls have been so covered in this loathsome manner that the natural color of the feathers has been undistinguishable. The presence of vermin is not only annoying to poultry, but materially interferes with their growth, and prevents their fattening. They are, indeed, the greatest drawback to the success and pleasure of the poultry fanciers; and nothing but unremitting vigilance will exterminate them, and keep them exterminated.

_Treatment._ To attain this, whitewash frequently all the parts adjacent to the roosting-pole, take the poles down and run them slowly through a fire made of wood shavings, dry weeds, or other light waste combustibles. Flour of sulphur, placed in a vessel, and set on fire in a close poultry-house, will penetrate every crevice, and effectually exterminate the vermin. When a hen comes off with her brood, the old nest should be cleaned out, and a new one placed; and dry tobacco-leaves, rubbed to a powder between the hands, and mixed with the hay of the nest, will add much to the health of the poultry.

Flour of sulphur may also be mixed with Indian-meal and water, and fed in the proportion of one pound of sulphur to two dozen fowls, in two parcels, two days apart. Almost any kind of grease, or unctuous matter, is also certain death to the vermin of domestic poultry. In the case of very young chickens, it should only be used in a warm, sunny day, When they should be put into a coop with their mother, the coop darkened for an hour or two, and every thing made quiet, that they may secure a good rest and nap after the fatigue occasioned by greasing them. They should be handled with great care, and greased thoroughly; the hen, also. After resting, they may be permitted to come out and bask in the sun; and in a few days they will look sprightly enough.

To guard against vermin, however, it should not be forgotten that _cleanliness_ is of vital importance; and there must always be plenty of slacked lime, dry ashes, and sand, easy of access to the fowls, in which they can roll and dust themselves.

LOSS OF FEATHERS.

This disease, common to confined fowls, should not be confounded with the natural process of moulting. In this diseased state, no new feathers come to replace the old, but the fowl is left bald and naked; a sort of roughness also appears on the skin; there is a falling off in appetite, as well as moping and inactivity.

_Treatment._ As this affection is, in all probability, constitutional rather than local, external remedies may not always prove sufficient. Stimulants, however, applied externally, will serve to assist the operation of whatever medicine may be given. Sulphur may be thus applied, mixed with lard. Sulphur and cayenne, in the proportion of one quarter each, mixed with fresh butter, is good to be given internally, and will act as a powerful alterative. The diet should be changed; and cleanliness and fresh air are indispensable.

In _diseased moulting_, where the feathers stare and fall off, till the naked skin appears, sugar should be added to the water which the fowls drink, and corn and hemp-seed be given. They should be kept warm, and occasionally be treated to doses of cayenne pepper.

PIP.

This disorder, known also as the _gapes_, is the most common ailment of poultry and all domestic birds. It is especially the disease of young fowls, and is most prevalent in the hottest months, being not only troublesome but frequently fatal.

As to its _cause_ and nature, there has been some diversity of opinion. Some consider it a catarrhal inflammation, which produces a thickening of the membrane lining the nostrils and mouth, and particularly the tongue; others assert that it is caused by want of water, or by bad water; while others describe it as commencing in the form of a vesicle on the tip of the tongue, which occasions a thickened state of the skin, by the absorption of its contents. The better opinion, however, is, that the disease is occasioned by the presence of worms, or _fasciolæ_, in the windpipe. On the dissection of chickens dying with this disorder, the windpipe will be found to contain numerous small, red worms, about the size of a cambric needle, which, at the first glance, might be mistaken for blood-vessels. It is supposed by some that these worms continue to grow, until, by their enlargement, the windpipe is so filled up that the chicken is suffocated.

The common _symptoms_ of this malady are the thickened state of the membrane of the tongue, particularly toward the tip; the breathing is impeded, and the beak is frequently held open, as if the creature were gasping for breath; the beak becomes yellow at its base; and the feathers on the head appear ruffled and disordered; the tongue is very dry; the appetite is not always impaired; but yet the fowl cannot eat, probably on account of the difficulty which the act involves, and sits in a corner, pining in solitude.

_Treatment._ Most recommend the immediate removal of the thickened membrane, which can be effected by anointing the part with butter or fresh cream. If necessary, the scab may be pricked with a needle. It will also be found beneficial to use a pill, composed of equal parts of scraped garlic and horse-radish, with as much cayenne pepper as will outweigh a grain of wheat; to be mixed with fresh butter, and given every morning; the fowl to be kept warm.

If the disease is in an advanced state, shown by the chicken's holding up its head and gaping for want of breath, the fowl should be thrown on its back, and while the neck is held straight, the bill should be opened, and a quill inserted into the windpipe, with a little turpentine. This being round, will loosen and destroy a number of small, red worms, some of which will be drawn up by the feather, and others will be coughed up by the chicken. The operation should be repeated the following day, if the gaping continues. If it ceases, the cure is effected.

It is stated, also, that the disease has been entirely prevented by mixing a small quantity of spirits of turpentine with the food of fowls; from five to ten drops, to a pint of meal, to be made into a dough. Another specific recommended is to keep iron standing in vinegar, and put a little of the liquid in the food every few days.

Some assert that it is promoted by simply scanting fowls in their food; and this upon the ground that chickens which are not confined with the hen, but both suffered to run at large and collect their own food, are not troubled with this disease. There can be little doubt that it is caused by inattention to cleanliness in the habits and lodgings of fowls; and some, therefore, think that if the chicken-houses and coops are kept clean, and frequently washed with thin whitewash, having plenty of salt and brine mixed with it, that it would be eradicated.

ROUP.

This disease is caused mainly by cold and moisture; but it is often ascribed to improper feeding and want of cleanliness and exercise. It affects fowls of all ages, and is either acute or chronic; sometimes commencing suddenly, on exposure; at others gradually, as the consequence of neglected colds, or damp weather or lodging. Chronic roup has been known to extend through two years.

The most prominent _symptoms_ are difficult and noisy breathing and gaping, terminating in a rattling in the throat; the head swells, and is feverish; the eyes are swollen, and the eye-lidsappear livid; the sight decays, and sometimes total blindness ensues; there are discharges from the nostrils and mouth, at first thin and limpid, afterward thick, purulent, and fetid. In this stage, which resembles the glanders in horses, the disease becomes infectious.

As _secondary_ symptoms, it may be noticed that the appetite fails, except for drink; the crop feels hard; the feathers are staring, ruffled, and without the gloss that appears in health; the fowl mopes by itself and seems to suffer much pain.

_Treatment._ The fowls should be kept warm, and have plenty of water and scalded bran, or other light food. When chronic, change of food and air is advisable. The ordinary remedies--such as salt dissolved in water--are inefficacious. A solution of sulphate of zinc, as an eye-water, is a valuable cleansing application. Rue-pills, and a decoction of rue, as a tonic, have been administered with apparent benefit.

The following is recommended: of powdered gentian and Jamaica ginger, each one part; Epsom salts, one and a half parts; and flour of sulphur, one part; to be made up with butter, and given every morning.

The following method of treatment is practised by some of the most successful poulterers in the country. As soon as discovered, if in warm weather, remove the infected fowls to some well-ventilated apartment, or yard; if in winter, to some warm place; then give a dessert-spoonful of castor-oil; wash their heads with warm Castile-soap suds, and let them remain till next morning fasting. Scald for them Indian-meal, adding two and a half ounces of Epsom salts for ten hens, or in proportion for a less or larger number; give it warm, and repeat the dose in a day or two, if they do not recover.

Perhaps, however, the best mode of dealing with roup and all putrid affections is as follows: Take of finely pulverized, fresh-burnt charcoal, and of new yeast, each three parts; of pulverized sulphur, two parts; of flour, one part; of water, a sufficient quantity; mix well, and make into two doses, of the size of a hazel-nut, and give one three times a day. _Cleanliness_ is no less necessary than warmth; and it will sometimes be desirable to bathe the eyes and nostrils with warm milk and water, or suds, as convenient.

WOUNDS AND SORES.

Fowls are exposed to wounds from many sources. In their frequent encounters with each other, they often result; the poultry-house is besieged by enemies at night, and, in spite of all precaution, rats, weasels, and other animals will assault the occupants of the roost, or nest, to their damage. These wounds, if neglected, often degenerate into painful and dangerous ulcers.

When such injuries occur, _cleanliness_ is the first step toward a cure. The wound should be cleared from all foreign matter, washed with tepid milk and water, and excluded as far as possible from the air. The fowl should be removed from its companions, which, in such cases, seldom or never show any sympathy, but, on the contrary, are always ready to assault the invalid, and aggravate the injury. Should the wound not readily heal, but ulcerate, it may be bathed with alum-water. The ointment of creosote is said to be effectual, even when the ulcer exhibits a fungous character, or _proud flesh_ is present. Ulcers may also be kept clean, if dressed with a little lard, or washed with a weak solution of sugar of lead; if they are indolent, they may be touched with blue-stone.

When severe _fractures_ occur to the limbs of fowls, the best course, undoubtedly, to pursue--unless they are very valuable--is to kill them at once, as an act of humanity. When, however, it is deemed worth while to preserve them, splints may be used, when practicable. Great cleanliness must be observed; the diet should be reduced; and every precaution taken against the inflammation, which is sure to supervene. When it is established, cooling lotions--such as warm milk and water--may be applied.

LIST OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.