The very best way to escape trouble from diseases among pigeons is to prevent them by always keeping the lofts and flies in first-class condition. Carelessness is the worst disease that affects pigeons, and this is always manifest in the owner before it has any effect on the birds.

If the lofts are kept clean, the feed supplied is sound and sweet, the water pure and the feeding regular, the birds themselves will not often be troubled with diseases of any kind.

However, with all possible care, diseases will appear at times, and it is well to know what to do to prevent them from spreading and causing serious loss.

Epidemic diseases will never appear in a flock which has been properly cared for, unless they are brought in through putting newly purchased birds among the healthy ones.

It is just as well to use caution when introducing new birds even if there is not the least suspicion that they are not perfectly healthy.

When new stock is bought it should be kept by itself for a week to determine if it is free from disease. Not once in a hundred times will birds bought of a reliable breeder be found unhealthy, but prevention is better than cure any time, so precautions should be taken. In such cases it is much better to be over cautious than to have losses occur through lack of precaution.

GOING LIGHT

"Going Light" is the common name for tuberculosis in pigeons. It is brought on by drinking impure water, eating unsound feed, lack of good supply of grit, or from natural lack of vitality. This disease never attacks healthy and vigorous birds, but takes for its victims those which have become weak from any reason. If it is not taken in hand at once, the bird wastes away and becomes nothing but "skin and bones" and dies. The first symptoms are usually diarrhoea, the droppings being thin and watery. The bird does not eat, but sits around with its head drawn down and really starves to death because it has no appetite to eat. If a bird which has started to go light, is taken in hand at once it is very often possible to save it for future usefulness. Give it a dose of castor oil, giving about five or six drops. Put in a coop by itself and the next day give it ten drops of cod liver oil. Repeat the dose of cod liver oil every day until the bird is cured. Give it hempseed every day and be very certain the seed is sound and free from mustiness. A good health grit or tonic is the best preventive to be used.

CANKER

Canker is a disease of the same nature as diphtheria in human beings. It appears occasionally in lofts where it never before has been found, and seems to be contracted from germs which float in the air. It often attacks the birds in one nest and not the one next to it, although if it is not taken in hand it will soon spread to all the birds in the loft.

It no doubt comes from a cold very often and for that reason birds which show symptoms of having caught cold should be carefully watched. The first appearance of this disease shows in little yellowish white blisters on the lining or mucous membrane of the mouth and throat. These rapidly increase in size and spread to other parts of the throat and form a cheesy growth until they show outside around the mouth, and the bird chokes to death.

When canker appears in a squab only and the parent bird shows no sign of it, the best thing to do is to kill the squab, disinfect the loft and stay the disease in this way. It may be cured by using a little patience, unless it has gone too far before it is discovered.

Remove the sick bird from the loft and keep it in some place not adjacent to the pigeon house. Take a small sharp splinter of wood, such as sharpened match, and scrape the cankers off, doing this as gently as possible. This will leave a raw red spot, which should be gently swabbed with a solution of peroxide of hydrogen and water, half and half. The solution will foam as if it were boiling, but it is entirely painless and does not hurt the bird in the least. Repeat the swabbing, putting on plenty of the solution, until it ceases to foam. It does not matter if a little of the solution goes down the throat of the bird, as it is perfectly harmless when swallowed by man, beast or bird, and it is the best germicide known, being non-poisonous and odorless. Some good authorities recommend painting the cankers with lemon juice and putting a piece of alum in the drinking water, but we prefer the peroxide of hydrogen treatment. Do not return a bird to the loft until it is entirely well, and always disinfect the loft when a case of canker is found in it. Directions for disinfecting are given further on in this chapter.

If the disease does not respond quickly to treatment, it is sometimes best to turn the affected birds out of the fly and let them shift for themselves without restraint. The open air and scanty supply of food together with whatever they are able to find of nature's remedies will effect a cure in nearly every case. Sometimes a bird will leave and never return but just as well this loss as to kill the bird, or have others in the fly affected. By this method I have often cured young birds just beginning to shift for themselves and older breeders in the last stages of Canker and when the bird is entirely recovered from the disease it may easily be caught and returned to the loft without endangering the rest.

ROUP

Roup sometimes appears in a loft, especially during damp weather or when the birds have not had proper housing. It is shown by the discharge from the nostrils, which has a very offensive odor. It is highly contagious in its later stages, and if not cured before it takes on the contagious form is incurable. When a bird has reached the last stages it should be killed and burned or buried far from the loft.

If a bird is noticed to have a discharge from the nostrils it should be attended to at once as the disease is very easy to cure at that time. Put some coal oil in a sewing machine can and squirt some of the oil up each nostril and in the slit in the top of the mouth. This usually effects a cure, but if it is not better in a few hours use camphorated oil in the same way. Any druggist will supply the camphorated oil.

CHOLERA

Cholera is a dreadful disease to contend with, but no pigeon-breeder who keeps his birds properly need fear it, as it is caused by cold, dampness and filth in nine cases out of ten. It is very contagious and it is very hard to cure. Happily, the disease does not worry the careful breeder, but once it gets started in a loft it may kill off every bird in it unless vigorous measures are taken to stop its progress.When a bird is attacked with cholera it presents a very miserable appearance. Its plumage is ruffled up, its crop fills with water which has a very offensive odor, and diarrhoea appears. The disease runs its course rapidly and soon the victim is dead.

To stop the progress of cholera in a loft, put ten drops of carbolic acid in a gallon of drinking water for two days. Feed only the very best feed. Follow the carbolic acid by putting a tablespoonful of tincture of gentian in each gallon of drinking water for ten days. Disinfect the house thoroughly twice a week until the disease disappears.

VERTIGO

Vertigo is a brain affection which is incurable, although it does not usually kill quickly. It is characterized by turning the head over the shoulder and convulsions. These convulsions often occur when anyone enters the loft, while at other times the bird is quiet. There is no cure and it is best to kill the bird to put it out of its misery, as it will never again be of any use as a breeder.

EGG-BOUND

Young hens are often affected by becoming egg-bound; that is; they are unable to force the passage of the egg from the ovary to the nest.

When a hen shows signs of distress, catch her and carefully feel of her abdomen. If she is egg-bound, the egg can be felt. Anoint the passage with vaseline and introduce the finger as far as possible, being careful not to break the egg. Then hold the hen over steam as hot as can be borne without scalding, until the parts are thoroughly steamed and relaxed. After this, carefully put the hen on the nest and usually she will be able to pass the egg.

PIGEON POX

Sometimes a disease similar to small pox in human beings and chicken-pox in poultry appears in a loft. This is known by small sores which appear about the head and face.

When this disease appears, wash the sores with a solution of copper sulphate or a solution of peroxide of hydrogen and water, equal parts. Either of these solutions will cure the disease in a short time.

SUDDEN COLDS

Sometimes a pigeon will sit out in a cold rain or sleep in a stray draft and catch cold. This makes it sick and stupid, and it should be cared for at once.

To cure a cold of this kind, give five-drops of castor oil and the next day a one grain capsule of quinine. Follow this with ten drop doses of cod liver oil for a few days and the bird will soon be as lively as ever.

LEG WEAKNESS

Leg weakness is usually caused by inbreeding or an accidental weakness. There is no certain cure for it, because we never know just what has caused the trouble. If a bird seems weak in the legs rub some camphorated oil on the hock joint and repeat the operation as long as necessary. The short-legged varieties like the Homer very seldom have any trouble with their legs.

WING DISEASE

Wing disease is a trouble of the "elbow." It is caused by a hurt, and the injured bird becomes lame in the wing. Presently a lump forms on the elbow and this increases in size, filling with a yellowish cheesy matter, causing the bird to drag the wing.

The only thing to do is to run camphorated oil on the injured spot, and when the swelling has reached full size cut it open. Usually the bird is not injured as a breeder, but it must make its nest on the floor, as it can not fly. If the disease is noticed at the very start, it sometimes may be cured; but if the trouble is neglected, a crippled bird is the result. For the sake of the appearance of the flock such birds should not be allowed to remain in the loft. If your windows or openings from the loft to the fly are good size there is little danger of this trouble for it is usually caused by the bird striking the wing in its rush to get outside. Birds that are wild or too often disturbed are more liable to this trouble.

WORMS

Worms sometimes bother pigeons. If a bird has a varying appetite and seems to be running down, watch its droppings and it is likely that worms may be found in them. If the worms are not found, it is not conclusive evidence that they are not sapping the vitality of the bird and it should be treated.A bit of garlic every morning will usually cure the disease. The piece of garlic should be about the size of a pea. A pill of powdered areca nut mixed with butter is also an effective remedy, or a pill as large as a small pea of gum aloes will kill the worms. Give any one of these remedies and expect a cure. Give the remedy before the bird has eaten in the morning.

LICE

Lice are not a disease, but they can do more damage than any disease. If they once get a start in the pigeon loft, it requires heroic treatment to get them subdued. If attention is paid to cleanliness, old nests taken out and burned as soon as they are empty, insect powder sprinkled in the nest boxes and tobacco stems are used for nesting material, lice will never get a foothold in the loft. If it should happen that lice get a start, take the birds out of the loft and clean it thoroughly. Then paint the walls and nest boxes with kerosene and afterward whitewash every part of the inside with lime.

DISINFECTANTS

Any druggist will supply a good disinfectant and give direction how to mix it for use. This should be sprinkled about the floor once in two or three weeks, and always mixed with the whitewash which is used on the loft. A mild disinfectant should be sprinkled on the floor at least once a week, and twice a week is better. Go quietly into the loft and gently sprinkle the solution on the floor, but not on the nests, as this frightens the birds. Keep the air of the lofts always smelling sweet and pure and there will be no trouble with disease.

DOUGLAS MIXTURE

Douglas Mixture is an old-time tonic, much esteemed by a good many breeders of pigeons and poultry. It is made by dissolving eight ounces of iron sulphate (copperas) in two gallons of water and then very slowly adding one ounce of sulphuric acid. Put in jugs and it will keep indefinitely. If a tablespoon of this is put in the drinking water occasionally, it will act as a tonic and make the blood richer. It is especially recommended for use during the molting season.

GENTIAN AS A TONIC

Compound tincture of gentian is highly recommended as a tonic for pigeons. If the birds seem out of condition, a tea-spoonful of this in the drinking water will tone them up and give them good appetites again. When the birds are molting during the months of September, October and November, a tablespoonful of compound extract of gentian in the drinking water every Sunday morning will keep the birds in condition, but this should not be used if the Douglas Mixture is used as a tonic.

SWEET FERN TEA

For looseness of the bowels, sweet fern tea has been found a very good remedy. Looseness of the bowels occurs from feeding too much wheat that has not been well dried. It also comes from impure water or unsound feed of any kind. To cure it a good handful of the leaves is put into three gallons of water and boiled down to one-half. Put a teacupful of this in two gallons of drinking water.

NUX VOMICA

Some breeders recommend nux vomica very highly as a tonic, and we mention it so those who follow the directions in this book may have their choice. Sixty drops of the tincture of nux vomica is put in two gallons of the drinking water twice a week, during the molting season. At other times in the year it is given when the flock seems to lack liveliness or to be droopy for any reason.

The tincture of nux vomica is about the easiest of all the tonics to use, as enough for a year can be kept in a small bottle and put into the water without trouble at any time it is needed.

THE MEDICINE CHEST

Every pigeon-breeder should have a small box in which to keep a supply of the medicines which may be needed. This box should contain a pot of carbolated vaseline to be used on cuts or bruises, as in wing trouble. There should be a four-ounce bottle of peroxide of hydrogen, a small bottle of camphorated oil, an ounce or two of carbolic acid, a few quinine capsules, a bottle of cod liver oil and a bottle filled with kerosene. There should also be a medicine dropper, such as is used to fill fountain pens, and a small sewing machine oil can to use in cases of roup. Such a medicine chest will come handy many times a year.

Don't get into the habit of dosing your birds for every imaginary trouble. If pigeons are given a dry, light house, good sound grain, plenty of grit, salt, charcoal and perfectly pure water to drink, with good facilities for bathing, there will be little call for use of medicines. Only doctor sick birds when necessary, and then take them out of the loft and keep them out until they are well. The careful pigeon-breeder will always learn to know his birds by sight and will notice any symptoms of disease as soon as they appear. Once any disease is noticed, apply the remedy at once without giving the ailment opportunity to become chronic.

If the directions given in this book are followed, the pigeon-breeder, although he may start without practical knowledge of the business, will be able to carry his birds along in good health and promote productiveness in such a manner that he may anticipate the best results from his work.