RHEUMATISM(Sometimes confused with Blackhead) I have a great many people write me in regard to weak legs in turkeys. Of course, this is common rheumatism. The limbs suffer an impairment or loss of use, are hot, swollen and stiff. The toes then being drawn out of shape, the fowl persistently sits down and cannot use the perch. The heart may become involved and this produces death. I had it in my flock one year,—that is, I had several birds victims to the disease. They would squat down all the time. The breast bone grew all over to one side from sitting so much. They were fat and apparently healthy, except that they could not seem to stand up any length of TURKEYS THRIVE BEST ON HIGH LAND “ROTTEN CROP” SOMETIMES MISTAKEN FOR BLACKHEADAnother disease very common in turkeys which is called blackhead and yet has nothing to do with blackhead, is what you would call “rotten crop” in a common hen. When this takes place the crop becomes very foul and heavy. The bird will drink water, which stays in the crop and becomes sour. I have often had to take the bird up, hold the head down and rub the crop gently so that all the water would run from the mouth. With the aid of a long neck milk testing bottle I fill the crop with warm water with a quarter teaspoonful baking soda in it, and relieve the crop by massaging the second time. Then I give a tablespoonful of olive oil. Put the bird away from the rest, with very little feed for a couple of days. I never have any difficulty in saving a COLD—CATARRH—COUGH—BRONCHITISAll of these are substantially different stages and symptoms of the same disorder. Exposure to wet and cold is the general cause. Cough is, indeed, a symptom, not a disease, and is connected with the other three. It may, however, attend other diseases, and when its cause is not known, the article pertaining to roup should especially be consulted. Bronchitis is but an advanced stage or aggravated form of cold or catarrh. The three are marked by more or less discharge from the eyes and nostrils, sneezing, wheezing, and, particularly in bronchitis, coughing and a rattling sound in the throat. To distinguish this from roup, Turkeys are subject to roup from the time they are babies, more so than common hens, as a cold is the cause of all their trouble. Treatment: Remove the turkey to warm, dry shelter, and give warm, soft food. These measures will usually be sufficient, but the following will be valuable as aids: For cold or catarrh merely, and no distinction between them is here made, put three drops of strong tincture of aconite in a pint of the drink. If there is a swelling about the throat, two or three grains of the second trituration of mercuries three times a day will be useful. For bronchitis, in addition to the measures just ROUPRoup is a highly contagious malady which first affects the lining membrane of the beak and then extends to the eyes, throat, and whole head, eventually involving the entire constitution. According to its manifest symptoms, it has been called diphtheria, sore head, swelled eyes, hoarseness, bronchitis, canker, snuffles, influenza, sore throat, quinsy, blindness, and by other names. It attacks all ages, and will Symptoms:—Roup develops either slowly or rapidly, with the general signs of a bad cold in the head, such as wheezing, or sneezing, high fever and great thirst. The discharge from the eyes and nose is yellowish, being at first thin but growing thicker as the disease develops, and very offensive, closing the eyes, nostrils and throat (these parts and the whole head are swollen, sometimes enormously, so that blindness ensues, making the turkey unable to get its food, and thus hastening the decline of the system); pustular sores about the head and in the throat, discharging a frothy mucus; the breathing is impeded; the crop is often swollen; the comb and wattles may be pale or dark-colored. During Treatment:—It is of the highest importance that the treatment begin as soon as the first symptoms appear. To Remove the turkey to a good warm place; wash her head with warm water with a drop or two of sulpho-napthol in the water; dry well with a good soft cloth and rub Mahaney turkey salve on her head, throat and crop; open up her beak and oil the inside of her mouth and throat well with the salve. A little swab can be made for that purpose. Give one of the Margaret Mahaney blackhead pills, three times a day, and make a pill as large as a good sized bean as follows, one-half mustard and one-half sulphur; equal parts. Give the turkey one of these pills every night, and if swollen eyes and head has prevented her from seeing her food, feed her a little bread and milk, soft and warm, until she is able to feed herself. When a disease of this kind enters your turkey house disinfect your droppings boards, and feed five quarts of hot mash from Margaret Mahaney’s Turkey Feed with one or two onions chopped fine and put in the mash. A teaspoonful of red pepper also given to them every night before going to roost will help to prevent the disease from spreading. Keep your turkey house clean and dry, and if you see any sign of this disease it is much better to remove the droppings every day, and if taken in time roup is not a fatal disease. CONSUMPTION OF THE THROATThe special symptoms of consumption of the throat are a frequent cough, I generally have what is commonly called a hospital for sick birds; that is, I set aside one coop, keep it warm and have it heated with an incubator lamp, a large one. The temperature should be kept around 70 degrees, until the bird ceases to cough. CONSUMPTION OF THE LUNGSA distinct feature of consumption of the chest or lungs is a tubercular deposit Light, ventilation and pure air are three of nature’s most potent agencies in counteracting disease. Every turkey should have a liberal allowance of sunlight, though the power and directness of the rays should be determined by the climate, which is only natural. Among those that need frequent sun A good dirt bath should be provided for a turkey all winter; light sand, half clay, with a measure of air-slacked lime. The turkey will wallow in that for an hour at a time, thoroughly enjoy it and seem so much brighter after it. If turkeys are allowed to run on the frozen ground and roost in the trees all winter, how can one reasonably expect them to remain in a healthy condition SWOLLEN HEADSSwollen heads in turkeys seems to me to be the prevailing disease this spring of 1913. Complaints have come to me from all over the country, also sick birds have been sent to me to treat. I do not know whether it would be called roup or canker, but the appearance of it is that of a common cold, a watery discharge from the nose, eyes half closed, and sometimes wholly If you find that the lump under the eye has become hard and white before you operate, and that the blood has flowed back from the head, there is no In the meantime, in the feed put a half teaspoonful of sulphur each morning for a week in a warm mush made from Margaret Mahaney’s Turkey Feed. This will keep the bowels in good condition, and hasten the recovery of the turkey. This canker is sometimes found in the rectum of the turkey. Syringe the bird with warm water in which has been dissolved a little piece of Castile soap. Add to one quart of water a half teaspoonful of boric acid, and after the bird has been thoroughly washed out, wash again with the above solution. SORE EYES AND HEADThe eyes may become sore from dust, excessive heat, dampness and other causes, and give out a watery discharge. The whole head may become involved in the inflammation. Such mild afflictions are to be distinguished from canker and roup, but it is always safe to keep a sharp look-out for the latter when the eyes are sore. Wash the parts with a weak solution of white vitriol (sulphate of zinc) or with alum-water, or with a solution of alum and camphor. If the discharge has become gummy or hardened, remove it with warm water and Castile To about four turkeys put one-half teaspoonful of sulphur in the feed with a shake of red pepper three or four times a week, and a little tincture of iron in the water (about four drops to a gallon of water). CONSTIPATION IN TURKEYSConstipation is caused by indigestion, taking cold, too close confinement, too much dry feed and too little green, a deficient supply of good water and the like. It is indicated by frequent attempts to evacuate the bowels, either wholly unsuccessful or resulting only in hard, dark droppings. The turkey is uneasy and perhaps staggers. DIARRHEAThis disease is often mistaken for blackhead in grown turkeys. It may result from an excessive use of tainted food, mouldy bread or mouldy grain, impure water, extreme heat, exposure in damp weather, filthy quarters and general indigestion, poison, or any inflammatory affliction of the intestines or the stomach. The symptoms are loose droppings of different colors which befoul the feathers, lassitude, and a loss of condition. In dysentery which results from a diseased condition of the intestines, the droppings are more frothy and mingled with blood, and attended with rapid prostration. A form of diarrhea essentially different from the two described, occurs in an old female turkey in which a white discharge comes away more or Treatment: Have your pharmacist make up pills made of a mixture of five grains of powdered chalk, five of rhubarb, and five of cayenne pepper, adding a half grain of opium in severe cases. Give two pills daily. Another good remedy is camphorated spirits of barley meal, three to six grains for each bird according to age, or ten to twenty drops of the same may be put in a pint of the drink. For mild cases and in the early stages of others, powdered chalk on boiled rice may be sufficient. The remedy last named is recommended Restrict the drink in all forms of these disorders and put into it a little tincture of iron (four drops to a gallon of water). Dysentery with blood discharges is a serious disorder. It is best to give a teaspoonful of castor oil, followed with three to six drops of laudanum every few hours, supplying an exclusive diet of mild food. It is important that the afflicted bird be kept quiet and apart from the flock, especially in dysentery. Isolate the afflicted bird when you are at all doubtful regarding the nature Diarrhea in Little TurkeysDiarrhea in a little turkey is white, something the same as that trouble in a common chicken, and if you look very carefully you will see that the little legs are dotted with white, and the little turkeys will be lifeless and not appearing to thrive. That is the time to give them Mahaney pills (four to a quart GAPESThere are many remedies for gapes, but the following is always beneficial and dependable. It manifests itself first by the birds gaping around just as a person would yawn. Fill a common, long-necked oil can such as is used for oiling a sewing machine, with kerosene oil; open the turkey’s mouth and wait until it breathes in order that the windpipe may be open, then inject a good spray of the kerosene, perhaps a teaspoonful in all. Three doses will usually cure the turkeys of the gape worm. Give treatment three TAPE WORMThe tape worm is an entirely different thing and is rather more serious, and will produce substantially the same symptoms as indigestion. If they are in the bowels, costiveness or diarrhea may be more marked, while the turkey will be uneasy and picking at the vent if they are in the lower part of the intestine. In all cases there will be more or less loss of flesh and often diminished gloss in the feathers, while the bird has either an impaired or a voracious appetite. The only unmistakable symptom is the presence of worms in the droppings when they first pass out. An unhealthy condition of the digestive organs is the main cause. The I had one bird this last year which had a tape worm. I noticed the worm in the droppings first. I took the bird away and put her on a board floor and gave her a good dose of castor oil. She had only passed half of the worm at one time, and I watched her very closely until she passed the head. In a case of tape worm the droppings will be more or less white and limy. A turkey requires a great deal of lime. PERITONITISPeritonitis in turkeys is often mistaken for blackhead. It is a very difficult disease to treat, and it is only with the milder cases that success can reasonably be expected. The affected bird must be kept quiet, protected from any current of air, and opium in doses of one (1) grain every four hours is recommended to quiet the pain and reduce the movement of the intestines, or mix three or four drops of aconite in a half glass of water and give a teaspoonful three or four times a day. Injections of tepid water are recommended to counteract constipation. Take a In case the disease is due to rupture of the oviduct or perforation of the intestine, treatment is useless; if it has followed inflammation of the intestine, the treatment for enteritis should be combined with that for peritonitis. |