DISEASES OF POULTRY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2654, 25 January 1905, Page 54

DISEASES OF POULTRY.

The following hints re diseases, which were published a short time back, are reproduced at the request of a correspondent: — Experienced keepers 'will no doubt subscribe to the statement that it is often more easy to prescribe for diseases of fowls than it is to detect their nature in their earlier stage*— in other words, to diagnose them. When the excrement 'secreted by the kidneys,Nvhich i« normally pure white, appears yellow, though the droppings are solid and the bird appears perfectly healthy, look out for bowel trouble. When the crop is hard and unyielding, there is danger of the bird becoming cropbound. -When the discharges are streaked with blood, it is time to give preventives for diarrhoea. When the joints are hot and swollen, and the fowl is disinclined to- stand, rheumatism has taken hold. When the nostrils are clogged with dirt and the eyes water, ward off a possible case of roup by timely treatment. If the case is bad, apply the hatchet and bury the carcase. When the bird seems lame, and has a small swelling on its foot, remove to a house with no perches and oblige it to roost on a bed of straw. Bumble^foot is easily cured in the early stages if the cause is at once removed. When a hen seems to drop down behind and goes repeatedly to the nest, without Jaying, she is usually suffering from a disorder of the oviduct, and might as well be killed and eaten. When a bird is "going light," has good appetite, but passes food from, the bowels i undigested, it is the early stage of consumption, and treatment is useless. When the hen seems giddy and turns round and round, she is probably suffering from apoplexy. i When the bird has leg weakness, with no disorder of the liver, feed lighter and give ! plenty of bone-forming material. When new fowls aro brought, quarantine them until they have no disease. When a fowl has difficulty in breathing, look out for pneumonia. When a fowl is dangerously sick with j u n organic- disease, it is worse than useless as a breeder. It is usually safer to kill a bad case of illness than to try to cure it. THE BUFF ORPINGTON. Jt)gl enthusiastic writer on the morihf qjf the buff Orpington thus describes this I variety: — The buff Orpington, hardy as the sparrow and easy to rear in any climate or on any soil, was introduced, we believe, to emulate (by its colour) its older cousin, the black Orpington, and at a time, when poultry kepers had become partial to any breed oj fowl thas dyaged in. "jrfcUfiff,,"- .TJus.

was the colour, these the aims, of the foresighted originator, but this buff Orpington, like many other castles in the air, could noc be "built" to perfection all at once, and we first gained one point, then another ; one year sacrificing typo jior colour, the next laying qualities for size, till even 1904- finds us not yet satisfied. But admirers of t-he buff Orpington need not be impatient, as w« already have a layer of the front rank in the winter as well as in summer, and a "roaster" which can hold its own at the King's table. Owing to the Cochin and the Dorking playing so great a part in its formation, the buff Orpington hen is a reliable sitter and mother, the easiest to "break off" . if so desired, inheriting her sitting proclivi- '• ties from the Coohin; but this ie largely a matter of strain, and the buff Orpington of } to-day, now carefully bred, does not, fortunately^ unduly betray her ancestors in this ' undesirable habit. i And now a word or two as to colour and 4 type. An even shade of golden bviff from head to tail, white legs, and a comb, lobe?, and wattles of bright red is the rough description. Indec-d, a handsome bird, male or female, bold and intelligent-looking, <?ith sturdy frame and outline, yet by no means a "carved-for-the-show-pen" monument — (no slight inferred, ye Cochin breeders !) — but active in the extreme, and a true forager. . As to the plumage, the "crux" with which breeders have still to contend is colour — an < even buff from head to tail — and the shade of buff desirable in a show specimen — cock or hen — needs minute description, for the non-fancier would, no doubt, be surprised were he to take a look at a pen of buffs in the morning when the sun was out, and again at the same birds in the evening when tba light was. not uo strong. We will describe this shade as a "yellow-ochre, with a dash of orange,"jn referring to the exhibition specimen, preferring a bright shade and solid buff to skin, when tn^ feathers are opened out or the wings outstretohed. The ehades we should avoid both for the show and breeding peu are red, brick-red, and approaching brown, while rf in the other extreme, light brown, saimjjjn, or "dove" colours are equally obnoxious. A '.'yellow-ochre orange" is a deep (warm) enough colour for the show specimen, yet the brighter shades of this colour — viz., one tending towards orange (foxy) and the other approaching a lemon hue — are preferable to the duller shades — viz., briok-red and "dove" colow. Of the bright and dull shades, the former is not so fleeting wh™ exposed to the weather, end this is worthy of consideration, when we fore- ' see that the "life" of any variety of fowl" depends to a great-extent on "its face being its fortune" ; but this, again, is largely a matter of strain. To specify from head to taii : — The neck hackle in both sexes musfc be sound buff to skin, free from anything approaching a stripe, or deeper shade at tip of feathers in the form of a lacing, which is a still greater . disfigurement when tne . bird's plumage -has become "weathered".; '■ thip stripe applies equally to the saddle hackle of thei cock, while body colour in both sexes should be the same shade -as the hackle, the quills of the feathers buff, though as yet many winner* are found white in this" respect, the feather free from "mealiness" — i.e., minute splashes of white, as if the pepperbox had been shaken oA-er the plumage — many otherwise good specimens fail on wing-bow, breast, and cushion; also all fluff at stern to be the same even shade of buff as the rest of the body, this being a fault of many an otherwise good specimen. Flights and tail same shade as body, though "ptrpp&ry" — i.e., small black spots on flights and tails are preferable to an iota of white, which— e.g., white tips to the feathers— spells disaster as far as the breeding-pen is concerned, while for the show pen such a bird t can, with equal justice, be termed a ' "waster." The standard buff Orpington should possess a red or brown eye, the former preferred, while one sees yellow and green eyes, the latter objectionable. Legs pure white and clean ; red or horn-coloured or feathered legs to be avoided. Nails white. Reak horn or white (the former for preference). Comb, face, lobes, and wattles cherry red. And now as to type, beginning with the cock. I A single comb, rather small, and firmly set ' on, evenly serrated, the more wedge-shaped the better, curving well down in the line of the neck!, five or six spikes being ample. Side spikes, .though not a disqualification, are objectionable, and should, of course, be avoided. Beak curved and stout, sufficiently oblique towards the corners of the moutK to give the bird a rather disdainful expression. A bright eye, but upper lid rather heavy, is preferable to a round staring one, devoid of intelligence. Lobes and wattles of medium size, but of rather thick texture. Deep in breast and short in back, the saddle hackle giving a still shorter appearance, so much so that in the cock a U shaped- curve is desirable, and is further adorned by an abundance of side bangers or tail coverts. Body wide enough, in proportion to its depth, to give the bird when facing you a square sefc frame, short in thighs, and standing on short big-boned legs, wide apart. Feet, also, big and well spread out, with four toes. An adult cock weighs from 101b to 121b, akin and flesh white and pi fine" texture. A careful description of the hen, too, is of importance, and she should possess the same intelligent expree-,. sion in face as the cock. A neat, single comb, upright and of firm texture, together with small lobes and wattles. The U-shaped curve so much admired in the outline of the cock is as much appreciated in a standard type hen, but here we trace the outline from her throat, down her breast, and up to the tip of her tail ; the body still being built on that square-set frame, giving bar a very low set though not an unduly d«ep keeled appearance, which spells utility all over. The narrow-breasted, long-necked hen, resembling a tJ curve from the top of her head! to the tip of her tail, can at once beset down as a waster; while the outline of our ideal hen, short in neck and widening at the base, runa on an upward incline on top of back, but only of that length which, when compared with her depth of body, forms more of a square than an oblong figure-. Too long in back is approaching the Dorking type, while depth and width of brea3t are points to be looked for. Of short thigh and substantial leg, with feet well separated and four toes, the buff Orpington h-eii at once impresses you that she is built for "catching the early worm" ; arid we might here remark that very little f OO{ j <vfll beep her, compared with other heavy bfiJe.-ls 7 . She scales for 81b to 101b when fuliy matured, an 3 her skin and flesh are the same colour and texture as the cock's. TENT GLEET OR CLOACITIS. This is aii inflammation of the lower end of the bowel, resembling a certain .YSfleie&J di&&§fi^ and, js g a,id t,o bj cg&ta-

gious. The ficst symptom to be observe© is a frequent contraction of the end of the boweJ, as if something were there that the bird wished to expel. Examining the fowl, , the red niembi*ane is said to be hot, dry, and swollen. In a day a discharge begins to appear, at first of a milky appearance, but soon becoming yellow and offensive. This discharge dries around the vent, ancf diminishes the opening. The means of introduction of the disease to any group of fowls has not been discovered, and we personally think that it originates in the male bird, and is the result of sovual excess, combined with a weak constitution. A treatment recommended by Mr W. Yale is to wash the inside and outside of the vent with an astringent lotion at least twice a day, afterwards inserting a small pledget of white rag covered with Krekodyne ointment, and giving the fowl a teaspoonful of eweet oil night and morning. An American, authority says: — Wet a piece of cotton wool in a solution of teu grains of snlpho-car-bonate of zinc, five drops of oil of wintergreen to one gill of boiled water, and insert at night and morning ; or as an injection, u=e sulphate of zinc fire grains, and water one half pint. It seems unnecessary to add that birds with this trouble must be kept isolated. The diet should be plain and unstimulating. THE POULTRY INDUSTRY. AUCKLAND, January 20. At a meeting of the Show and Finance Committee of the Auckland A. and P. Association a letter was received from Mr Schnackenberg, who wrote suggesting that encouragement might be given to the poultry industry by holding egg-laying competitions. — He suggested the setting up of a commictee to arrange details for the first competition. If 'such a committee arranged details members could afterwards b^e added to 'represent the competitors.' 1 Mr Edwin Hall said he had been ia Hawksbu v y (Ne'n- South Wales), where the competitions are conducted, and he was satisfied that such competitions in Auckland would do a great deal of good. He thought the association should approach the department of Agriculture and ask it to take steps to initiate egg-laying competitions at the Makura experimental station. It was decided to defer consideration ofl the question, and in ihe meantime to ask; the Agricultural Department what it is willing to do in the matter".