THE CARE OF POULTRY

Taranaki Daily News, 3 August 1935, Page 12 (Supplement)

THE CARE OF POULTRY

DIGESTIVE COMPLAINTS. METHODS FOR OPERATION. Poultry, like ourselves, are troubled with digestive disorders, and the s poultry keeper should be prepared to t deal with such cases whenever they e appear. I am afraid that we do not 1 altogether understand the digestive system of the fowl, and we certainly run v very great risks at times as regards the s diet. It is surprising the variation of food consumed by the hen. a One has only to open the crop of a a bird enjoying full range in order to verify this. A young pullet, which had r previously been running in an orchard, f was killed, and on examining the crop 1 115 insects, grubs, etc., were found, all harmful- to fruit trees. Nature ; has evi- • dently provided the fowl with th .. necessary equipment for^dealing. wiffi such matters, and crop binding is not r common amongst enjoying a free ranee It is more likely to be found r amongst birds kept in confinement, and i is frequently brought about through . neglect on the part of the poultryk is a cupboard or storehouse. AU the food and any foreign matter are • stored there for a period, eventually passing through a very narrow channel s into the proventriculus or second ? stomach of. the fowl, where it mixes • with certain juices, thus rendering it " into a digestible mass. From the P ro " ventriculus it passes to the gizzard, there i to be ground up by the aid of the and disseminated over the system of i the fowl. In the event of anything i going wrong with any of the organs mentioned the digestive system refuses to work and the fowls get all sorts of discomforts. . There are, of course, a variety or I causes, long dried grass being one of the most common. This is often picked > up on the ground instead of in the trough- The grass adheres to the mash, ; and this forms into a hard ball and I blocks the passage. Small pieces of string and similar oddments have been ; taken from the crop. • Excessive use of grain and scarcity ot water at the same time will bring on the , trouble. The water causes the grain to ; swell, and the crop becomes distended. ■ Lack of grit, which may be considered the teeth of the fowl, will also cause stoppage.' In this case the trouble is usually in the gizzard, which, owing to lack of grit, becomes clogged, thereby having a similar effect on the other organs connected. There must be a free passage from crop to gizzard, and from gizzard to vent, otherwise the whole of the digestive system becomes impaired. SYMPTONS AND TREATMENT. One of the first symptoms is a voracious appetite, followed by a loss as time goes on. The bird is really starving in I the midst of plenty, and the food in its crop is not nourishing it. On ex-, amining the fowl, which by now has i assumed a dejected appearance, one finds the crop very swollen and as large as a cricket balL There is a certain amount of fever, accompanied by thirst, and the bird has great difficulty in breathing. . The ailing bird should be removed to hospital, as treatment cannot be carried out when it is at large. Half a wineglass of warm water containing a teaspoonful of Epsom salts should be poured down the throat. One should proceed slowly, otherwise the bird may suffocate. Knead the crop well with the hands. An endeavour should be made to break up the hard mass of food. Sometimes such treatment will prove effective, in which case the crop will ■ soon empty itself. Should this method fail, half a wineglassful of olive oil may : be poured down the throat, kneading the crop again. Allow two or three ; hours for the oil to work its way into the < food, and if the stoppage is still there it will be necessary to perform an operation. Such, however, should not : be undertaken without first trying other measures. Sometimes one can remove a good . proportion of the food by first of all giving the fowl a drink of water, turning the bird’s dead in a downward 1 direction and gently squeezing the crop. This is not always a success, for the real seat of the trouble is not reached. It is necessary to have an assistant to hold the bird firmly on your knees, with the head from you. After moisten- : ing the breast feathers so that they keep clear of the operator and wound, a spot should be selected as near to the base of the crop as is possible, and free from veins. With a sharp knife (an old razor ■ will do well) an incision is made in the : cuter skin (longitudinally), an inch and ] a-half in length. .A second cut is then ; made through the true crop, one inch in < ■ length, taking' care to keep in line with !. the first cut The contents of the crop I are now exposed, and can be removed , with a small spoon. This is not a very pleasant job, and a pipe of tobacco is most useful at this stage. After removing the contents and noting the cause of the trouble the operator should wash out the crop with a weak solution of disinfectant One must now prepare to sew up the wounds. Before doing so, however, it is well to place a lump of lard, butter or other similar substance into the base of the crop as near to the channel as possible. This will lubricate it, arid will probably prevent a recurrence of the trouble. A small needle and silken thread are required, and after dipping it in disinfectant, the operator proceeds to sew up the inner crop, making three separate stitches. The two portions ; should be drawn together, not over- ' lapping, and each stitch fastened. For the outer skin, four or five stitches are necessary, each one being an equal dis- : tance apart, and fastened separately as ■ before. Carbolised vaseline is applied to the wound, and the bird is returned to i hospital. One must be very careful with the : treatment of the bird during the next: i week or so. Bread and jnilk or oatmeal |' porridge only should be allowed, and in |: small quantities. No grain or water 1 should be given or the crop will burst. | 1 One can soon tell whether the opera- ■ 1 tion is a success. The food will pass into ,< the system in a short while if the pass-. i age is clear, and the general appearance ; of the patient will be some indication as to the process of the treatment. A few days’ treatment will usually restore the I bird to normal health, and when ready it can be turned into its pen again. Al- ! though the actual operation may seem a little complicated to the novice, there is really nothing to alarm the operator, and providing everything used is perfectly clean, no serious complications are likely to follow. When young stock become cropbound the cause should be sought for and removed. A stiff dose of Epsom salts in a small quantity of drinking water will often have the desired effect, especially when the trouble is due to indigestion rather than stoppage.