For this month's issue I have decided, after talking about poisons last month, to concentrate of familiar diseases, those which we come across most.
I am always open to suggestions of any poultry topic you would like to see here in the printed word but because of our readers' silence on potential subjects to discuss I must try and continue to anticipate what you the reader finds most helpful.
COMMON AILMENTS
Diseases can not only be a very boring subject but also misleading, as similar symptoms appear for many common ailments. Just this once I will try and explain some of the more common ailments one is likely to come across during the day-to-day running of one's own small flock of chicken, more especially now because of the fact that there is a new generation committed to buying birds cheaply which have already filled their potential.
One quite common ailment I shall discuss later is that of 'Incontinence', a title not seen in any disease book or for that matter in any poultry book. It's a title I have selected to describe an affliction, which has been normal to a great many older birds over the ages.
It is after all the little problems which worry those with small flocks, some of which may have already been vaccinated against the major diseases.
CHILLING IN CHICKS
This is all too common a complaint these days when chicks are placed under brooders, which are too low to the ground, aggravated by a low room temperature of 60 F or below. They may also have been chilled in transit or at the hatchery. The result of increased heat at the centre prevents the day-old chicks from settling directly under the brooder heater so they gather around the outer perimeter. When the room temperature is too low the outer cold draft of air on their backs will chill those on the perimeter. Such chilling is quickly detected as the runny faeces dribbles out of the vent and gathers as a hard lump attached to the chick's down. Mortality follows as the vent becomes eventually blocked preventing further excretions. As soon as any build up is seen during the first few days, the house temperature must be increased and the brooder height adjusted. Gently swab off the attached faeces and then smear the vent with a little Vaseline. If left too long the affected chicks will die as they are unable to eject their faeces.
