Chapter II: Part 2

When I first started raising turkeys, my little pullets died
after they were feathered and about seven or eight weeks old.
Some of them would not shoot the red until they were weighing two
and a half pounds. Their heads would be dark, and their steps
slow and dragging. As I said before, the blood lay dormant in the
liver, and thus started blackhead. If a turkey does not throw the
red, when seven or eight weeks old, on close examination it will
be found that the abdomen is dark and of a bluish cast. The flesh
is not in good condition, whereas in a young healthy turkey that
has thrown the red at that age, the flesh will be pure and white.

MY FIRST SUCCESSFUL FIGHT AGAINST BLACKHEAD

When I first started to raise turkeys, and one came down with
blackhead, I thought that there was no cure for her. I did all I
possibly could, and if she died, I judged that she had to and
that there was absolutely nothing that could be done to prevent
it.

One year I brought two handsome pullets in from Kentucky. They
were fine, strong handsome birds, well marked, with splendid
barrings, and a beautiful bronze. I grew extremely fond of them.
When the spring of the year came on, about the last of March,
around laying time, one of those two birds came down with
blackhead and I determined that I would make a fight for her life.

She was an extremely sick bird. I took her into the house, placed
her in the back hall, in a cast-off oval shaped clothes basket. I
put soft burlap under her and wrapped her up warmly. I had a good
knowledge of homeopathic remedies, and I started to cure bowel
and liver troubles. The fever I kept down with aconite by giving
a drop in a little water every hour. I stayed by the side of that
turkey all night long. There were times when she would scream
with pain, and then I placed her feet in water as hot as she
could bear it with plenty of mustard in it, and allowed the water
to come up as high as the first joint of her legs. I allowed her
to stand in that about ten minutes at a time, and then I dried
her feet and legs and placed her back in the basket. She would be
very weak after this treatment, but seemed easier. At other times
she would become weak and lifeless, and I would then take her up
in my arms, go out-of-doors and let her have the benefit of the
cool air. The fight went on in this way until four o’clock in the
morning, when she opened her eyes, raised her head, looked up at
me and chirped a little. I decided then and there that there was
such a thing as curing blackhead.

I did not know then so much about the stoppage in the bowels. I
did know, however, that nothing had passed through her bowels. I
gave her a little warm whisky and milk, some more of my remedies,
and then went for a couple of hours’ rest myself. When I went to
her again about two hours afterward, the red had begun to flow
back into her head, the fever had left her, and her pulse was
normal. The pulse of a turkey begins to beat just above the crop
and in case of death, will gradually creep up until, just before
the breath leaves the bird, it will have reached a point under
the throat. I kept the pulse in this bird down to the middle of
the neck; I never let it get any further. There were times when I
had to place a cloth dipped in ice water on her head, but I was
fighting for the life of my little pet, and she seemed to realize
what I was doing. She was very weak all the morning. I took her
up, placed her out on the lawn in the sun, and she staggered to
her feet about twelve o’clock of that day, and then a solid core
came from her bowels. This had lodged in the cecum. At that time
I knew very little about this trait of the disease. Attached to
the core was a part of the lining of the intestine. The turkey
hen was very weak for days. One thing in her favor was that she
had an empty crop, and I immediately fed her a tablespoonful of
cold water in which was dissolved four grains of common alum.
That was given in order to form a skin and harden the sore and
raw place in the bowel after the bird had passed the core. The
turkey hen did not fully recover for three or four days.

That turkey hen is about one of the best I have on my place. I
call her Grandma Cleaves. The Agricultural colleges maintain that
a bird that has once been afflicted with blackhead is unfit for
breeding stock. I have in my possession a young tom that was
hatched out the fifteenth day of July, 1912, by that bird. He
weighs 31 lbs. and is well developed in every way. She laid three
litters of eggs last summer, and sat on the last litter, hatched
twelve turkeys and raised eleven in that flock. In my opinion, a
bird that has passed through blackhead is one of the best and
strongest birds to breed from. I never had a bird come down the
second season with blackhead. It is just like any other common
fever that is contagious, and can afflict a person but once.

After winning that fight, I made up my mind that something could
be done for blackhead, and from that time on I have had great
success in battling against this disease.

My breeding grounds are not so far distant but that the people of
Massachusetts can come to see me. I would be very glad to show
them my runs and turkeys and my methods of breeding.

TO DETECT BLACKHEAD

Blackhead is the disease to be most dreaded by the turkey raisers
in New England and all over the country.

When you go into the turkey house in the morning, go directly to
the droppings board and see if you find any yellow droppings. If
you do, look carefully over your flock. It will not take you long
to discover the bird that has blackhead. The head is an unhealthy
dusky gray, and the bird will mope around, apparently wanting to
eat and yet not doing so. Then you can decide that you have
blackhead in your flock.

TREATMENT OF FULL GROWN TURKEYS

Take that bird away immediately; disinfect her head and under the
wings with salve; massage the crop gently to see if it is full of
undigested food. If it is, give a scant half teaspoonful of epsom
salts in a little water. In about an hour’s time give a
tablespoonful of olive oil and follow with a quarter of a
teaspoonful salicylate of soda in two tablespoonfuls of warm
water. After the crop is emptied put her in a box, say a good
sized packing case, with plenty of straw, and cover with burlap.
Give a teaspoonful of warm whisky and a tablespoonful of milk
mixed together. This will keep up the vitality of the bird. A
long necked milk testing bottle comes in very handy in a flock of
any kind of fowl, for you can place the neck down below the
windpipe and inject the liquids into the crop without any choking
on the part of the fowl. Then watch and see if the droppings are
yellow. If they are give one of the _Mahaney_ Blackhead pills
every hour until the droppings become normal. You can place the
pill on the tongue of the turkey and make her swallow it. If
there is nothing in the crop except a brash of sour wind, give
the pills and hot milk and whiskey at once.

Be sure to keep the bird warm for a few days, and then disinfect
before she goes out with the rest of the flock. Look over the
droppings board every morning and see if there are any yellow
droppings. Use plenty of lime. Twice a week, in the morning, give
sulphate of iron, powdered, (one level teaspoonful in a gallon of
water in an earthen dish). The other days, at night, give
salicylate of soda in the same amount in the drinking water. This
will keep your flock in good condition.

BLACKHEAD IN YOUNG TURKEYS

The first symptom of blackhead in the young turkeys has the
appearance of a common cold in the head. The turkey will sniff
and water will sometimes come from the nose. The loss of appetite
is apparent. The wings droop and when you let the turkeys out of
the coops, the one affected will drag itself along behind the
rest of the flock. I take that bird away from the rest. I
disinfect the head and under the wings with my salve. Rub the
salve lightly on the head. Hold the turkey gently across the
back, press the wings down to the side. If you are not very
gentle with them, and very careful, you are liable to break the
wings.

The moment you see one become lifeless, with dragging steps and
loss of appetite, disinfect the whole flock with the salve twice
a week. Dissolve in an earthen dish four or five of the _Margaret
Mahaney_ Turkey Pills in a little warm water; then mix the
solution in a quart of drinking water and give to the young
turkeys to drink. This, repeated every day, with the straw well
aired and kept clean, and the coop dry and water-proof, will make
them show a marked improvement in three days. I never lose a
young turkey. They thrive just as well as little chickens, and I
think they are just as hardy.

As vermin is one of the enemies of young turkeys, use the salve
twice a week always, and use it in the morning. Do not shut them
up after putting on my salve because it is very strong. Let it
evaporate before the little chickens go to bed at night, and you
will have no vermin. There is an old saying about a louse in the
head of a turkey which enters the brain and causes blackhead. I
know very well that that does not cause blackhead, as this
disease comes from a common cold, which descends to the bowels
and liver and kills the turkey after a few days’ suffering if not
relieved.

STARTS WITH A COMMON COLD

Treatment of a Common Cold.

Blackhead starts from a common cold. When you have a bird in your
flock afflicted with a cold, place a small teaspoonful of Epsom
Salts to one gallon of water. Do this three or four days in
succession and put plenty of lime around your turkey houses. I
put lime on the droppings boards every day; it will kill the
disease in no time and do no injury to the turkey. Of course I
put clean straw in my turkey house in damp weather every other
day as the straw becomes damp and is very liable to breed disease.

Give this Epsom Salts treatment in the hot weather whether the
birds show symptoms of disease or not. It keeps their blood cool
and avoids the tendency to disease.

The time for blackhead season is in what is commonly called “dog
days,” that is, mid-summer. The weather is heavy and dark and is
very injurious to young turkeys. That is the time you must keep
your coops good and dry and give plenty of green stuff, with
aconite in the drinking water about twice a week to keep down any
fever. Three drops in a pint of water is all I give them as
aconite is very poisonous. If you have any sting nettle at the
time be sure to feed it, as sting nettle _is one of the greatest
aids to success in raising young turkeys_.

When the turkey dies of blackhead the crop becomes apparently
black and inflamed, and is very foul. The liver is enlarged, and
has white or yellowish spots all over it. In some places it has
the appearance of being eaten away. Underneath the liver, next to
the back of the bird and around the heart you will find a
brownish substance, just the same as you would find in a person
who dies from peritonitis. You will also find in what is called
the second stomach, that is, the bowel leading to the gizzard, a
large core. Sometimes this will be very dark brownish yellow or
ochre color, mingled with blood. This core forms a stoppage, and
unless it is removed, is certain death for the turkey.

I have had turkeys die with what is commonly called in human
beings, “appendicitis”, as the appendix was matterated and badly
swollen. In fact, in a bad case of blackhead all the bowels of
the turkey become swollen. The gizzard is twice its natural size,
the abdomen becomes swollen and black and the odor is very
obnoxious. In a bad case of this kind there is nothing that can
be done, the disease having become too far advanced, and that is
why one ought to watch turkeys very closely. If the turkey is
taken in time and _Margaret Mahaney’s_ pills given, and the
turkey is kept warm, (for they will take the disease first with a
chill just the same as a human being would take malaria) there is
no need of any loss in the flock from blackhead. All the colleges
of agriculture have diagnosed the case as a parasite on the
intestines, but I have thoroughly investigated that theory, and
wish to say that I have found no grounds for such a belief.

COMMON DISEASES

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 time. I bathed
their feet with mustard and water as hot as I thought they could
stand it. I saved most of them, but it seemed to me that they
never could walk as well as the flock that had not been affected.
The cause of this affliction is that the turkeys are allowed out
too early in the morning when the dew is on the grass and allowed
to roam around in damp places. At this time I was raising my
flock on lowland. I have never had any of it in my flock since I
moved to high and dry land. Give five drops of bryonia in a pint
of drinking water to six turkeys. After using the mustard water
be careful to wipe the turkey’s legs dry and then rub well with
camphorated oil the backs of the legs leading into the body. Keep
in a warm and dry place and give sulphur in the feed (about a
half teaspoonful to four turkeys).

“ROTTEN CROP” SOMETIMES MISTAKEN FOR BLACKHEAD

Another 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 bird
affected with what is commonly called “rotten crop.” If not
relieved, however, it will turn into blackhead and the turkey
will die.

COLD—CATARRH—COUGH—BRONCHITIS

All 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, see whether the
discharge is offensive. If it is, roup is to be treated; if not,
catarrh or bronchitis. In all cases of doubt, use the precautions
detailed for 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 named, give
sweetened water for the drink, adding a few drops of nitric acid
or sulphuric acid. _For both catarrh and bronchitis_ give some
stimulant, such as ginger or cayenne pepper in the food or whisky
in the water. Treat catarrh and cold promptly, to keep them from
developing into roup. Do not neglect bronchitis lest it run into
consumption.

ROUP

Roup 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 kill young turkeys
in a very short time. Turkeys given poor shelter, and kept in
filthy quarters, are subject to roup.

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 the course of the disease the turkey is feeble and moping.
A fatal case terminates in from three to eight days after the
distinctive roup-symptoms set in, and those which are not treated
when an epidemic is prevailing will generally be fatal. Upon
opening a turkey that has died of roup one will find the liver
and gall bladder full of pus, the flesh soft, of a bad odor, and,
particularly about the lungs, slimy and spongy.

Treatment:—It is of the highest importance that the treatment
begin as soon as the first symptoms appear. To detect the
approach of the disease, (and any turkey in the flock should be
suspected if one has been infected), raise the wing and ascertain
whether the feathers beneath it are stuck together, as the turkey
has the habit of wiping its nose under the wings, and naturally
the feathers will become matted and foul.

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. A drop or two of kerosene oil in the
drinking water makes a good disinfectant for turkeys.

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 THROAT

The special symptoms of consumption of the throat are a frequent
cough, roughness of the voice, and often a failure to partake of
food either from loss of appetite or from pain caused by
swallowing. Attacks of fever, followed by shivering, are more or
less regular. For treatment keep the bird in a very warm
atmosphere, chop up onions very fine and mix in the feed, also
give a teaspoonful of olive oil three times a day with one to two
drops of aconite to a cup of water.

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 LUNGS

A distinct feature of consumption of the chest or lungs is a
tubercular deposit in the chest, liver and bowels. The first
symptoms are a thinning of the voice and occasionally sneezing.
When the sneezing comes on in the morning and continues during
the day, the lungs have become involved, and eventually a puffed
appearance will be manifest in the chest. Give the same treatment
for consumption of the chest as given for consumption of the
throat. Add a few drops of tincture of iron (four drops to a
gallon of water) to the water each day until the appearance of
the bird has improved.

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 baths are the wild
birds of the air and as the turkey was originally a wild bird, in
the very nature of things, it demands a great deal of sunlight.
It makes no difference how hot the day is, the turkey will lie in
the sun and seem to enjoy it when the temperature is even up to
100 degrees. This is the reason I keep my turkeys warm and
comfortable, as it is a preventive of consumption or any disease
of that nature.

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 when they positively need warm,
comfortable quarters? If suitable houses are provided for
turkeys, warm, clean and comfortable with plenty of lime, grit
and charcoal during the winter months, it will be found that
there will be very little trouble with blackhead during the
summer and consequently less tendency to consumption and other
diseases in the colder months.

SWOLLEN HEADS

Swollen 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 closed,
with a large projecting formation in the orbital cavity under the
eyes, which, if left there, will cause the death of the turkey
after the turkey loses its sight. Press your hand gently on the
formation. If the formation has not become hard, but is still in
a spongy condition, press firmly on both sides of the nose under
the eyes, and force out the thick, foul discharge which has
gathered. Wash the head with Sulpho-Napthol or Presto
Disinfectant, dry well, and then disinfect with my salve. Repeat
this every day until the turkey is well. In the meantime the
turkey will have a little hacking cough that is caused by a
watery discharge from the head, which flows down inside the nose
and drops on to the windpipe. A human being has a chance to
relieve the head and throat, but the turkey does not have this
advantage.

If, however, the formation in the orbital cavity has become hard,
an operation is necessary. Have some one hold the bird gently on
its side, with its wings close to the body in natural form, for
in the struggle, the bird is very apt to break its wing. Wash the
head with Sulpho-Napthol or Presto Disinfectant and dry well.
Have ready a good sharp operating knife, thoroughly sterilized,
and also sterilize your hands. About one-fourth inch below the
eye you will find one or two leaders. You must try to avoid
cutting through these. Always try to avoid cutting through any
veins. Make a clean cut about one-half inch in length, running
straight down the orbital cavity to the beak so that when it
heals up it will leave no scar. If the turkey is in good blood
and a male bird, they are very apt to bleed quite a little. I
would then stop the blood with cotton batten, or by bathing with
water mixed with a little alum. Leave the bird for that day. The
next morning open up the cut, take out the canker, which you will
find to be a yellow, cheesy substance, with a very bad odor.
Remove all this canker, wash out the cavity with peroxide of
hydrogen, dry well, fill the cavity with _Margaret Mahaney’s_
Salve, which keeps the head soft and clean. Wash the head lightly
for a few days. When the wound heals up you will find a sort of
dry core in the wound. Remove this, wash out, and your turkey is
all well. Trust the rest to nature.

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 need of waiting for the wound to stop bleeding.
You can remove the canker at once.[2]

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. Dry the vent
thoroughly and sponge on a little sweet oil. Do this for a few
days with sulphur in the feed, and you will find that the bird
will be all right. Use about ½ teaspoonful of sulphur to ½ pint
of feed.

SORE EYES AND HEAD

The 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 soap, followed with alum and water. Dry
the head well with a soft cloth, and then rub gently with
_Margaret Mahaney’s_ Turkey Salve, as it contains all the
ingredients that heal and cleanse.

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 TURKEYS

Constipation 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.

Give an abundance of green food and a soft mixture of bran and
oatmeal and ten drops of sulphate of magnesia to a pint of the
drinking water. Along with these directions for the feed, it will
be well to give two drops of aconite to a half glass of water,
giving the bird a teaspoonful of the solution every hour until
the fever disappears, following this with a solution made of two
drops of nux vomica to a half glass of water, giving a
teaspoonful of the solution every hour until well, or if a cold
is the cause, use two drops of bryonia in the water instead of
the nux vomica. I have often had this disease in my flock when
the turkeys are about three months old, just before I let them
out for a good day’s ramble, so that is why I always recommend
plenty of good lettuce. It keeps the bowels in good condition,
keeps the intestines cool, and makes up itself for all fever
remedies.

DIARRHEA

This 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 less constantly, often dribbling out, and keeps the
feathers about the vent incrusted with a white, chalk-like
deposit. It is doubtless due to some derangement in the
shell-making function, and can best be treated by promoting the
general health and using the means noted below.

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 for the white discharge of old females, for
which the pills described above should be used as well as a
little lime water, made by allowing about ½ teaspoonful
air-slacked lime to ½ pint water for a bird. Dissolve and then
pour off the liquid for them to drink instead of plain water.

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 of the disorder. Give a couple of tablespoonfuls of
ground chalk to a pint of warm mash made from _Margaret
Mahaney’s_ Turkey Feed. This will also be found beneficial at any
time to the laying turkey hens of five or six years old. Allow
one pint of mash to four turkeys three times a day. A little
camphor, about the size of a good sized bean, to four turkeys
will hasten the recovery; dropped in the drinking water once a
week, will help to keep the birds in good laying condition.

_Diarrhea in Little Turkeys_

Diarrhea 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 of
drinking water for 10 or 11 young turkeys). Boil a piece of meat,
grind fine, and put in the feed, and that will help them get back
their vitality. A drop of aconite in the drinking water on damp
days will help to prevent fever of any kind.

GAPES

There 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 times a day, in the morning, at noon
and night. Shut the turkeys up in their run for about a week,
then move them to new ground.

TAPE WORM

The 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 treatment for this is a teaspoonful of castor oil followed by
a light addition of sulphur to the feed, and this may expel the
worms and restore the general health. A little cayenne pepper in
the feed and tincture of iron in the water will aid the cure. The
use of four drops of oil of ferm to a tablespoonful of water is
beneficial in a case of this kind. Give in the morning before the
bird has eaten anything.

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. I have even
seen turkeys pick at an old wall where it had been plastered.
Lime, mixed with sand, should be left in all the corners of the
farm for turkeys to eat, as it is a sure preventive of worms.

PERITONITIS

Peritonitis 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 hot
water bag. Do not have the water so hot that it would be
uncomfortable for the turkey; wring a flannel out of warm water
and lay it over the hot water bag, and then place the bag against
the wall of the abdomen. Renew them as often as necessary to keep
up a moist heat. This treatment should be continued from a half
hour to an hour. Repeat three or four times a day, drying the
surface of the wall afterwards so that the bird will not take
cold. If there is a great weakness, one or two drops of ether, or
four or five drops of tincture of camphor may be injected under
the skin as a stimulant.

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.

On opening the abdominal cavity of a turkey which has died from
peritonitis, the lining membrane is found to be a deep red in
color, and is sometimes covered by an exudate, which may consist
of a thin, transparent layer, or it may be thick yellowish or
reddish yellow. The abdomen may contain more or less liquid which
may be transparent or it may be turbid with a yellow or reddish
color. If the trouble is due to the perforation of the intestine,
the liquid will have a very offensive odor from the
multiplication of the putrefactive germs. If it has resulted from
the rupture of the oviduct, the egg, either intact or broken,
will generally be found in the abdominal cavity, and the ruptured
place in the wall of the oviduct is easily discovered.

The writer had two cases of peritonitis in her flock of turkey
hens just around the laying season. One died and the other I
succeeded in saving by the breaking of the bound egg and washing
out the rectum with a syringe. For a wash of this kind four or
five drops of iodine should be added. It is good to relieve pain
and acts as a stimulant for the bird. The bird must be kept very
warm and comfortable after a thing of that kind for three or four
days. It is well to feed the bird on stimulating food and keep
her away from the breeding pens until she recovers her strength.

THE BRONZE TURKEY

THE ORGANS AND SIZE

This variety holds the place of honor. It probably originated
from a cross between the wild and the tame product. Its
beautiful, rich plumage and size have come from the wild
progenitor. To maintain this quality, crosses are continually
made. In this way the mammoth size has been gained. Their
standard weight ranges from twenty, thirty-six to forty and fifty
pounds, according to age and sex. Probably more of this variety
are grown each year than all the others. They have been pushed on
all sides, almost to the exclusion of the others. Until within a
few years, if possible, the bronze turkey has been developed too
much in the direction of size. While size within reasonable
limits is to be desired and encouraged, when it is confined to
length of thigh and shank, it is a gain of weight with but little
additional value.

COLORING

The coloring of this variety is a ground of black bronze, or
shaded with bronze. This shade is rich and glowing, and when the
sun rays are reflected from them, they shine like polished steel.
The female is not as rich in coloring as the male, but both have
the same color and shade. Much of its richness and color is lost
by inbreeding, and it is improved each year with the wild
specimens. Of all our domestic fowl, none suffer more from
inbreeding than the turkey. This should be guarded against at all
times if it is hoped to gain the best results.

SELECTION OF BREEDING STOCK

Naturally the bronze turkey should be the largest in size, the
most vigorous in constitution and the most profitable to grow.
This would be the status of the variety at present were it not
that too little attention has been given to the selection of the
females for breeding stock. It should be fully understood that
size and constitutional vigor come largely from the female, and
to have this influence to the fullest extent, well proportioned,
vigorous females in their second or third year should be selected
as breeders. Do not select very large specimens for this purpose;
those of a medium size are usually the best. Discard undersized
females at all times, as they are of little value as producers.
Length of shank and thigh, if out of proportion, should not be
mistaken for size. Full rounded body and breast indicates value
most clearly; size and strength of bone indicate constitutional
vigor which should be maintained through the selection of the
very best at all times for producing stock.

When especial care is given to the selection of breeding birds,
and the grower bears in mind those profitable market
characteristics—compactness of form, length of breast and body,
and constitutional vigor, the most satisfactory results may be
obtained from the growing of this variety, but no matter how much
care may be given those conditions, only partial success will
come if inbreeding is permitted. The use of over-sized males with
small females is of less advantage than the use of smaller males
with well matured, medium sized females.

MARKETING

Of course, we cannot all sell our turkeys for breeding. That
would entirely rob the table of its Thanksgiving luxury. After
the turkeys are grown and ready for market, quite as much care
and attention should be given to the killing and shipping as to
the proper growing. When these things cannot be done to good
advantage, it would be better to sell them alive. Buyers who are
prepared to kill, dress, pack and ship turkeys and to save the
feathers, should be in a position to pay what they are worth
alive, and should be able to handle them at a profit better than
can the grower, who may not be prepared to do this work to
advantage. So much depends upon marketing them in the best
condition that small growers should either dress and sell to
their home market or, providing it can be done at a fair price,
sell alive to someone who makes a business of handling such
stock. Kill nothing but well fattened stock. It seldom pays to
sell ill-favored stock to the market. Do not give any feed to the
turkeys for twelve hours before killing. This allows their crops
and entrails to become empty and avoids much of the danger of
spoiling. Full crops and entrails count against the value; they
often taint the meat, and prevent it from being kept for any
length of time.

DRESSING

Dry picking is always to be preferred when preparing fowl for
market. When in fine condition, nicely picked, and sent to market
without having been packed in ice, the turkey is at its best and
consequently commands the highest price. When the fowl is
plucked, hang its head down in a cool place until all the animal
heat is gone from the body, being careful not to hang it where it
will be exposed to the cold as it is likely to freeze. Do not
remove the head, feet or entrails, but have the whole carcass,
including the head and feet, perfectly clean.

SHIPPING

For shipping, pack as closely as possible into close boxes or
barrels, nicely lined with white or manila paper. Do not use
brown, soiled or printed paper. Have the package completely
filled so as to prevent the poultry from shifting. Have all the
heads laid one way, breasts up. Do not use hay or straw for
packing as it marks and stains the fowl, detracting from the
value. The above method can only be used when the poultry is sent
to market without being packed in ice, and when this can be done
in safety either in refrigerator cars or for a short distance in
cold weather, it is by far the best.

The greater part, however, must be packed in ice. When necessary
to do this, use nice clean barrels, cover the bottom with broken
ice, then put in a layer of turkey, then a layer of ice; continue
this until the barrel is packed full. Always use perfectly clean
ice for packing. Head the barrel tightly, and mark its contents
plainly on the head. Never ship mixed lots of poultry in the same
package if it can be avoided.

Footnotes

Footnote 1:

The call has been so heavy that is been impossible for me to
handle the business of the remedies from my Concord home, and
they are now for sale with the Park & Pollard Company of Boston.

Footnote 2:

For the operation above described I have been using of late,
and cannot recommend too highly, a knife which may be procured
at Park & Pollard’s, called a Killing Knife.