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Show POULTRY LEUCOSIS J ; "CURES" UNCERTAIN Money Spent on Remedies e j Is Not Good Judgment. e By rtr- Tannic Thorp. Jr., Associate In Animnl I'ntholov. I'nlverMty oC a j Illinois. WNU Service. 1 ; Buying so-called remedies to rid I j their Hocks of leucosis disease, a pvliieh includes such ailments as 3. range paralysis, big liver disoas'e, it i white eye, neuritis and leucemia, Is n iiikely to prove a waste of money I for poultrymen. As yet there is no (1 jknnwn cure for the malady, y Although comparatively new in d iliis state, leucosis Is apparently a 'spreading throughout many flocks y land threatens to become a serious 1 .'poultry problem. All breeds of 8 ! chick en appear to be susceptible to ' -the disease. It affects both sexes e lalike and usually occurs between e the ages of three and twelve 1 I months. 7 In spite of the fact that birds 'contracting leucosis cannot be cured, research investigations Indi-' Indi-' cute that the disease can be controlled con-trolled if poultrymen will carry out ' five more or less preventive measures, meas-ures, it Is said. These Include r rigid culling to detect leucosis In (he early stages of the disease, dis-3 dis-3 posing of all diseased birds by kill-c kill-c ing and burning, buying hatching t fggs, new breeding stock or baby c chicks only from disease-free flocks 1 and by following strict hygiene and sanitary practices. Should a poul-' poul-' tryman believe that his flock may r iie infected with leucosis, Immedl-5 Immedl-5 ate diagnosis can be made by a local lo-cal veterinarian. 1 Symptoms of the disease are vari-1 vari-1 able and depend largely upon the " tissues affected. When the blood- forming organs are Involved, gen- eral weakness and varying degrees of anemia and diarrhea are common com-mon symptoms. "The birds are likely to become poor in flesh. Where the nerve type of disease is present, the chickens may be- come lame in one or both legs and ! the wings become droopy. These symptoms, too, will vary according to the location and degree of the tissue infection. When the brain Is affected, odd head movements may be noted. The eye type of infection is characterized char-acterized by a loss of pigment in the iris, followed by a constriction of the pupil, and eventually impaired im-paired vision and blindness. Both eyes are Involved as a rule, or become be-come so during the early stages of the disease. Leucosis, however, should not be confused with tuberculosis, tuber-culosis, fowl typhoid, parasitism or chemical or bacterial poisoning. Breeder Toms Should Be Selected With Much Care Breeders of turkeys should buy toms for next spring's breeding pens early.; for by so doing one has the benefit, of first choice. To wait until un-til breeding time means that a less desirable male will be the father of next year's turkey flock with a consequent increase in No. 2 birds, lower prices, and less profit from next year's operations. If there is a flaw In the turkey breeder's make-up, says a writer In tlie Missouri Farmer, it is his fancy to fine feathers rainbow tails and spots are common words in his vocabulary. vo-cabulary. And while It is true one might as well feed beautiful plumage plu-mage as well as gray and chocolate colored tails, good color Is much less Important In breeding stock than vigor; for without vigor in the breeding stock the breeder Is headed head-ed for the "rocks." One thing to bear In mind, however, Is the fact that good color In a turkey Is evidence evi-dence that her ancestors have had the attention of a good breeder and that vigor Is more likely to be present pres-ent than In a bird of poor coloring. Sunflower Seed Value Sunflower seed Is supposed to be a good feed for producing feathers. It Is doubtful If this point has ever been scientifically proved. The heads of sunflowers contain 12 per cent crude protein, 24 per cent fiber, and approximately 49 per cent carbohydrates and fat combined. Sunflower seeds with hulls contain approximately 10 per cent crude protein, 2S per cent fiber and 40 per ent carbohydrates and fats. Sunflower Sun-flower seeds without hulls contain 27 per cent crude protein, C per cent filler and 51 per cent carbohydrates carbo-hydrates and fats. The chief objection ob-jection to feeding sunflower beads or seeds with bulls Is the high fiber content. Idaho Farmer. Feed for Hens A lack of green feed can be rem-fdied rem-fdied inexpensively in most cases. Leaves of alfalfa or other well-cured well-cured legumes can be fed to the hens or added to the mash. Carrots Car-rots and cabbages, in addition to yellow corn, supply vitamin A. Milk takes the place of green feeds and ndds valuable proteins to the ration. ra-tion. Cod liver oil can be mixed with feeds where no natural source of vitamin Is available. Poultry flocks will obtain their own green fped from fall-sown winter erains. |