Part 11

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.