# Nancy Luce part II- illnesses and cures for chickens



## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

HENS—THEIR DISEASES AND CURE. (natural from the 1800's)

Stoppage in Stomach.—If a hen has stoppage in her stomach, her corn stops in her crop, hard and swell large, and she sick, first work with your fingers carefully, get it soft, then take a small teaspoon and measure it full of epsom salts, and dissolve it in water, and give it to her with a teaspoon; you must keep to work with your fingers often, to keep it from hardening again, and the next day, if her breath smells bad, there is a rottenness in her stomach, then give her most as much of epsom salts again. Put a little flour porridge in her mouth with a teaspoon, three times a day, and a little soaked cracker, soaked in water; put a little in her mouth if she can swallow it, in five days she eat with the hens and be well. This is the way I cure them.

Folks bring hens to me in this disease, to the point of death, been sick a long time, I cure them in five days; they must not have any milk in this disease, it will kill them, do as I tell you and you can cure them. Once in a great while one of my hens have stoppage in their stomach; I cure them with only my fingers, because I take her as soon as the corn stops. Milk does not agree with hens in sickness nor health, it keeps up in their stomach, and they vomit it up. I think strange it does not agree with hens, because milk is so good for human. You must not give your hens any castor oil, nor rhubarb, in not any disease whatever; it is poison for them, my reason tells me so, and I hear of folks killing their hens by giving them such stuff.

My hens all keep healthy, because I keep them clean, and keep victuals and clean water standing by them, and take good care of them. I can cure a good many diseases for hens, but I cannot cure every disease. Every once in a while a sick hen is brought to me, to the point of death, been sick a great while, most dead, some ail one disease, some ail a number of diseases; I receive them into my care, I doctor them, and take care of them, I raise them up to health, I am unable to do anything, but I must take pity.

Froth in Throat.—If a hen has froth in her throat and crop, measure a small teaspoonful of epsom salts, dissolve it, put in a little black pepper, and give it to her with a teaspoon, it will cure this disease; but if she make a screaming noise with it, and distressed with it, then a sore growing in her, then no cure.

Gapes.—If a hen or chicken gapes a great deal, and sick, and complains of her throat, make pills of black pepper, cream, white flour, and put a pill in her mouth and make her swallow it till she takes down enough; the black pepper kills the worms. I cure them so.

Bag Stone.—This is a seldom case, I have known this case once in a while. If a hen has a bag of stones grow in her, hang down under her, you must give her the best of good cake to eat, the stones will consume in a few weeks, then she will eat corn and oats with the hens, and lay you eggs; but if you do not give her the best of cake she will certainly die, she cannot eat anything else then, in this disease, but best of cake. I cured them so.

Skin in Hen.—If a hen goes on her nest, and try to lay an egg, and cannot, and there most all day, then a skin of an egg is in her, she will certainly die if the skin of egg is not took out of her; some one has a small finger, and common sense, take the skin of egg out of her, then she is all right. I cure them so.

Bones.—If a hen is wounded in her hips, or any of her bones, bathe freely with McQuesten's Extractor a number of times every day, put on a good deal, till she gets well; I have cured a number of hens with this Extractor, they could not stand nor walk, their bones was so spraint, and so wrenched, &c. If their bones stiff too, then put on Dr. Job Sweet's Sprain Liniment, if any sore, then put on castile soap. I cure them so.

Green.—If a hen has bright green come from her, look same as bright green paint, with yellow in it, give her rice water with nutmeg grated in it, and Jamaica ginger, a number of times a day, till it cures this disease. I cure them in a few days.

Feeling.—It is your duty to take good care, and not let anything hurt your hens, consider dear little hens..

Diarrhœa.—-If a hen has diarrhœa, and pain with it, you must be as careful about what she eats, as her medicines; she must not have not any corn, and not any corn meal dough, not till she is well. Give her a little warm flour porridge, five times a day, with a teaspoon; her medicine, Jamaica ginger, put in warm rice water, and grate in good deal nutmeg, give it to her three times a day, take good care of her, and she get well. I cure them so.

Lice.—Human, some of them, have lice on their hens, it is cruel, the reason is, the hen-house above the ground, and keep dirty, that breeds lice on hens, and breeds diseases too; have a cellar for your hens, and take up the dressing every morning, be no lice, lice will not breed in a cellar, I never have any lice on my hens, and they keep healthy. Folks bring sick hens to me, I cure them, and lice on them too, I put black pepper in their feathers, it kills the lice. God meant for human to take good care of dumb creatures, and be kind to them, or not keep any. Do by dumb creatures as you would wish to be done by if you was dumb creatures, consider how you would feel.

Warped Neck.—If a hen has warped neck, rub on castor oil, faithful, a number of times, and give her a little Huile D'olive to take inside, a good chance, her neck come in place again.

Swelled Head.—If a hen has swelled head and face, and blue black, put on Huile D'olive, I had one so, I cured her.

Fever.—If a hen has a fever, and her crop swelled soft, take a small teaspoon full of epsom salts and dissolve it in warm water, and put in a little black pepper in it, and give it to her with a teaspoon, and give her as much warm water as she wants to drink in her sickness, I cure hens and chickens so in three days, and give her a little porridge with a teaspoon, five times a day, till she is able to eat. I cure them so.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Page 2 of cures and treatments

Feeling.—If any one is cruel to dumb creatures, they will go to everlasting punishment, and have the greatest punishment.

Be kind to poor hens in every way, and not let them suffer with hunger nor cold; cruelty not in any way; must not affrighten them; doctor them when they have diseases. Be good and kind to them. Think how good God is. Act up to His will in all your ways and all your thoughts too.

You must keep your hens from suffering with cold, and give them enough to eat, and keep them clean, and not affrighten them, &c., &c., or they cannot lay you eggs. If your hens or chickens have their crops swelled soft, and a fever, give them a portion of Epsom salts, with a little black pepper in it, and give them as much warm water as they can drink; in their sickness take good care of them, they get well. If they have stoppage in their stomach, their crop swelled hard, take your fingers and jam carefully till their crop is soft, then give them a portion of Epsom salts. I have cured them with only my fingers, they get well.

If they have itching feet and scurfy, if mutton tallow will not cure it, then put their feet in a thing of warm water and wash them every morning till they get well. When they shed their feathers, their stomach is weak then, they must have soft victuals then, hard corn will distress their stomach then. If hen's body comes out, put it back in her and see to her, she be well by the next day. If it comes more than half way out, it can be put back if any one has common sense. If a string of hen's insides comes out, with a egg fast to it, break the egg, and take it off from her insides and put her insides back in her and see to her, she be well by the next day. If hen's legs chilled with cold for want of sun, and they cannot walk, take them by the fire and rub their legs and feet, faithful, half a day, then rub on black pepper mixed with warm water, they get well.

If a hen is starved she must not have hard corn at first, give her flour bread soaked soft in milk, till she is able to eat corn. Hens must not go in snow, it hurts them. They must not have fat meat. They must not be crowded, their room must be large enough. Their roosts must not be too high, for them to fly down on hard floor, it hurts their feet and hips. I know it. Hens want sun in winter and shade in summer. If hens' feet crack, bleed, and sore places, melt mutton tallow and white sugar together, rub it on faithful, they get well.


If they bleed great deal, put on warm alum water first, they get well. If hens' feet swell, put on sweet apple balsam every day, they get well. If hens' head turns over, give her Epsom salts and black pepper, she get over it for a while. If hens have diarrhœa, give them boiled rice

, black pepper, nutmeg, mixed, they get well if you take good care of them. Hens must not have fish, it physics them. Hens must not have anything relaxing. If hens have rattling in their throat give them Epsom salts and black pepper, they get well. If hen has her head quiver, and stagger, give her Epsom salts, and keep her quiet, and her food soak cracker in milk, she get well. If hens taken lame in the afternoon without being hurt, rub on mutton tallow and black pepper, they get well. If hen's bones spraint or bruised, bathe freely with Mequesten's Extracter, take good care of her, she get well in time, must have little time for it. This medicine will cure burns, scalds, on human, no doubt on hens too. It will cure sores, put it on when they first begin to come.

If anything ails hens' eyes, rain-water is good, new milk put on, mutton tallow put around her eyes, salve made of rose water and cream, put around her eyes. Hens must not be confined in wind, it hurts them, they cannot lay you eggs. God placed us in this world to be kind to dumb creatures, or not keep any, and kind to human too. Consider what a wickedness it is to go contrary from it. 

. If hens have watery stomachs give them black pepper, put it in their dough, if they are able to eat it, if not able, then mix the pepper with water, and give it to her with a teaspoon, be careful and not have it too strong, to take her breath. If hens have pip, give them the same medicine, it will cure pip and watery stomach. Help them in season. If hen has swelled throat, put on sweet oil and black pepper, she get well. You must not give your hens salt, it will kill them. You must not give them rye, it will hurt them. If hen lays soft shell eggs, let her set two or three weeks, she lay hard shell eggs again.

You must take good care of your poor hens or they cannot lay you eggs. Hens must be kept clean and must not have any bad smell with them, it will poison them. You must not give them cayenne pepper, it will poison them, it drives a redness into their heads, then they fail till they die. Black pepper is good for them when they need it. Hens must have clean victuals and clean water to drink.

Take the chill off the water in winter. Keep good yellow southern corn standing by them, they take a little when they want it, it does them more good, and it takes less to keep them. Give them boiled oats, it is good for them to lay eggs. I give my hens boiled oats all the time, and corn standing by them. I give them some other victuals too, sometimes, and sometimes I give them some boiled potatoes. I mash it with cream for them. My hens lay me more eggs than anybody's hens anywhere, by what I hear.

Good flour bread is splendid to make them lay eggs, but I am not able to cook it for them. The bread must not be sour. Keep fine clam shells by them, and gravel sand. They must be kept warm in winter and cool in summer. They must have clean, warm cellar room, you will have double the eggs. Take up the dressing every morning certain, and oftener, if they stay down there days. When cold, keep them in the cellar, when the weather is suitable, let them out days. If cold morning, keep them in till the sun gets up warm. Be clever to them. They must not be affrighted. They can never get over it. I hear what folks do all my days, and their poor hens cannot lay much and they die off. It is wicked for folks to be so cruel.

Have tender feelings in your hearts,

For all the poor, harmless dumb creatures.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

Interesting!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

It's just kind of cool that someone was attached to chickens way back when. They actually lived in the house with her.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

I wonder if she had dirt floors. It might have been a bit smelly!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I believe she used straw but I don't know about the floor under it.


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