Lice, Mites, and Cleanliness. 5 
kinds of poultry lice. It should be applied by placing a small amount 
of the powder (as much as can be held between the thumb and finger) 
among the feathers next to the skin on the head, neck, back, under 
the wings, on the breast, below the vent, and at the base of the tail. 
Not more than 12 small pinches should be put on one fowl at a 
time, as too much is injurious. One pound of powdered sodium 
fluorid applied in this manner will treat 100 fowls and is very 
effective. It is usually advisable to treat fowls in the spring just 
before the brooding season, which will help to keep the young chicks 
free from vermin. ‘Sodium fluorid if inhaled is very irritating to 
either fowls or human beings. If too much is inhaled by fowls or 
chicks it will be fatal. Therefore, precaution should be taken in 
treating fowls to see that it is not inhaled or allowed to get into any 
cuts or wounds in the flesh. 
Blue ointment is another effective remedy. In using it apply a 
small portion (a piece about the size of a pea) with the fingers 
around the vent only of the fowl, and not on the body or under the 
wings. Care should be taken not to get any of the ointment into the 
vent, as it is poisonous and injurious. If mercurial ointment (a 
similar preparation) is used instead of blue ointment, it should be 
diluted with one-half the quantity of vaseline or lard. 
Lice powders of various kinds are also on the market (they can 
usually be purchased at stores and poultry-supply houses) and may 
be used oftentimes with good results. These lice powders should 
be dusted well into the feathers (see illustration on front- cover), 
working the powder in with the fingers, especially under the wings 
and around the vent, to make sure it reaches the skin. If all the lice 
are not killed by the first treatment the fowls should be dusted 
again in a week or ten days and as often afterwards as found neces- 
sary. 
HEAD LICE. 
Head lice, so called because of their habits, are found on the heads 
of both chicks and mature fowls, but most often on young chicks. 
They are longer and more slender than body lice, and dark brown in 
color. They are almost always in greatest number on the top of 
the head, around the ears, and underneath the bill, and are usually 
found with their heads close against the skin of the chicks, the body 
extending outward. Head lice confine their attacks principally to 
the head of the chick or fowl and are very injurious. They breed 
rapidly and pass from the mother hen to young chicks and from one 
chick to another, which makes it necessary to watch the flock 
carefully in order to keep the chickens free from these pests. 
To kill head lice on chicks, a very small portion of melted lard or 
vaseline should be applied to the top of the head, under the wings, 
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