Mites and Lice on Poultry. 



9 



7 



If convenient, the nests should be entirely apart from the roosting 

 quarters. They may consist of boxes, which are easily handled, 

 cleaned, or, if infested, destroyed. A series of nests made of boards 

 is not objectionable if placed on a framework free from the walls of 

 the henhouse and easily removable for cleaning. The simple arrange- 

 ment devised by Prof. Herrick and illustrated in figure 5 may be 

 used. Wooden or iron brackets (a) are fastened to the wall and 

 upon these are laid a 12-inoh and a 6-inch board, the latter behind (b). 

 These form the bottom of the nest and a shelf for the fowls to stand 

 on in entering the nests. The back of the nests is formed by the wall, 

 and the partitions are made by cutting a 12-inch board into pieces 

 12 inches long (c) held upright by a 1 by 3 (e) nailed on top even 

 with the back edges 

 and a similar strip (d) 

 nailed along the front 

 at the bottom. The 

 partitions and the bot- 

 tom can be readily 

 lifted off and thor- 

 oughly cleaned and the 

 wall behind treated. 

 Usually it is advisable 

 to hinge to the wall a 

 sheet of corrugated 

 iron in such a way as to form a slanting roof over the nests to give 

 seclusion and prevent fowls from roosting on them. 



Great care should be taken to keep nests occupied by sitting hens free 

 from mites. It is hard to work effectively against the mites when many 

 hens are brooding; moreover, oil used freely about the house at any 

 time may soil the eggs and prevent successful hatching. Infested 

 quarters, therefore, should be treated thoroughly in the late winter 

 before hens are set, so as to start them in nests which are absolutely 

 clean. Beneath the straw of the nest a layer of lime and sulphur will 

 tend to prevent mite breeding, and the entire nest may be dusted 

 occasionally with pyrethrum. Broken eggs and the straw soiled by 

 them should be removed promptly, as they tend to attract mites. 



In case an infestation of mites is discovered in nests where hens 

 are sitting it is advised that the corners and cracks of new nest boxes 

 be painted with carbolineum, after which the hens should be suppUed 

 with new nest material and the eggs and hens transferred during the 

 day time. The old nests should be burned or well sprayed. 



When poultry are to be transferred to new quarters it is desirable 

 that they be kept three days and nights in a pen so that the mites will 

 leave them before their introduction into the new building. The roosts 

 in the new building and in the quarantine cage should be treated 

 in order that any mites which have left the fowls may be destroyed. 

 120990°— 19— Bull. 801 2 



Fig. 5.— Simple nest boxes. (Herrick, \^ith modifications.) 



