12 Farmers' Bulletin 801. 



CHIGGERS ("RED BUGS" OR HARVEST MITES). 



The chiggers which attack chickens are the same minute red mites 

 which attack man. They are the first stage of a large red mite, 

 which when mature is entirely harmless. Normally these immature 

 mites are parasitic upon insects. They are often very widely dis- 

 tributed in fields and thus readily picked up by chickens. They 

 attach themselves to the skin in groups beneath the wings and on the 

 breast and neck. The injury is most severe among young chickens, 

 although grown fowls occasionally are annoyed to some extent. 

 Young chickens which have a free range, especially if it extends 

 into lowlands and mider trees, are very susceptible to attack. The 

 infested chickens become droopy, emaciated, soon refuse to eat, and 

 if exposure to the mites is continued a considerable mortality is 

 likely to result. Intense irritation is set up, and abscesses are formed 

 at the points where the clusters of mites are feeding. These abscesses 

 sometimes are one-thu'd of an inch in diameter and surrounded by 

 a greater inflamed area. Suppuration takes place beneath the skin, 

 and swelling around the clusters of mites causes the formation of a 

 considerable cavity at the center where the mites are attached. 



In the South and in the Central States, where chiggers are numerous, 

 probably the best plan is to keep young chickens during the summer 

 from ranging where these mites are likely to occur. If chickens are 

 hatched very early in the spring, it is likely that they will escape 

 chiggers more or less completely. When the chickens de become 

 infested the aj^plication of sulphm- ointment or kerosene and lard wiU 

 desti'oy them. If extensive suppuration has taken place, the scab 

 should be removed and the area washed with a 4 per cent carbolic-acid 

 solution. Occasional light dusting of chickens with flowers of sul])hur 

 doubtless will keep these "red bugs" off, and where fenced range is 

 infested the application of sulphur at the rate of 50 pounds per acre 

 with a dust blower would keep them in control.^ 



LICE. 

 LICE ON CHICKENS. 



All poultry lice or bird lice have stout cutting or biting mouth parts 

 which distinguish them from the sucking lice of cattle and other 

 domestic animals. Unlike the mites, lice remain on the hosts 

 constantly. More than 40 species of lice are found on the various 

 domestic fowls. Some species are found on one host only, while other 

 kinds may attack a number of fowls. Chickens are infested by more 

 kinds of lice than any other domestic fowl. Seven species are very 

 commonly found on chickens in the United States, four or five on 

 pigeons, two or three each on geese and ducks, tlu-ee on turkeys, and 

 se^ eral each on guinea fowl and peafowl. 



All these lice are adapted to the conditions under which they live. 

 They have a flattened form and arc fitted with various spines and 



> Further information regarding harvest mites or "red bugs" may be had from Farmers' Bulletin 671, 

 Which may be obtained on application to the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



