louse." This is pale dull yellow in color, with more or less distinct 

 darker marks on each side of the body, although often after feeding 

 it is reddish or pinkish in color. The length is about one-twentieth 

 of an inch, the legs are six in number, and the head is broad, rounded 

 in front, with a small antenna or feeler on each side. It is always 

 Avithout wings. 



This louse is very active, and seems to wander continually over the 

 skin or among the feathers, apparently looking for something new, as 

 any person will discover who handles a lousy hen. The eggs, or 

 " nits," of this louse are tiny, elongate, oval objects, with the smaller 

 end flattened and the larger end attached to the vanes and barbs of 

 the feathers. If conditions are favorable, the young issue from the 

 egg in about eight days, but they may^be kept in a cool place for 

 several months without loss of vitality. The young louse is much 

 like the parent, having six legs and a broad head, but with a rather 

 smaller body. It keeps close to the body of 

 the host, molts several times, and in the 

 course of two or three weeks, if not dis- 

 turbed, will reach maturity. Lice are not 

 provided with mandibles fitted to suck 

 blood from a hen, but they use their short- 

 toothed jaws to bite otf the epidermal scales, 

 or dandruff, and the edges of the feathers. 

 The claws of the feet are sometimes ver}'^ 

 sharp, and continual pricking of the host 

 draws blood, which is greedily eaten b}^ the 

 lice. This accounts for the reddish color of 

 many specimens. 



Dampness, filth, and warm weather favor 

 the increase of these lice, and a setting hen 

 in a foul nest is their paradise. At night 

 they crawl about on the roosts, going from 

 one fowl to another, so that one infested bird will soon cause the 

 infestation of an entire flock. 



The chickens do not suffer from loss of blood, but from the nervous 

 exhaustion induced by the biting of their scales and the scratching 

 and pricking from the chiws, often resulting in sores or ulcerations. 

 The continual worry and loss of sleep produce debility and bowel 

 troubles. Little chickens are, of course, more susceptible and often 

 die from the attacks. 



Unlike mites, lice are usually confined to one kind of host, and the 

 lice on ducks, geese, and pigeons are of kinds different from those on 

 chickens. 



[Cir.92] 



Fig. 3. — The common hen louse 

 {Menopon pallidum). Greatlj' 

 enlarged (original). 



