532 A STUDY OF FARM ANIMALS 



Disinfectants should be liberally used about the poultry 

 plant in order to ward off this parasite. 



Scaly leg, or scabies, is due to a parasite that develops 

 on the legs of chickens and turkeys. The parasite gets 

 under the scales on the legs and bites the tissue, causing an 

 irritation and blistering. From these blisters when ruptured 

 come the scales which appear in many instances as a thick 

 coat or mass on the feet and legs. This condition is associ- 

 ated with extreme itching of the parts, and birds may stop 

 laying and die from the influence of the parasites. 



Scabies is easily destroyed. The scabby patches should 

 be thoroughly soaked with suds made from tarred soap or 

 other antiseptic soap. After removing the scales, the legs 

 should be scrubbed with kerosene. 



If the roosts and droppingboards of the poultry house 

 are from time to time thoroughly sprayed with kerosene, 

 scaly legs will not be likely to cause trouble. 



Lice and mites among fowls cause much irritation and 

 loss of condition. There are many forms of these external 

 parasites, of which seven are common on chickens. These 

 are known as body lice, head lice and feather lice. 



Body lice are most abundant under the wings and about 

 the vent. These lice lay eggs in clusters on the web part of 

 the feather close to the quill, mostly on the small, short 

 feathers below the vent. The eggs hatch in about a week, 

 and the lice reach full size in about 20 days. 



Feather lice, which are usually found on the feathers of 

 the back or breast of mature fowls, even though common, 

 are not so troublesome, as they feed on the feathers and 

 scales along the quills. Both body and feather lice are easily 

 gotten rid of, either by the use of sodium fluoride, a powder 

 poisonous to poultry lice, applied among the feathers next 

 to the skin, or by blue ointment about the vent, using a 

 piece about the size of a pea. When sodium fluoride is used, 

 "not more than 12 small pinches should be put on one fowl 



