82 



POULTRY DISEASES 



shape. These fleas are found particularly in the sandy soil. They 

 are commonly known as the stick-tight fleas. 



Description. —The female is 0.75 mm. to 1. mm. in length and the 

 male a trifle shorter. Its posterior legs are much longer than the 

 anterior pair. The posterior angles of the metathoracic scales are 

 angled. The eyes and antennae are located in the posterior part of 

 the head. It is brown to brownish-black in color. 



Habitat. — It lives in shady places, under old houses, on earthen 

 floors, in filth. It is a veritable pest to old birds and especially to 

 young chickens and turkeys. 



Tyife Historii. — It lays its eggs in dirty filthy corners or sand or 

 while on the bird, under which conditons the eggs roll off on the 

 ground, where they hatch out and go through the changes which 

 bring them to the adult stage. The eggs are oval in shape and 

 white in color, while the eggs of the Pulex avium are brown. 



Conditions Produced.— It does not have a tendency to hop like 

 the Pulex avium but implants itself on the heads and necks of 

 chickens and especially the young. With its powerful proboscis 

 it pierces the skin and sucks the blood and remains in one position, 

 burying itself in the upper layers of the skin producing irritation 

 and inflammation. When removed we find they may jump like 

 species of the pulex. 



Treatment. — Use louse powder or grease the heads and necks of 

 the young chicks with lard in which has been mixed a small quantity 

 of sulphur or saturate the head and neck with gasoline, being careful 

 not to get the gasoline in the eyes. Saturate the infested prem- 

 ises, including runs, with kerosene. 



TICK INFESTATION 



The chicken tick is the Argas miniatus. It is common in 

 the southern part of the United States. 



Ar^as Miniatus 



Description. — The body is flat and thin. It has an overreaching 

 dorsal surface that hides the mouth parts. The mouth parts are 



provided with mandibles, which have 

 hook-like denticles at the free extremity 

 and a hypostome provided with six rows 

 of irregularly-arranged, toothlike denti- 

 cles. With this apparatus it holds on to 

 its host. By the side of this apparatus 

 there is, on either side, a palpus, an ar- 

 ticulated, fingerlike structure taking the 

 place of antennae as found in the insect 

 parasites. This tick is a blood sucker. 

 The engorged female is nearly one-half 

 inch long. Fig. 34 is a drawing of a full- 

 grown female, taken from a hen in 

 southern Texas. 



Life History. — The engorged female 

 drops from the hen to the ground, and, 

 finding a hiding place under some object, 

 lays her eggs, which, if the weather be warm, hatch in a few days 

 into the six-legged asexual state, l^pon gaining access to chickens 

 it begins to draw blood and molts, finally reaching the eight-legged, 

 sexual state. It is now ready to again reproduce. 



Fig. 34. Argas Miniatus. 



