DISEASES AND PREDATORY ANIMALS 



lice on young turkeys to overlook these pests even after 

 what they consider careful examination. For this reason 

 if one's turkeys are droopy and not doing well and still 

 the owner is convinced that there are no lice on them, 

 further examination for this purpose should be made. 

 The following experiment may be tried on little turkeys 

 under those conditions. Submerge the little turkey in 

 warm water which has been heated to about body tem- 

 perature. Hold the little bird there with just its bill 

 sticking out so that it can breathe, until the entire plumage 

 is thoroughly wet, then wrap it in a white cloth which has 

 been nicely warmed and hold the bird this way for several 

 minutes. Then take the cloth off and notice whether there 

 are any lice on it. Usually this experiment will result in 

 finding a large number of lice on the cloth even when the 

 turkey was supposed to be absolutely free from them. 



Stick-Tight Fleas or Chiggers. In addition to the lice 

 which trouble turkeys there is also more or less difficulty 

 in parts of the South from the stick-tight fleas or chiggers, 

 which affect both chickens and turkeys. These fleas breed 

 and abound in dry sandy soil, particularly in sheltered 

 places out of the rain under buildings. They attach 

 themselves to the fowl especially on the uncovered head 

 parts where they suck the blood and cause intense irrita- 

 tion. The effort should be made to keep the turkeys as 

 free from stick-tight fleas as possible by not allowing 

 them to go under buildings or other sheltered places 

 where the soil is not rained upon but is dry and sandy. 

 Not as much difficulty is likely to be experienced with 



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