CHAPTER XV 



PARASITES AND DISEASES OF POULTRY 



MANY poor egg records and unthrifty and 

 unprofitable flocks in the hands of begin- 

 ners can be explained by the presence of 

 lice and mites on the fowls. Fowls are scarcely 

 ever wholly free from vermin, and while in small 

 The Parasites numbers they do little damage, they 

 of Poultry are rapid multipliers, and unless their 

 multiplication is periodically checked they will be- 

 come so numerous that in a short time they are 

 liable to get the poultry keeper into serious straits. 

 A man may start in the poultry business with 

 everything new and* clean, but it is only a short 

 time until the pests are there. Much needless 

 trouble is often caused to beginners by vermin, 

 because they cannot find any lice, or at least not 

 enough to lead them to believe there is anything 

 important at stake. The beginner should remem- 

 ber that every adult fowl is more or less lousy, and 

 should not flatter himself that his fowls are free 

 from them. It is a good rule to treat every fowl 



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