144 



POULTRY DISEASES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



tion of balsam of Peru in alcohol (i part of balsam to 3 of alco- 

 hol) or I dram of creolin, 2 ounces of glycerine, Yz ounce of 

 alcohol and ^ ounce of water. Either of these liquids are 

 applied by rubbing into the skin. The application should be 

 repeated every 4 or 5 days until the disease is cured. 



Other Mites Affecting Poultry. 



Another form of Body Mange or scabies is found associated 

 with the mites Hpidermoptes bilobatus and Bpidermoptes bifur- 

 catus, but it has not been certainly demonstrated that they are 

 the cause of the disease. Present evidence indicates that they 

 are. 



The disease closely resembles favus (p. 147) but usually does 

 not affect the head. The regions commonly attacked are the 

 neck, breast, the wings and the body under the wings. It some- 

 times affects the entire body, including the head. The skin be- 

 comes irritated and shows an accumulation of 

 scales or crusts especially at the base of the 

 feathers. 



The mites live on the skin at the base of the 

 feathers. Since the mites are sometimes found 

 on birds which show no signs of scabies and since 

 the disease so closely resembles favus, which is 

 known to be caused by a fungus, it is sometimes 

 supposed that this mange is also due to a fungus 

 and that the mites are inoffensive. 



Five species of mites have been recorded 

 which live upon the feathers of fowls. These 

 are fairly abundant but do no harm. 



Two mites live within the body of fowls. One 



T-^. c *. of these, the air sac mite, is described elsewhere 



Fig- 35- Synip- ' 



tectoptes cys-i"?- no)- The other the connective tissue mite, 

 I i CO I a. Con- Symplectoptes cysticola, is found in the con- 

 nective tissue nective tissue of the fowls. They produce local 

 mite. (After jj.j.-|.^^jQj^g giving rise to tubercles but apparently 



do not affect the health of the bird. 

 The larvae of the so-called "harvest-bug" (which is not a bug 

 at all) Tetranychus (Thrombidium) (Leptus) autvminalis some- 

 times attacks poultry. The appearance of this mite is shown in 

 %• 36. 



