PARASITES 



INSECTS AFFECTING POULTRY 



LICE, MITES AND FLEAS— HOW TO FIGHT THEM— FORMULAS 

 FOR LIQUID LICE KILLER AND A GOOD LICE POWDER 



P. T. WOODS, M. D. 



IN THE spring, the fowls, having been more or less confined to limited 

 quarters during the cold weather, are almost certain to be quite lousy, 

 unless their owner is more careful than the average poultry keeper. 

 Lice are "in season" twelve months in the year, but when the fowls 

 are enjoying outdoor liberty, the pests are less troublesome. In the spring, 

 too, the vermin are a menace to the growing chicks. Ask almost any poul- 

 tryman whether his fowls are lousy, and the answer will be cock-sure "No!" 

 Ten times out of ten, he is mistaken. I never saw an adult fowl that I would 

 be willing to guarantee to be free from hoe. When you feel very certain 

 that your fowls are free from those troublesome "guests," it is a good 

 time to be on your guard. Many of the vermin are a disgrace to any poul- 

 try keeper. It is easy to keep a flock practically free from them. 



There are many varieties of lice, mites, fleas and other insects affect- 

 ing poultry, but it is not necessary to be familiar with the biography of 

 each in order to combat them successfully. 



LICE 



The true Uce are the long-bodied, eix-Iegged vermin which live on the 

 body and among the feathers of the fowl. They vary in color and shape 

 according to the variety of the louse, but their effect on the fowl is practi- 

 cally the same. They do not suck blood, but feed on the plumage and scales 

 of the skin of their "host." They may drink blood or serum which exudes 

 from abrasions of the skin, but they possess no sucking organs. Each 

 louse possesses a pair of sharp claws on each foot. They are a source of 

 great irritation to the fowl and, on birds having a tender skin, may cause 

 troublesome skin disease. Their presence frets and worries the fowl, and 

 interferes with sleep and the proper performance of the normal functions 

 of the body. The lice may also act as carriers of disease. Many lice on 

 a young chick may result in dumpishness, loss of appetite and stunting or 

 death; on adult fowls, the result may be falling off in egg yield, suscepti- 

 bility to disease, infertile eggs and damage to plumage. The eggs of lice 

 hatch in from one week to ten days, and the young mature quickly. lice 

 are rapidly spread through a flock by contact with a lousy fowl. Wild 

 birds, pigeons, parasitic flies and persons fresh from visiting lousy fowls 

 may act as carriers of lice, and so spread the vermin from one flock to an- 

 other. 



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