PARASITES AND ENEMIES OF POULTRY 319 



Fig. 174. — ^Enlarged sketch 

 of a body louse. 



in the poultry house (see Chapter XVIII, page 195). If this 



box is kept full of dry powdered dirt, the birds will largely 



rid themselves of lice. When very 



numerous and the birds do not seem 



to get rid of them by dusting in sand 



wallows, sprinkle each bird individually 



with a good lice powder, dusting it 



well into the quill. A good method 



is to get a preparation of blue oint- 

 ment, and rub a little of it into the 



fluff at the base of the feathers, and 



also thoroughly into the skin. If birds 



seem to be a little out of condition 



and not doing well, they should be 



examined for body lice. 



Red mites (Fig. 175) are minute in- 

 sects. When empty they are of yellow 



color, when filled up with blood, bright 



red. Red mites migrate during the night, from hiding places 



in the house, to the bird's body to 

 suckits blood, then return to their 

 cracks and crevices around the 

 dropping boards, where they re- 

 main during the day. They sap 

 the vitality of the birds. Mites 

 are much easier to kill than lice 

 because they can be attacked in 

 their hiding places. A 5 per cent 

 solution of carbolic acid, or kero- 

 sene, full strength, if applied di- 



red^Site,'fh7winL"t1>f shape*of1ht rectly tO the WOOd WOrk, will USU- 



'""^y- ally kill the mites. If nests and fix- 



tures are portable, this will f acihtate the extermination of mites. 

 Depluming Mites. — The depluming mite is much more 

 rare but, when present in large numbers, does considerable 



