*• fOUJL TICK 



The fowl tick ] injures poultry by sucking blood. Its 

 preferred victim is the chicken, but it also attacks other 

 poultry, chiefly the turkey. 



The fowl tick is also called the chicken tick and the 

 bluebug. 



Fowl ticks occur mostly in the southern part of the 

 United States, particularly where the annual rainfall is 

 light, as in the Southwestern States. They sometimes 

 occur in more humid, cooler States through shipment 

 of infested poultry and crates. 



Fowl ticks can be controlled by following good sani- 

 tation practices, and by spraying with insecticides. 



NATURE OF INJURY 



The bloodsucking of fowl ticks causes poultry to be 

 unthrifty, to lose weight, and to lay fewer eggs. Heavy 

 infestations sometimes kill fowls by removing their 

 blood, and often cause setting hens to desert their nests. 



Chickens infested with ticks show weakness in the 

 legs, droopiness of the wings, loss of appetite, and pale 

 combs and wattles. 



HOW THEY DEVELOP 



Female ticks lay brownish, spherical eggs in cracks 

 and rough places of poultry houses or roosting areas. 

 In warm weather, the eggs hatch in about 2 weeks. In 

 cool weather, hatching may take 2 or 3 months. 



When the eggs hatch, the young ticks, or larvae, 

 attach themselves to the poultry. They gather in places 

 where the feathers are sparse — under the wings and on 

 the thighs and neck. They remain on the fowls about a 

 week, sucking blood. Then they drop off the fowls at 

 night, while the fowls are on the roost, and seek a hiding 

 place. They are about one-tenth inch long and are dark 

 blue or purplish. 



After a few days the larvae molt to the next stage : 

 they become nymphs. The nymphs also attach them- 

 selves to the fowls and feed on them, but they remain 

 attached only a few minutes at a time. After each feed- 

 ing they drop off the fowls and seek a hiding place. 

 Each nymph feeds two or three times, and molts several 

 days after each meal. After the final rnolt, the ticks 

 become adult males and females. The adults feed sev- 

 eral times, for a few minutes each time, and the females 

 lay eggs after each meal. Adults are one-fifth to nearly 

 one-half inch long. 



how to control it 



1 Argas persicus. 



Spraying roosts to 

 control fowl ticks. 



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