Lice, Mites, and Cleanliness. 



and rough, and quite often scabs and blood clots may be seen. These 

 are evidence of long irritation, preventing normal growth and develop- 

 ment in chicks, and causing sickness and loss of vigor in mature fowls. 

 Body lice deposit their eggs in clusters on the web part of the 

 feather close to the quill. On mature fowls they are to be found in 

 greatest numbers on the small short feathers below the vent. On 

 chicks, the eggs are often deposited on the soft, downy feathers about 

 the head and throat. The eggs hatch in about a week, and the lice 

 reach their full size in about 20 days; therefore, if they are not killed, 

 the fowls become alive with them in a very short time. 



HEAD LICE. 



Head lice, so called because of their habits, are found on the heads 

 of both chicks and mature fowls, but most often on young chicks. 

 They are longer and more slender than body lice, and dark brown in 

 color. They are almost always in greatest number on the top of 

 the head, around the ears, and underneath the bill, and are usually 

 found with their heads close against the skin of the chicks, the body 

 extending outward. Head lice confine their attacks principally to 

 the head of the chick or fowl and are very injurious. They breed 

 rapidly and pass from the mother hen to young chicks and from one 

 chick to another, which makes it necessary for every boy and every 

 girl to watch their flocks carefully in order to keep the chickens free 

 from these pests. 



FEATHER LICE. 



Feather lice are the species most commonly found on poultry, but 

 are probably the least importance for the reason that they stay on 

 the feathers the greater part of the time, and feed on the feathers 

 and scales along the quill rather than on the skin or body of the fowl. 

 They are smaller than the body lice but otherwise resemble them 

 somewhat in appearance. They can be detected easily, however, upon 

 parting the feathers on the back or breast, where usually they can be 

 found clinging to the web and shaft of the feather. Feather lice 

 infest mature fowls and are seldom found on young chicks. 



POULTRY MITES. 



Of all parasites affecting poultry it is probable that ordinary poultry 

 mites are the most troublesome and destructive unless kept under 

 control. Unlike the lice, poultry mites are blood-sucking parasites, 

 and live entirely on the blood of the fowl. They are very small, and 

 gray in color. However, after they have been- on the body of the 

 fowl and filled themselves with blood they look red and are called 



