March 1896.] 



PARASITES OF POULTRY. 



425 



Eegarding the infestation of the birds themselves white pre- 

 cipitate seldom fails. The heads and necks of young chicks 

 should be early dressed very sparingly, and repeated when 

 necessary. White precipitate is a strong irritant poison, and 

 needs the greatest care in its use, especially in young chicks. 

 It is best obtained as an ointment from the chemists. Hens 

 selected for sitting should have a small quantity of this ointment 

 rubbed in under the vent, head, and sides, and then well dusted 

 with insect powder. Sitting hens are greatly tortured by 

 parasites, and their young are often lost by neglect of these simple 

 precautions. The skin should be first moistened with soft soap 

 and water prior to dusting the birds with the insect powder 

 (pyrethrmji). Some breeders prefer flower of sulphur. Dust- 

 baths are the natural remedy for lice and mites, and fowls should 

 never be kept without them. Sand mixed with a small quantity 

 of creosote will generally keep the birds free from vermin. 

 Finely divided gypsum, mixed with a small quantity of paraffin 

 or carbolic, is still more successful for these dust-baths, quickly 

 getting rid of any lingering pests that the birds cannot reach. 



The supposed connection hehveen ''Gapes'' and '' Lice." — It 

 has been stated that there is a connection between the nematode 

 worm, Syngamus hifurcatus (the " red-worm " of gamekeepers), 

 that produces " gapes " in fowls and pheasants, and lice. The 

 one is thought to give rise to the other in some mysterious way ; 

 needless to say there is no connection whatever. The life- 

 history of that destructive scourge, the gape-worm, has been 

 clearly traced, and we now know that no intermediate host is 

 required for its development. 



Feather-Eating or Depluming Scabies. — Feather-eating 

 in poultry is due to a minute parasitic mite (Sarcoptes laevis) 



Fig. 6, 



Sarcoptes laevis. Egg-bearing female (greatly enlarged), 



at the roots of the feathers. It is generally supposed to be due 

 to a " vicious habit ; " numerous absurd theories, such as idleness 

 and thirst, having been put forward to account for it. There 



