Mites may be confused with lice, but mites suck blood. In general, each species of lice is confined to a particular kind of poultry, although some may pass from one kind to another when birds are closely associated. All species of poultry lice have certain common habits. All live continuously on feathered hosts and soon die if removed. The eggs are attached to the feathers.
Young lice resemble adults except in color and size.
Lice differ in preferred locations on the host, and these preferences have given rise to the common names applied to various species. In general, the incubation period of lice eggs is four to seven days, and development of the lice between hatching and the adult stage requires about twenty-one days. Mating takes place on the fowl, and egg laying begins two to three days after lice mature. The number of eggs probably ranges from fifty to three-hundred per female louse. It usually is located near the skin in the down or at the base of the feathers on the top and back of the head and beneath the beak.