Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1902-10-30
IGrI + The LICE


The keeping OF house, brooQer and
birds free from vermin Is easier than
exterminating them when they have
begun breeding in earnest. When ice
begin to multiply, prohts lessen, and
the time arrives when there Is no
money in keeping hens. Lice and profit
able poultry do not coexist. Lice and
little chicks seldom live long together
In the same brooder.
One-haif the death losses among
brooder chicks are due to the various
varieties Of lice. especially to the red
mites. Little chicks are especially sus-
ceptible to the ravages Of vermin.
The common body louise found on the
chick is the same as appears on the
adult bird. The usual mode of trans
mission is for the louise to crawl from
the brooding hen to the chick she
mothers. Sitting hens are good breed
ing places for lice, and many little
chick gets its first experience Of lice
soon after it gets out of the shell Lice
also pass from chick to chick. A few
lice infested chicks added to a brooder
soon furnish lice to the lot 1t is also
true that lice get on young chicks
from hens in nearby yards. There
must be some plan Kept in mind to
constantly control lice on the growing
chicks.
Dust is the first and natural remedy
for body lice. Left to herself, the
mother hen viii dust her chicks by
getting her own feathers filed with
dust and then calling her little ones
under her. Dry road dust, finely ground
tobacco, Persian insect powder-in
fact any fine, dry particles-will kill
the lice If worked into the small
breathing tubes Of the insects. There
are many good insect powders on the
market. You can make your own If
you wish to do so. Take one pint air
Stacked lime and stir Into it one ounce
LIQUID carbolic acid. Add to this mix
ture three pounds finely ground to-
bacco and mix thoroughly. This pow
der busted wherever lice are will kill
them. Then remember that there are
number Of eggs due to hatch In a
few days, and so dust every week
until you get rid of them.
Persian insect powder does the best
work on quite young chicks. This
must be less than year old, as the
virtue escapes with age. Have the
Matching hens free from lice, brood
where lice have not been introduced,
and you will seldom have trouble.
Provide a real dust bath for the
chicks where they can dust themselves,
but do not trust too much to it If you
know there are lice on your chicks.
Kerosene is death to red mites. Pour
| it into every crack where they crawl
Spray the inside of breeders and All
buildings with the oil. Let it soak in.
Then whitewash thickly the inside OF
all houses aud breeders. An ounce Of
earbolic acid to every pail of white
wash win improve it for this special
purpose. Keep the brooders clean and
fresh. Do not allow filth to accumulate
to become a breeding place for the red
mites.
Some of the liquid lice killers do good
work and are to be used if you do not
lice killers are better than pure kero-
sene. A liquid lice killer that is good
for red mites as well as to certain ex-
tent for the common louise can be made
at home if you care to take the trouble.
Put into one gallon common kerosene
oil one pound naphthaline and let stand
for two or three days; shake before
using; apply with brush or sponge to
bottom of brooder or box where the
chicks pass the night. If there is a
cloth fringe to the hover. apply some
Of the liquid to the. upper edge of it,
letting it work its way into the cloth.
If there is any place where the red
mites crawl out Of sight, see that the
liquid is worked into the very spot.
The closer you get the killer to the
mites the more sure you are Of getting
rid of them. If the lice stay on the
chicks, you must put the chicks in q
box into which the liquid lice killer has
been put. A cloth wet with it and laid
on the bottom will do the work, but
give the chicks some air and do not &c
off and leave them in the box. II you
are not careful. the strength Of it will
kill the chicks
Remember there is a new crop yet te
hatch and then be ready to apply the
remedy several times If you expect tc
be ever free of red mites.-Dr. N. w
| Sanborn in Reliable Poultry Journal.