River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-06-02
DESTROYING LICE ON FOWLS
Active Measures Should Be Taken to
Keep Poultry Free From lnjurl-
Gus Little Pest.

(By II. e. PIERCE AND u. Web
STER, IOWA.)
The loss of income due to the pres
ence of lice on fowls, while probably
not as large as that due to the COM
mon chicken mite, is yet enormous.
Fowls which are infested with lice
cannot produce as many eggs nor as
many pounds Of flesh as can those that
free from these vermin. Lice are espe-
cially harmful to young chicks.
Because the lice live, eat and breed
upon the body Of the fowls, means of
eradication must be such as to reach
them beneath the feathers. This is
accomplished in two ways, by the ap
plication of powders which suffocate
the lice, and by liquid preparations
which stif1e the lice with their fumes,
or kill by coming in direct contact
with the parasites.
If fowls have easy access to dusty
earth wallow where they can work
the fine dry particles of dust into their
feathers they will keep themselves
fairly free from lice, but eradication
will not be entirely complete in the
majority of cases. A good dust wallow
may be made Of equal parts of sifted
dry loan and coal ashes. Wood ashes
should not be used as they may bleach
or burn the shanks and feathers.
For the eradication of lice quickly
and completely, as upon show birds
and sitting hens, it is usually neces-
sary to work fine dusty powder
into the feathers. The method of ap-
plication is to hold the FOWL with one
hand by the legs, head downward, and
work the powder into the fluffy feath.
ers around the vent, on the body.
under the wings and on the neck,
with the free hand.
An excellent powder at low cost
may be made as follows: To a mix
ture of three parts gasoline and one
part of crude carbolic acid stir in all
of the plaster of paris it will moisten.
When enough plaster has been added
the powder will be dry brownish pink
in color, and have pronounced odor
OF carbolic acid and gasoline.
A second application of the powder
should be made at the end of one
week to catch any lice that escaped
the first busting or had Matched from
eggs in the meantime.
Sitting hens should be thoroughly
busted when eggs are placed nder
them and again at the end of the
first and second weeks. This insures
them being free from lice when the
chicks are Matched.
To kill the lice upon chicks dust
the mother hen or paint the walls of
the coop with some liquid lice killer
or disinfectant.
Especial care should be taken to
dust the male of the flock thoroughly,
as the quickest way to spread lice
through a flock is by means of lousy
male bird.
Liquid lice killers are used primar-
lily to paint the roosts and dropping
boards. Their fumes rising through
the feathers of the birds cause the
lice to drop off. The practise Is to
paint the roosts about four o'clock in
the afternoon before the fowls go to
roost. This also prevents mites from
attacking the fowls. Most of the
liquid lice killers are coal tar products
| duQ dI0 SO1u no wal Idl u1oAulSCLduLS.
Some of them do. cause the lice to
drop from the fowls, but whether or
not they always kill the lice is not
certain.
1t hos been found that when a FOWL
was paced upon roost coated with
cresol soap formula, the lice would
drop In large numbers and could be
caught upon a paper spread under
meath the roost. In the majority of
cases, however, the parasites were not
killed. Where this method is used
the droppings should be removed and
dropping boards cleaned early the fol-
lowing morning to prevent the lice
from reaching the fowls again.