The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1911-06-02
LICE and MITES IN |
THE POULTRY
HOUSE.
BY H. 1. KEMPSTER,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF
POULTRY OF THE
M. A. G.
>ROBABLY there are no more seri
&c he Itgx fhQI

nROBABLY there are no more seri-
GUS pests to the poultryman than
lice and mites. In fact 1t has
been said that they cause more dam
age than all of the poultry diseases.
For this reason it Is well to know
something about their habits so that
one can understand the treatment OF
them.
A louise Is an insect that crawls
around on the birds and obtains its
sustenance by eating the feathers and
scurf from the skin. 1t does not CD
tain any blood except from an injury
such as a scratch or a cut. The ques-
ton generally asked is this: What
hurt do they do them" Just let few
get on you and you won't rest until
they are removed. The constant ir-
ritation, together with the injury to
the plumage, are enough so that we
can't afford to have more around than
we have to. A louise lays its eggs on
the bird. These will hatch out, and
in ten days time one louise has in
creased to thousands, so that one
must be on the constant warfare
against them. They can be carried to
poultry house by sparrows, ard there
are few fiocks that are free from
them. The thing to do is to keep
fighting them, and to do this you must
get at the bird by applying the treat
ment to the bird itself. Perhaps the
most satisfactory method is the appli-
cation of some insect powder. In max
ing an application, If you repeat in
about ten days, you will catch the
brood that matches out from the eggs
that have been laid, and this makes
thorough job of it. In the summer,
the bird generally has access to plenty
of dust around the yards. and this
helps lot in keeping down the lice.
When the birds are cooped up, it is
well to have dust bath made from
finely sifted coal ashes or road dust
in the coop where the chickens can
dust and prune their feathers. You
will find that lice are not as abundant
where the dust bath is present. SO ne
people dip their chickens in some dis
infectant such as Kresol Zenoleum,
ETC., but would advise you to do this
on a very warm day and try it on a
few birds before you attempt to treat
the whole flock. Remember, in treat
ing lice that the treatment must be
applied to the bird and that one must
keep constantly at 1t. A good louise
powder can be made at home by mix
ing together thoroughly one part
crude carbolic acid, three parts gas0.
lene and then adding enough plaster
of paris to take up the liquid Spreed
out and let dry. Be sure and use
crude carbolic acid, and the strongest
acid that you can obtain.
A mite has different habits than a
louise. 1t sucks blood from the bi d,
and we know of them by the name
red mite beause of their red color
caused by that blood 1t does not
breed on the bird, but in dark. damp
and dirty places around the house.
Except on rare occasions do you find
them on the bird in the day time
They hide in the cracks around the
cop and crawl onto the bird at night
In treating the mite, one can treat
the roosting quarters. Keep clean,
and have them built with as few crew.
les and crack on the inside as possible
The mites can he killed by spraying
with kerosene oil, whitewash or CON-
mercial disinfectant. We generally
spray with a disinfectant once a week
in the summer time and occasionally
paint the roosts with kerosene oil. In
the treatment of lice and mites. re.
member that they multiply with ex-
ceeding rapidity and that a few de-
stroyed now is as good as destroying
hundreds few weeks from now. TO
many people have trouble with lice
and mites because they let them get
to bad before they commence to treat,
and then they get into serious trouble
One cannot afford to neglect them.
and 1t is easier to prevent by killing
off the few than to let it go until 1t
is impossible to dispose Of the many.
II some of the little chicks which
are brooded with the hen do not az
pear to be doing well, while the re-
mainder are thrifty, one should ex-
anime 1t for head lice. If any are
present, the chick should be treated
by rubbing the head and throat with
lard or vaseline. There should be
nothing added to the lard or vaseline
to make it more effective because the
little chick is very sensitive, and it
would prove injurious. Probably a
large number of little chicks die each
year from this cause, and a little at
tention will keep down the mortality