The Yale expositor., 1914-04-16
PARASITES AND POISON.

Lice and hens are almost nj
separable companions. II you want
profitable combination of hens and
eggs you must get rid Of lice. l have
been in some thousands OF hen houses
in the course Of my study of this in
dustry, and to the best of my belief
l have never seen a farm flock Of hens
that was not more or less lousy. This
is the reason that the average hen in
the United States does not lay enough
eggs to pay for her keep, If any one
thing may be assigned as the reason.
There is no excuse why the city
and suburban poultry keeper should
have lice on his fowls, and he must
get rid of them if he is to be thor
oughly successful. Chicken lice are
divided into two groups, head lice and
body lice. The former are relatively
unimportant, as they do not inter
fere with grown fowls TO any great
extent. They are a source of great
danger to baby chicks, however, and
they infest almost all chicks that come
into contact with mature fowls, or the
places that they frequent.
Head lice attach themselves to the
feathers and skin of the head, under
the wings, and around the vent of the
baby chick. They can only be over
come by first keeping the chicks away
from sources of infection, and second,
greasing them thoroughly with lard
when they are first placed with the
hen, and keeping careful watch for
later infection.
Body lice are the great plague Of
the domestic fowl, and they are even
more common than feas on dogs.
These vermin run about on the skin
of the chickens, eating the outer layer
of the skin, and keeping them con-
stantly irritated. In aggravated cases
they will even cause the blood to
break through the skin. They infect
chickens and turkeys more than water
fowl, and they never leave the body
of the host voluntarily.
The price of freedom from lice is
eternal vigilance. Be sure that any
chickens you introduce to your hen
house are free from lice. Powder them
well with insect powder before turn
ing them loose. Have a dry dust bath
use it on fair days change the spot,
for the only way chicken has to
cleanse itself and smother out the lice
is by busting.
Have the interior of the house and
the nests whitewashed thoroughly at
least twice year, putting some car
bolic acid in the wash. Once every
two weeks in winter, and twice week
in hot weather, paint the roosts with
a good strong solution of lice paint
about two hours before the hens go
to roost Be sure to get it into all OF
the cracks and crevices.
Change the nesting straw at least
once a month and use only clean
straw. When you change II paint or
spray the interior of the nests with
the lice paint.
Red or spider mites are not lice,
but they do Just as much II not more
harm. They feed on the fowls blood
at night, sucking It like a mosquito,
and in a badly infested house they
nave dCludly DCCh hAOWn W DiCcu lhO
hens to the point of exhaustion and
subsequent death. Fortunately they
are easily controlled and by the same
methods that are used to kill lice. Be
sure that the roosts and nests are
kept clean and disinfected with lice
paint Do 1t as thoroughly as one
would for bedbugs in the home and
you will soon get rid of the mites.
These miserable little pests live on
the perches and walls OF the hen
house, and about the nests. They
avoid the light during the day time
and sometimes are present in large
numbers without being detected. Take
no chances, but keep the roosts sat
urated with lice paint, and IL possible
have the roosts supported away from
the walls so that they cannot hide be-
tween the end Of the roost and the
walls.