Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 July 1875 — Vermin on Fowls. [ARTICLE]

Vermin on Fowls.

There are at least three different kinds of lice which infest poultry and their quarters. . (We do not now'include the near us. that produces what is known as -poultry itch” and “scabby or scurvy legs. ” etc.) There is the large louse found for the most part in the heads of young chicks. This is quite destructive to the broods, and by some is supposed to he the parent of the gape worm. Whether this supposition is true or not this louse will certainly destroy young chicks unless it is removed and the broods protected from its attacks. Then there is the Common bodylouse, found mostly under the wings and the more inaccessible parts of the skin. These are, perhaps, the least noxious of any of the different kinds; but they evidently' annoy the fowls and should not he allowed to remain on them. Tlie third class of lice is the small red “mite,” found only in tlie house or roosting places aud nests. These are, perhaps, the most annoying and troublesome to the fowls of all, and are more numerous than either of tlie other kinds. They may be found in nearly till roosts and houses'that have been used by fowls one or more years where especial care has not been exercised to exterminate them. They stay in crevices on the roosts or walls and nestboxes during, the day and creep upon the fowls and feed at night. They are seldom found on tlie fowls during the day, except on sitting hens. These are the ones that are so annoying to the brooding hens, forcing them to abandon their nests. They are sometimes found in great numbers in neglected quarters— N. Y. Herald.