RED MITE AND BODY LICE

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 90, 13 October 1934, Page 21

RED MITE AND BODY LICE

No matter how many warnings are given, red mite and .body lice cause regular losses. Caught unknowingly, tho novice may suffer as much as a 50 per cent, ioss of egg production. Under suitable conditions both lice and red mite will multiply at an astounding rate. Infection will undermine general health, leaving the birds subject to attack from colds, roup, and seasonal complaints. A weekly inspection should be made a routine job. Lice will not usually infest healthy outdoor birds, since they have the opportunity of regular dust baths, but with crowded indoor stock extra care must be taken, more especially with loose-foathered broods. Red mito appears from nowhere, and strange to say will be found a few weeks after the erection of a new shed. Some say that sparrows carry them, but however, they come, they soon multiply. Often advice is given to oil or treat thp perches, but the wise poultryman will creosote all woodwork, particularly any cracks or joints near the perches and nests, at building time and regularly afterwards. But he will not treat the perches, for if any red mite do appear, they will be found on the perches and can quickly be killed by burning. • A blow-lamp is most useful for this purpose. Corrugated iron is not a suitable material for poultry sheds, but it is vermin proof and red mito will not. live near metal, and for this reason alone many poultrymen prefer iron to wood, even in cold districts. Always have the perches movable, and try to have them Isolated from the shed as much as possible. Keep the ends at least nine inches away, from the walls of the building, as the mite will use the birds as a bridge to cross to the walls.