Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Hepar Sulph, Euphrasia for sticky discharge; and Nux vomica for puffy faces with a bright red
color.
External Parasites
Lice
Incidence
—common in laying flocks.
System/organ affected
—skin and feather shafts on head, neck, vent, breast, and under
wings.
Agent
—most commonly head (
Cuclotogaster heterographus
) and body lice (
Menacanthus
stramineus
).
Progression
—lives for several months, going through its entire life cycle on the bird's
body. Nits (eggs) hatch in four to seven days and are capable of laying more eggs within three
weeks.
Symptoms
—infested birds become irritated and cannot eat or sleep well; they may dust
constantly, get restless, and injure themselves by scratching and pecking their own bodies; egg
production my drop as much as 15 percent, and fertility may drop.
Percentage affected
—80 to 100 percent.
Mortality
—very limited except in very young birds.
Transmission
—wild birds or used equipment; they spread by crawling from bird to bird or
through infested feathers during molt.
Prevention
—maintain robust immunity and vigorous health in the flock; provide dust
baths; do not debeak since debeaked birds cannot properly groom themselves and remove lice;
lime runs and houses yearly; keep wild birds out of houses; inspect birds frequently, especially
around the vent for signs of lice.
Alternative treatments
—provide dust baths with some or all of the following ingredients:
DE (diatomaceous earth), wood ash, lime, sulfur, derris powder, quassia chip powder, or
powdered charcoal; place elecampane or fleabane in nest boxes; dust individual birds with pyr-
ethrin powder; feed garlic.
Mites
Incidence
—common in litter-raised birds.
System/organ affected
—skin and feather shafts; skin on shanks.
Agent
—most commonly red mites (
Dermanyssus gallinae
), fowl mites (
Ornithonyssus
sylviarum
), and scaly-leg mite (
Knemindocoptes mutans
).
