domestic fowl biting louse are a different story from human louse . How much do you know about this poultry parasite ? Learn seven important facts about nobody ’s favorite farmyard pest .
1. What Kinds of Poultry Lice are There?
Just as there are three type of human bird louse , there are multiple kinds of domestic fowl plant louse . Menacanthus stramineus , the body louse , is the louse most probable to invade your backyard flock . The trunk louse thrives on the affectionateness and wet of your chicken ’s outlet but also can be discover on the tit and thigh . Other kind of fowl lice include :
2. What Do Poultry Lice Look Like?
The poultry biting louse is a wingless , six - legged worm with a squashed appearing : It looks as though it has been flattened by a lilliputian steamroller . bet on its species , a louse can range in length between four - hundredths of an column inch ( the frivolity louse ) to one - quarter of an in ( the large chicken louse ) . Most of that duration is lodge in by the louse ’s disproportionately stretch abdomen . These lice kitchen stove in color from exonerated chickenhearted to favorable pale yellow to dull Robert Brown ; their nits , or eggs , are laid in lily-white clusters . Brad Mullens / University of California , Riverside
3. How Long Do Poultry Lice Live?
Once lay , poultry lice nit hatch in about four to five days . Their life story cycle is a very short one . The vernal drop approximately nine to 12 days as nymph ( the immature biography stage ) , molting three times before they become full adults . An grownup louse lives more or less 12 day , during which an adult female lay an average of one to two testis per daylight . fowl louse are ectozoon — parasites that live on the airfoil of their legion ’s body ; a louse will ordinarily live its entire life on one host .
4. How Do Poultry Lice Spread?
Just like with human louse , poultry lice spread from birdie to birdwatch through close impinging . Your hens might not be using each other ’s hairbrushes , but if they perch side by side or share a preferent nest box , they ’re cheeseparing enough to allow the sucking louse to channelise from one bird to another . These louse do not hop ( human lice do n’t , either ) . They grovel from one boniface to another , although they unremarkably prefer to remain on one server for the integrality of their abbreviated lifetime . Poultry lice can also be introduced to your flock via infested chicken crates or ball flat , by the increase of unexampled fowl , or by wild hoot . To help foreclose louse from spreading , never borrow domestic fowl equipment from other farm , use only new egg flats and cartonful , and always quarantine fresh shuttlecock for at least three to four weeks .
5. Can I Get Poultry Lice From My Flock?
fowl lice can not overrun humans ; unlike human lice , they feed in on feather and fowl skin , neither of which we have , so they will prefer your wimp to you , so you could take a breather a niggling more easily . But only a petty ! Poultry licewillbite you , leaving fidgety red mark , so take extra precautions when handling infested shuttle . Wear mitt , a retentive - sleeve shirt , boots and trouser when audit your flock .
6. How Do Lice Affect My Flock?
At the very least , you ’ll have an uncomfortable chicken who ’ll be itch and pecking at herself , seeking moderation . If your girls seem to be preening themselves with more vigour than normal , it ’s clock time to inspect them , specially around their vents , under their wing , on their breasts and down around the floor of their feather shafts . ruddy , patchy areas and masticate - face shafts are an indication of a lice infestation . Clusters of livid eggs are another revealing game show . Other signs let in feather loss ; pallid wattles and comb , indicating anemia ; a free fall in egg output ; lack of weight gain in chicks and juveniles ; and a ruffle - up , unbalanced appearance .
7. How Do I Treat Poultry Lice?
The simplest elbow room to stamp down a bird louse infestation is to offer your razzing a large , recondite detritus bath containing play sand and nutrient - grade diatomaceous earthly concern , or DE . employ a mixture of more or less six cups of DE to 25 hammering of play sand . The DE will desiccate any poultry plant louse it touches and help preclude infestation by mites and other ectoparasite . For more severe infestations , expend a pyrethrin - based insect powder . Pyrethrin - based insecticides are useable as sprays , root and debris . You might need to hold several applications over the course of a calendar month to verify the lice plague . Read the recording label of any insecticide for guidelines regarding its effect on eggs . Also , wear out gloves , foresightful sleeves and trouser to protect your own hide from the insecticide and from any lice that creep onto you . Do not apply shampoo or spray forge for employment on mankind ; these have no effect on poultry and might be harmful to your dame .
There is no social brand involved in a poultry - lice infestation . go with bird — and microbe — is simply part of carbon monoxide - existing with nature . With these seven facts , however , you ’ll be able-bodied to better treat any louse that nature drop your flock ’s way .
This article was written for Hobby Farms and Chickens magazine . Click here to pledge .
Amy Murillo / University of California, Riverside
Brad Mullens / University of California, Riverside
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