The whole feathered tribe seem to be peculiarly liable to be infested
with lice; and there have been instances when fowls have been so covered
in this loathsome manner that the natural color of the feathers has been
undistinguishable. The presence of vermin is not only annoying to
poultry, but materially interferes with their growth, and prevents their
fattening. They are, indeed, the greatest drawback to the success and
pleasure of the poultry fanciers; and nothing but unremitting vigilance
will exterminate them, and keep them exterminated.
_Treatment._ To attain this, whitewash frequently all the parts
adjacent to the roosting-pole, take the poles down and run them slowly
through a fire made of wood shavings, dry weeds, or other light
waste combustibles. Flour of sulphur, placed in a vessel, and set on
fire in a close poultry-house, will penetrate every crevice, and
effectually exterminate the vermin. When a hen comes off with her
brood, the old nest should be cleaned out, and a new one placed; and
dry tobacco-leaves, rubbed to a powder between the hands, and mixed
with the hay of the nest, will add much to the health of the poultry.
Flour of sulphur may also be mixed with Indian-meal and water, and fed
in the proportion of one pound of sulphur to two dozen fowls, in two
parcels, two days apart. Almost any kind of grease, or unctuous matter,
is also certain death to the vermin of domestic poultry. In the case of
very young chickens, it should only be used in a warm, sunny day, When
they should be put into a coop with their mother, the coop darkened for
an hour or two, and every thing made quiet, that they may secure a good
rest and nap after the fatigue occasioned by greasing them. They should
be handled with great care, and greased thoroughly; the hen, also. After
resting, they may be permitted to come out and bask in the sun; and in a
few days they will look sprightly enough.
To guard against vermin, however, it should not be forgotten that
_cleanliness_ is of vital importance; and there must always be plenty of
slacked lime, dry ashes, and sand, easy of access to the fowls, in which
they can roll and dust themselves.