| Avian lice, which belong to the order Mallophaga, have a life cycle of ~3 wk and normally feed on bits of skin or feather products. Lice may live for several months on the host but remain alive only for ~1 wk off the host. Humans and other mammals may harbor avian lice, but only temporarily. |
| In intensive poultry systems, the most common and economically important louse to both chickens and turkeys is
Menacanthus
stramineus
, the chicken body louse. It punctures soft quills near their base or gnaws the skin at the base of the feathers and feeds on the blood. Chickens are less commonly infested with
Menopon
gallinae
(on feather shafts),
Lipeurus
caponis
(mainly on the wing feathers),
Cuclotogaster
heterographus
(mainly on the head and neck),
Goniocotes
gallinae
(very small, in the fluff ),
Goniodes
gigas
(the large chicken louse),
Goniodes
dissimilis
(the brown chicken louse),
Menacanthus
cornutus
(the body louse),
Uchida
pallidula
(the small body louse), or
Oxylipeurus
dentatus
. Turkeys may also be infested with
Chelopistes
meleagridis
(the large turkey louse),
Oxylipeurus
polytrapezius
(the slender turkey louse), or
Menacanthus
stramineus
(the chicken body louse). |
| Because lice transfer from one bird species to another when the hosts are in close contact, other domestic and caged birds may be infested with species of Mallophaga that are usually host-specific. |
| Heavy populations of the chicken body louse decrease reproductive potential in males, egg production in females, and weight gain in growing chickens. The skin irritations are also sites for secondary bacterial infections. Other species of lice are not highly pathogenic to mature birds but may be fatal to chicks. Examination of birds, particularly around the vent and under the wings, reveals eggs or moving lice on the skin or feathers. |
| Lice are usually introduced to a farm through infested equipment (eg, crates or egg flats) or by galliform birds. Lice are best controlled on caged chickens or turkeys by spraying with pyrethroids, carbaryl, coumaphos, malathion, or stirofos. Birds on the floor are more easily treated by scattering carbaryl, coumaphos, malathion, or stirofos dust on the litter. |
