Let us first consider the case of lice. These insects live upon the body of the hen, eating the flesh, and dead skin as it peels off. They never leave the hen, and if conditions are favorable, will lay their eggs on her body, thus multiplying rapidly if precautions are not taken to look after this matter. It is always well to treat a setting hen for lice before she is placed on the nest, and then once or twice after she has started her job, because these lice will very readily transfer from the mother hen to the young chicks, as soon as hatched, and a great many chicks die every year from these lice. It is a splendid idea to grease all baby chicks, especially those hatched by natural incubation, with blue ointment, around the head parts, and wings. The hens can also be greased in a similar manner over the whole body. Here is where the dust box that we discussed briefly in the previous chapter comes in, as the birds, wallowing in the box of dust, smother the lice, by shaking the dust into the pores of the bird’s body. A rather recent method of combating lice on birds is now fast gaining favor. This is the Sodium Floride treatment. This is best used only on a mild day, however, as the birds are quite wet after their treatment under this method. The treatment is usually given as follows: Take an ordinary wash tub, and fill nearly full with not too cold water. For every gallon of water in the tub, add one ounce of sodium floride, obtainable at any drug store. Dip the hen in this solution, tail first, being sure to have a firm grasp on her so she will not splash the water over. Dip her in this manner about three times, so that the solution comes up in under the feathers. This method has been found to be very effective. In extreme cases, where the lice are very bad, another similar treatment can be given each bird about a month later. Other good materials to apply to the bird’s body, besides those already mentioned, are sweet oil, vaseline, and lard. Now we come to another pest that is a little harder to get rid of than the body lice. The mites, which are so bothersome to most poultry, have the peculiar habit of staying on the birds only during the night, creeping down at daylight to some crack or crevice to hide until darkness again forces the birds to go to roost. These mites are even more destructive in their work than are the body lice. They are generally found in any crack or crevice about the perches. Here they can obscure themselves, and be very close to their prey when ready to begin their work at night. While the lice are eating insects, the mites are sucking insects, and suck the blood of the birds during the night. When the mite is hungry, he is of a yellowish color. When filled up, however, with a good meal of blood, he is red. The mite is very small, and is similar in construction to a spider.