The lice are small, clear creamy ovals and are clearly visible to the naked eye. The eggs will show as a grey powdery deposit attached firmly to the base of feathers. The farmer can quickly pluck out any feathers with a heavy egg burden and dust the hen every week for four weeks with a natural louse powder. It also helps to dust the nest boxes and even the dust baths with louse powder.
( 2) Red Mites: A red mite infestation is debilitating and can lead to death in hens. The red mite does not generally live on the hen; it lives in the henhouse, in rotten, broken wood or roofing felt, crawls on to the hen while it roosts and sucks its blood, leading to anemia. Check the hen house regularly for evidence of infestation and treat immediately it becomes apparent. There are a number of products available commercially for treating red mite, including powders and sprays. Prevention is better than cure. When something does appear to be wrong with a hen seek advice immediately from an experienced keeper or breeder, or from a vet. Bear in mind that the cost of employing a vet is likely to be more than the bird is worth in purely monetary terms. Only a farmer can decide whether he or she is willing to pay that price.
( 3) Ticks: a heavy infestation can produce severe anemia and, in extreme cases, death due to blood loss. Argaspersicus is particularly dangerous, being the vector of several blood parasites such as the haemoprotozoa and microfilaria. Avian malaria infection is much higher among exotics and cross-breeds.
Internal Parasites( Endoparasites) The more important internal parasites are:( 1) Helminthes( worms): these are common in scavenging poultry, especially nematodes and cestodes. Worms are a major cause of lowered egg production of scavenging poultry in Uganda, the most commonly found being Round Worm, Caecal Worm, Tracheal Worm and Tape Worm.( 2) Protozoan diseases: Under protozoan diseases we have:( a) Coccidiosis: Coccidiosis is one of the most common diseases of poultry. It is caused by a number of species of protozoa called coccidia. Fowls, turkeys, ducks and geese are all affected. However, coccidia are host-specific, so fowls are not affected by duck coccidia and vice versa
The disease usually affects birds over three weeks of age. The symptoms include ruffled feathers, drooping wings, pale combs and diarrhea, sometimes streaked with blood. Most losses occur in
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