The harm of chicken lice
2020-11-09
1. The pathogen of chicken lice
Usually chicken lice are parasitic on
chickens. They are permanent parasites. All their life history occurs on the chicken body. The life span on the chicken body can be as long as several months, but it is 5～5 after leaving the host. Death can occur within 7 days. Chicken lice are common in chickens and are also a common ectoparasitic disease. There are many types of chicken lice. Common chicken lice include chicken feather lice, chicken body lice, and big lice. Different types of chicken lice have roughly the same structure. The body is about the size of a sesame. It has 6 legs, divided into three parts: head, chest, and abdomen. The head is wider than the chest. It has chewing mouthparts. The chest is divided into three sections. Each section has a pair of legs on the abdomen.
2. Chicken lice epidemic
Chicken lice can occur all year round, but in the hot summer and autumn are the high incidence periods of chicken lice. This is mainly due to the hot weather, high temperature and high humidity environment, which is suitable for the reproduction of chicken lice. In addition, in winter, chickens have denser feathers and are suitable for the growth of chicken lice, so the incidence of chicken lice in winter is also higher. When the temperature is 25°C, every 6 days, chicken lice can reproduce one generation, and the reproduction speed is rapid. The disease has a higher incidence in farms that have raised chickens for many years. The main mode of transmission is through direct contact between hosts, or indirectly through public equipment. Crowding among chickens due to excessive stocking density is also the main way to spread the disease. Usually poor breeding management, and relatively harsh breeding environment, such as poor sanitation, inappropriate temperature in the house, excessive breeding density, poor ventilation, and excessive humidity in the house are the main reasons for the high incidence of the disease.
3. chicken lice symptoms
The chickens will show obvious clinical symptoms when they are sick. Chicken lice will eat the host’s feathers and dander, which will cause chickens to be irritated by the lice and itchy skin, which is more disturbed. It is usually pecking on the beak, causing feathers and skin injuries. In severe cases, feathers will fall off. Skin damage, dermatitis, or skin bleeding. Sick chickens are mostly mentally wilted, poor appetite, and can’t get a good rest due to itchy skin, causing anemia and gradually weight loss. When the disease is more serious, it will cause the death of young chickens, and the growth and development of chickens The growth of broilers will be blocked, the production performance of broilers will decrease, the quality of the products will be affected due to feather tribe and skin damage, and the egg production of laying hens will decrease. Although the fatality rate of simply suffering from the disease is low, it will cause the diseased chickens to decrease their resistance to the disease, and they are likely to be infected with other diseases and increase the mortality rate.
4. chicken lice harm
After chickens are invaded by chicken lice, feathers will fall off. Some diseased chickens have bleeding spots or nodules on the skin. If there are too many chicken lice, it will induce purulent dermatitis. Chicken lice will bite the skin of chickens and secrete venom when sucking blood to stimulate the skin, causing the chickens to feel itchy, causing them to become uneasy, affecting feed intake and normal rest, reducing their physical fitness and resistance, and leading to The growth and development of chickens are affected, and they gradually become thinner and anemia, which is more harmful to growing chickens.
The laying rate of laying hens is significantly reduced, which seriously affects the economic benefits of the chicken industry. According to experiments, in 1000 cases of laying hens, the egg production of chickens first contracted with chicken lice dropped to 95~88% of normal egg production, and 88~75% of normal egg production in moderate cases. , In severe cases, less than half of the normal output.
In addition, chicken lice can act as a vector of some viral and bacterial diseases to spread the disease, and chicken lice can also attach to people and affect the work of farmers. Although the damage of chicken lice is not as serious as other infectious diseases, attention should be paid to the prevention and control of chicken lice. A small number of chicken lice are easy to be ignored, leading to the proliferation of chicken lice and increasing the difficulty of treatment.
