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The Effect of the Chicken Body Louse [Eomenacanthus Stramineus (Nitz)] on Egg Production in New Hampshire Pullets*
VITAMIN K REQUIREMENT
REFERENCES Almquist, H. J., and E. L. R. Stokstad, 1936. Factors influencing the incidence of dietary hemorrhagic disease in chicks. J. Nutrition, 12: 329335. Barnes, R. EL, and G. Fiala, 1958. Uncomplicated vitamin K deficiency in the rat. Fed. Proc. 17: 470. Dam, H., F. Schjfaheyder and L. Lewis, 1937. The requirement of vitamin K of some different spe-
cies of animals. Biochem. J. 31: 22-27. Day, H. G., K. G. Wakim, M. M. Krider and E. E. O'Banion, 1943. Effects of cecectomy, succinylsulfathiazole, and p-amino-benzoic acid on vitamin K synthesis in the intestinal tract of rats. J. Nutrition, 26: 585-600. Federer, W. T., 1955. Experimental Design. The MacMillan Company, New York, N. Y. Greaves, J. D., 1939. Studies on the vitamin K requirements of the rat. Am. J. Physiol. 125: 429436. Griminger, P., 1957. On the vitamin K. requirement of turkey poults. Poultry Sci. 36: 1227-1235. Gustafsson, B. E., 1959. Vitamin K deficiency in germ-free rats. Ann. New York Acad. Sci. 78: 166-174. Luckey, T. D., J. R. Pleasants and J. A. Reyniers, 1955. Germ-free chicken nutrition. II. Vitamin interrelationships. J. Nutrition, 55: 105-118. Nelson, T. S., and L. C. Norris, 1960. Studies on the vitamin K requirement of the chick. I. Requirements of the chick for vitamin K.i, menadione and menadione sodium bisulfite. J. Nutrition, 72:137-144. Scott, H. M., 1955. Vitamin K as related to the hemorrhagic condition. Feed Age, 5, No. 3: 40.
The Effect of the Chicken Body Louse [Eomenacanthus Stramineus (Nitz)] on Egg Production in New Hampshire Pullets* B. A. TOWER AND E. H. FLOYD1 Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge Received for publication May 20, 1960)
T
HE chicken body louse [Eomenacanthus Stramineus (Nitz.)] has long been considered a serious pest of poultry. This insect is often present in great numbers on poultry in Louisiana, Floyd and Tower (1956). These ectoparasites are believed to be the cause of considerable economic loss from increased mortality,
* A joint study conducted by the Departments of Poultry and Entomology of the Louisiana State University Agricultural Experiment Station. 1 Associate Professors of Poultry and Entomology, respectively.
lowered flock vitality and reduced egg production (Theobald, 1915; Thompson, 1922; Edgar and King, 1950). On the other hand, Warren (1948) reported that "moderate" to "heavy" infestations of the body louse did not adversely affect the laying hen. Many investigations have been made relative to the protection of poultry from body lice through the use of various chemicals applied directly to the birds, to the roosts, or to the nests and litter. Early recommendations for the control of the
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of North Dakota on May 26, 2015
the vitamin Ki requirement of the chick, Prothrombin determinations were used to measure vitamin Ki activity. The average vitamin Ki requirement over a twelveweek period was 515 + 58 micrograms or 1.14 micromoles per kilogram of diet with little variation in this requirement at twoweek intervals. The ceca appear to be unimportant in the synthesis of vitamin K2 in the chick and spontaneous recovery from vitamin K deficiency was not observed in chicks up to sixteen weeks of age.
395
396
B. A. TOWER AND E. H. FLOYD
EXPERIMENTAL
Approximately 400 production-strain New Hampshire pullets that had been laying about six weeks were divided into two groups of four replicates each. Group one, the control or louse-infested group, consisted of four replicated pens of approximately 50 birds each. Group two, the louse-free group, also consisted of four replicated pens of approximately 50 birds each. Each replicate was placed in a 10'X30' pen located in a 30'X 300' dirtfloor, pole-type laying house. The control groups were placed in alternate pens, and the louse-free birds were also placed in alternate pens adjacent to the control pens. An 18 percent all-mash ration was fed ad libitum in two six-foot hen feeders per
pen. Approximately one pound of scratch grain was scattered in the litter of each pen every morning. Crushed oyster shell and grit were supplied ad libitum. One automatic drinking fountain was placed in each pen. Artificial light was supplied by three 40-watt light bulbs suspended approximately seven feet above the floor of each pen. The lights were controlled by a time clock that turned them on at 4:00 a.m. and off at 7:00 a.m. each day. One doubledeck, ten-hole metal nest was placed in each pen. Two inches of sugarcane bagasse litter was placed in each pen. The litter for the four odd-numbered louse-free replicates was impregnated with lindane at the rate of 18 grams of technical lindane per 100 pounds of litter by the method described by Floyd and Tower (1956). The purpose of the lindane treated litter was to effect complete louse control in the four pens in which it was used. Each of the four control pens received equivalent amounts of untreated litter. Additional litter was added to the various pens during the experimental period as needed. At the beginning of the test all the pullets were free of lice. However, five New Hampshire males, heavily infested with lice, were placed in each pen to serve as an infestation source of lice for the pullets. Two lice counts were made to determine the approximate average number of lice per bird in each pen during the experimental period. The method described by Floyd and Tower (1956) to determine the number of lice on a bird was followed. Four pullets were picked at random from each pen, deloused, and the average number of lice per bird was calculated. Daily egg records were kept for each pen. Records were also kept of feed consumption, mortality, egg weight and body weight. Samples of eggs from the control
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of North Dakota on May 26, 2015
common body louse were confined largely to individual bird treatment with an effective insecticide such as sodium fluoride. Later, following the development of the hydrocarbon-type insecticides, it was demonstrated that control could be easily achieved through various flock treatments (Floyd and Tower, 1956; Telford, 1947; Godfrey el al., 1953; Fairchild and Dahm, 1955; and others). The literature gives conflicting reports on the effect of some of the hydrocarbontype insecticides on the performance of the laying hen. Further contradictions are noted in the reports concerning possible chemical residues in the eggs and in the flesh of poultry treated with such insecticides (Rubin et al., 1947; Roberts and Peterson, 1947; Edgar and King, 1948; Milby and Lawatsch, 1948; and others). This experiment was initiated on Oct. 25, 1956, by the Departments of Poultry and Entomology of the Louisiana State University and was designed to determine the effect of a body louse infestation on egg production in New Hampshire pullets.
397
BODY LICE AND PRODUCTION TABLE 1.—The performance of lice-free New Hampshire pullets compared
Pen No.
23 25 27 29
Treatment 1
start
Lice Lice Lice Lice
Free Free Free Free
Totals a n d Averages 24 26 28 30
Lice Lice Lice Lice
Infested Infested Infested Infested
end
Feed" Pounds Confeed sump/doz. tion eggs (avg.)
Egg 2 production (avg.)
Pounds Pounds 67.6 6.2 73.2 6.2 74.2 6.2 73.2 6.6
%
Body wt. at end
Egg wt. (ozs. /doz.)
9.8 10.6 2.0 8.0
Pounds 5.6 5.6 6.0 5.8
25.2 25.3 25.3 25.3
Mortality
pullets
Lice counts average No./Bird 2/21/57 4/27/57 0 0 0 0
6/30/571
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
48 47 50 50
39 42 49 46
131.4 142.4 143.3 132.1
195
176
137.3
72.0
6.3
9.8
5.7
25.3
0
0
0
49 50 49 48
36 48 46 42
127.0 140.9 134.2 138.0
68.0 70.4 68.7 72.5
6.4 6.0 6.1 6.3
26.5 4.0 6.1 12.5
5.8 5.7 6.1 5.9
24.8 25.5 25.8 25.4
140 130 110 125
338 127 1,269 536
Heavily Heavily Heavily Heavily
196
172
135.0
69.9
6.2
12.3
5.9
25.4
126.2
Infested Infested Infested Infested
567.5
Four replicates/treatment. Production period—249 days. Includes feed consumed by males. Several birds were picked at random from each pen and the degree of louse infestation per bird was estimated.
and from the lindane-treated litter groups were tested for off-odors and off-flavors by eleven selected housewives in a consumer acceptance study. Egg samples were also analyzed chemically for lindane residue. The results were analyzed statistically by the procedure of Snedecor (1946). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1 presents the results of the test comparing two groups of production New Hampshire pullets, one group maintained free of lice, and the other group allowed to become lice infested and maintained in this condition for a period of 249 days. The bases of comparison between these two groups were: egg production, feed efficiency, mortality, body weight and egg weight. As can be seen, there were some differences among replicated groups in
each of the two treatments. However, when the average performance of the two treatments was compared, only slight differences were noted. An analysis of variance of these data (Table 2) shows that these differences were not significant at the 5% level of probability. These results are in agreement with those of Warren et al. (1948). On the other hand, these results are in disagreement with the work of (Theobald, 1915; Thompson, 1922; and Edgar and King, 1950). The samples of eggs from the two experimental groups that were tested by the eleven selected housewives for flavor and odor were reported to be normal and equal. Gamma B. H. C. was not detected in the chemical analyses of eggs from either the treated or untreated groups. According to the data obtained in this
TABLE 2.—Analysis of variance of the data shown in Table 1
Mean Squares Source of Variance
Total Treatment Pens in Treatment F-Value F.05 = 5.99
D.F.
7 1 6
Prod.
Lbs. feed per doz. eggs
Mortality
Final body wt.
Egg wt. (ozs./doz.)
10.35 38.74 0.267
0.0136 0.0449 0.303
3.13 17.79 0.176
0.030 0.033 1.000
0.020 0.090 0.227
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of North Dakota on May 26, 2015
Totals a n d Averages 1 2 8 4
No. birds a t
to lici! infested
398
B. A. TOWER AND E. H. FLOYD
experiment, the level of lice infestation as encountered did not adversely affect the performance of the pullets. SUMMARY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to express their appreciation to H. C. Austin, Jr., and F. L. Bonner of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station Feed and Fertilizer Laboratory, for the chemical analyses of the egg samples from this study. They also want to thank Dr. B. R. Farthing, Agricultural Experiment Station Statistician, for his assistance in statistically analyzing the data in this paper.
Edgar, S. A., and D. F. King, 1948. Comparative efficiency of several old and new insecticides in the control of lice on poultry and the effect of the body louse, Eomenacanthus stramineus, on egg production. Poultry Sci. 27: 659-660. Edgar, S. A., and D. F. King, 1950. Effect of the body louse, Eomenacanthus stramineus, on mature chickens. Poultry Sci. 29: 214-219. Fairchild, H. E., and P. A. Dahm, 1955. Lice control on chickens with chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides. J. Econ. Ento. 48: 141-146. Floyd, E. H., and B. A. Tower, 1956. Insecticideimpregnated litter for control of chicken body lice [Eomenacanthus stramineus (Nitz)] on poultry. Poultry Sci. 35: 896-900. Godfrey, G. F., D. E. Howell and F. Graybill, 1953. Effect of lindane on egg production. Poultry Sci. 32: 183-185. Milby, T. T., and M. F. Lawatsch, 1948. The effect of benzene hexachloride on the flavor of poultry meat and notes on its use for the control of external poultry parasites. Poultry Sci. 27: 245247. Roberts, I. H., and H. O. Peterson, 1947. Hexachlorocyclohexane-a fumigant for the control of chicken lice. Poultry Sci. 26: 588-593. Rubin, M., H. R. Bird, N. Green and R. H. Carter, 1947. Toxicity of DDT to laying hens. Poultry Sci. 26: 410-414. Snedecor, G. W., 1946. Statistical Methods. Iowa State College Press, Ames. Telford, H. S., 1947. Benzene hexachloride to control certain insects affecting domestic animals. J. Econ. Ento. 40: 918-921. Theobald, F. V., 1915. The parasitic diseases of poultry 1896. Cornell Bull. 359. Thompson, W. C , 1922. An analysis of the socalled normal mortality in poultry flocks. Poultry Sci. 1:155-162. Warren, D. C , R. Eaton and H. Smith, 1948. Influence of infestations of body lice on egg production in the hen. Poultry Sci. 27: 641-643.
NEWS AND NOTES (Continued from page 376) the University of Toronto (Ontario Agricultural College) with a B.S.A. degree in 1921. ALFALFA MEAL CHECK SAMPLES The American Association of Feed Control Offi cials will again sponsor the alfalfa meal check sam
pie program for the American Alfalfa Dehydrators Association. Four samples will be submitted to each collaborator for carotene analysis during 1961, with each participant receiving a summary of the results following the analysis of the individual samples. The collaboration fee for the four samples will be $2.00.
{Continued on page 406)
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of North Dakota on May 26, 2015
Approximately 400 production-strain New Hampshire pullets were divided into two groups of four replicates each. One group was kept free of lice by providing lindane-impregnated litter in their pens, while the pens in the other groups were allowed to become louse infested and maintained in such condition for a 249day period. While there were some differences among replicated pens in each of the two treatments, the average performance of the two treatments showed only slight differences. An analysis of variance of these data shows that these differences are not significant. Gamma B. H. C. was not detected in the chemical analyses of eggs from either group. Eggs from each group were also sampled by a selected group of housewives, and were judged normal and equal.
REFERENCES
REFERENCES Almquist, H. J., and E. L. R. Stokstad, 1936. Factors influencing the incidence of dietary hemorrhagic disease in chicks. J. Nutrition, 12: 329335. Barnes, R. EL, and G. Fiala, 1958. Uncomplicated vitamin K deficiency in the rat. Fed. Proc. 17: 470. Dam, H., F. Schjfaheyder and L. Lewis, 1937. The requirement of vitamin K of some different spe-
cies of animals. Biochem. J. 31: 22-27. Day, H. G., K. G. Wakim, M. M. Krider and E. E. O'Banion, 1943. Effects of cecectomy, succinylsulfathiazole, and p-amino-benzoic acid on vitamin K synthesis in the intestinal tract of rats. J. Nutrition, 26: 585-600. Federer, W. T., 1955. Experimental Design. The MacMillan Company, New York, N. Y. Greaves, J. D., 1939. Studies on the vitamin K requirements of the rat. Am. J. Physiol. 125: 429436. Griminger, P., 1957. On the vitamin K. requirement of turkey poults. Poultry Sci. 36: 1227-1235. Gustafsson, B. E., 1959. Vitamin K deficiency in germ-free rats. Ann. New York Acad. Sci. 78: 166-174. Luckey, T. D., J. R. Pleasants and J. A. Reyniers, 1955. Germ-free chicken nutrition. II. Vitamin interrelationships. J. Nutrition, 55: 105-118. Nelson, T. S., and L. C. Norris, 1960. Studies on the vitamin K requirement of the chick. I. Requirements of the chick for vitamin K.i, menadione and menadione sodium bisulfite. J. Nutrition, 72:137-144. Scott, H. M., 1955. Vitamin K as related to the hemorrhagic condition. Feed Age, 5, No. 3: 40.
The Effect of the Chicken Body Louse [Eomenacanthus Stramineus (Nitz)] on Egg Production in New Hampshire Pullets* B. A. TOWER AND E. H. FLOYD1 Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge Received for publication May 20, 1960)
T
HE chicken body louse [Eomenacanthus Stramineus (Nitz.)] has long been considered a serious pest of poultry. This insect is often present in great numbers on poultry in Louisiana, Floyd and Tower (1956). These ectoparasites are believed to be the cause of considerable economic loss from increased mortality,
* A joint study conducted by the Departments of Poultry and Entomology of the Louisiana State University Agricultural Experiment Station. 1 Associate Professors of Poultry and Entomology, respectively.
lowered flock vitality and reduced egg production (Theobald, 1915; Thompson, 1922; Edgar and King, 1950). On the other hand, Warren (1948) reported that "moderate" to "heavy" infestations of the body louse did not adversely affect the laying hen. Many investigations have been made relative to the protection of poultry from body lice through the use of various chemicals applied directly to the birds, to the roosts, or to the nests and litter. Early recommendations for the control of the
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of North Dakota on May 26, 2015
the vitamin Ki requirement of the chick, Prothrombin determinations were used to measure vitamin Ki activity. The average vitamin Ki requirement over a twelveweek period was 515 + 58 micrograms or 1.14 micromoles per kilogram of diet with little variation in this requirement at twoweek intervals. The ceca appear to be unimportant in the synthesis of vitamin K2 in the chick and spontaneous recovery from vitamin K deficiency was not observed in chicks up to sixteen weeks of age.
395
396
B. A. TOWER AND E. H. FLOYD
EXPERIMENTAL
Approximately 400 production-strain New Hampshire pullets that had been laying about six weeks were divided into two groups of four replicates each. Group one, the control or louse-infested group, consisted of four replicated pens of approximately 50 birds each. Group two, the louse-free group, also consisted of four replicated pens of approximately 50 birds each. Each replicate was placed in a 10'X30' pen located in a 30'X 300' dirtfloor, pole-type laying house. The control groups were placed in alternate pens, and the louse-free birds were also placed in alternate pens adjacent to the control pens. An 18 percent all-mash ration was fed ad libitum in two six-foot hen feeders per
pen. Approximately one pound of scratch grain was scattered in the litter of each pen every morning. Crushed oyster shell and grit were supplied ad libitum. One automatic drinking fountain was placed in each pen. Artificial light was supplied by three 40-watt light bulbs suspended approximately seven feet above the floor of each pen. The lights were controlled by a time clock that turned them on at 4:00 a.m. and off at 7:00 a.m. each day. One doubledeck, ten-hole metal nest was placed in each pen. Two inches of sugarcane bagasse litter was placed in each pen. The litter for the four odd-numbered louse-free replicates was impregnated with lindane at the rate of 18 grams of technical lindane per 100 pounds of litter by the method described by Floyd and Tower (1956). The purpose of the lindane treated litter was to effect complete louse control in the four pens in which it was used. Each of the four control pens received equivalent amounts of untreated litter. Additional litter was added to the various pens during the experimental period as needed. At the beginning of the test all the pullets were free of lice. However, five New Hampshire males, heavily infested with lice, were placed in each pen to serve as an infestation source of lice for the pullets. Two lice counts were made to determine the approximate average number of lice per bird in each pen during the experimental period. The method described by Floyd and Tower (1956) to determine the number of lice on a bird was followed. Four pullets were picked at random from each pen, deloused, and the average number of lice per bird was calculated. Daily egg records were kept for each pen. Records were also kept of feed consumption, mortality, egg weight and body weight. Samples of eggs from the control
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of North Dakota on May 26, 2015
common body louse were confined largely to individual bird treatment with an effective insecticide such as sodium fluoride. Later, following the development of the hydrocarbon-type insecticides, it was demonstrated that control could be easily achieved through various flock treatments (Floyd and Tower, 1956; Telford, 1947; Godfrey el al., 1953; Fairchild and Dahm, 1955; and others). The literature gives conflicting reports on the effect of some of the hydrocarbontype insecticides on the performance of the laying hen. Further contradictions are noted in the reports concerning possible chemical residues in the eggs and in the flesh of poultry treated with such insecticides (Rubin et al., 1947; Roberts and Peterson, 1947; Edgar and King, 1948; Milby and Lawatsch, 1948; and others). This experiment was initiated on Oct. 25, 1956, by the Departments of Poultry and Entomology of the Louisiana State University and was designed to determine the effect of a body louse infestation on egg production in New Hampshire pullets.
397
BODY LICE AND PRODUCTION TABLE 1.—The performance of lice-free New Hampshire pullets compared
Pen No.
23 25 27 29
Treatment 1
start
Lice Lice Lice Lice
Free Free Free Free
Totals a n d Averages 24 26 28 30
Lice Lice Lice Lice
Infested Infested Infested Infested
end
Feed" Pounds Confeed sump/doz. tion eggs (avg.)
Egg 2 production (avg.)
Pounds Pounds 67.6 6.2 73.2 6.2 74.2 6.2 73.2 6.6
%
Body wt. at end
Egg wt. (ozs. /doz.)
9.8 10.6 2.0 8.0
Pounds 5.6 5.6 6.0 5.8
25.2 25.3 25.3 25.3
Mortality
pullets
Lice counts average No./Bird 2/21/57 4/27/57 0 0 0 0
6/30/571
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
48 47 50 50
39 42 49 46
131.4 142.4 143.3 132.1
195
176
137.3
72.0
6.3
9.8
5.7
25.3
0
0
0
49 50 49 48
36 48 46 42
127.0 140.9 134.2 138.0
68.0 70.4 68.7 72.5
6.4 6.0 6.1 6.3
26.5 4.0 6.1 12.5
5.8 5.7 6.1 5.9
24.8 25.5 25.8 25.4
140 130 110 125
338 127 1,269 536
Heavily Heavily Heavily Heavily
196
172
135.0
69.9
6.2
12.3
5.9
25.4
126.2
Infested Infested Infested Infested
567.5
Four replicates/treatment. Production period—249 days. Includes feed consumed by males. Several birds were picked at random from each pen and the degree of louse infestation per bird was estimated.
and from the lindane-treated litter groups were tested for off-odors and off-flavors by eleven selected housewives in a consumer acceptance study. Egg samples were also analyzed chemically for lindane residue. The results were analyzed statistically by the procedure of Snedecor (1946). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1 presents the results of the test comparing two groups of production New Hampshire pullets, one group maintained free of lice, and the other group allowed to become lice infested and maintained in this condition for a period of 249 days. The bases of comparison between these two groups were: egg production, feed efficiency, mortality, body weight and egg weight. As can be seen, there were some differences among replicated groups in
each of the two treatments. However, when the average performance of the two treatments was compared, only slight differences were noted. An analysis of variance of these data (Table 2) shows that these differences were not significant at the 5% level of probability. These results are in agreement with those of Warren et al. (1948). On the other hand, these results are in disagreement with the work of (Theobald, 1915; Thompson, 1922; and Edgar and King, 1950). The samples of eggs from the two experimental groups that were tested by the eleven selected housewives for flavor and odor were reported to be normal and equal. Gamma B. H. C. was not detected in the chemical analyses of eggs from either the treated or untreated groups. According to the data obtained in this
TABLE 2.—Analysis of variance of the data shown in Table 1
Mean Squares Source of Variance
Total Treatment Pens in Treatment F-Value F.05 = 5.99
D.F.
7 1 6
Prod.
Lbs. feed per doz. eggs
Mortality
Final body wt.
Egg wt. (ozs./doz.)
10.35 38.74 0.267
0.0136 0.0449 0.303
3.13 17.79 0.176
0.030 0.033 1.000
0.020 0.090 0.227
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of North Dakota on May 26, 2015
Totals a n d Averages 1 2 8 4
No. birds a t
to lici! infested
398
B. A. TOWER AND E. H. FLOYD
experiment, the level of lice infestation as encountered did not adversely affect the performance of the pullets. SUMMARY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to express their appreciation to H. C. Austin, Jr., and F. L. Bonner of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station Feed and Fertilizer Laboratory, for the chemical analyses of the egg samples from this study. They also want to thank Dr. B. R. Farthing, Agricultural Experiment Station Statistician, for his assistance in statistically analyzing the data in this paper.
Edgar, S. A., and D. F. King, 1948. Comparative efficiency of several old and new insecticides in the control of lice on poultry and the effect of the body louse, Eomenacanthus stramineus, on egg production. Poultry Sci. 27: 659-660. Edgar, S. A., and D. F. King, 1950. Effect of the body louse, Eomenacanthus stramineus, on mature chickens. Poultry Sci. 29: 214-219. Fairchild, H. E., and P. A. Dahm, 1955. Lice control on chickens with chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides. J. Econ. Ento. 48: 141-146. Floyd, E. H., and B. A. Tower, 1956. Insecticideimpregnated litter for control of chicken body lice [Eomenacanthus stramineus (Nitz)] on poultry. Poultry Sci. 35: 896-900. Godfrey, G. F., D. E. Howell and F. Graybill, 1953. Effect of lindane on egg production. Poultry Sci. 32: 183-185. Milby, T. T., and M. F. Lawatsch, 1948. The effect of benzene hexachloride on the flavor of poultry meat and notes on its use for the control of external poultry parasites. Poultry Sci. 27: 245247. Roberts, I. H., and H. O. Peterson, 1947. Hexachlorocyclohexane-a fumigant for the control of chicken lice. Poultry Sci. 26: 588-593. Rubin, M., H. R. Bird, N. Green and R. H. Carter, 1947. Toxicity of DDT to laying hens. Poultry Sci. 26: 410-414. Snedecor, G. W., 1946. Statistical Methods. Iowa State College Press, Ames. Telford, H. S., 1947. Benzene hexachloride to control certain insects affecting domestic animals. J. Econ. Ento. 40: 918-921. Theobald, F. V., 1915. The parasitic diseases of poultry 1896. Cornell Bull. 359. Thompson, W. C , 1922. An analysis of the socalled normal mortality in poultry flocks. Poultry Sci. 1:155-162. Warren, D. C , R. Eaton and H. Smith, 1948. Influence of infestations of body lice on egg production in the hen. Poultry Sci. 27: 641-643.
NEWS AND NOTES (Continued from page 376) the University of Toronto (Ontario Agricultural College) with a B.S.A. degree in 1921. ALFALFA MEAL CHECK SAMPLES The American Association of Feed Control Offi cials will again sponsor the alfalfa meal check sam
pie program for the American Alfalfa Dehydrators Association. Four samples will be submitted to each collaborator for carotene analysis during 1961, with each participant receiving a summary of the results following the analysis of the individual samples. The collaboration fee for the four samples will be $2.00.
{Continued on page 406)
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of North Dakota on May 26, 2015
Approximately 400 production-strain New Hampshire pullets were divided into two groups of four replicates each. One group was kept free of lice by providing lindane-impregnated litter in their pens, while the pens in the other groups were allowed to become louse infested and maintained in such condition for a 249day period. While there were some differences among replicated pens in each of the two treatments, the average performance of the two treatments showed only slight differences. An analysis of variance of these data shows that these differences are not significant. Gamma B. H. C. was not detected in the chemical analyses of eggs from either group. Eggs from each group were also sampled by a selected group of housewives, and were judged normal and equal.
REFERENCES