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Show - . au LIVE STOCK 1 j FACTS j LICE MENACE HOG INDUSTRY r Swine Growers Suffer Los in Arrested Growth of Pigs and Shrinkage Shrink-age In Weight (Prepared by the United States Department Depart-ment of Agriculture.) Hog lice occur more or less frequently fre-quently ou both domesticated and wild hogs In practically all parts of the world. The parasites are prevalent in aJl parts of the United States where hogs are raised, and live-stock growers generally recognize them as a pest that causes considerable loss to the swine industry. In obtaining their food the lice puncture the skin of the host animal and suck blood and lymph. A new puncture in the skin is made each time a louse feeds. A single puncture causes considerable irritation and Itching, Itch-ing, and as each louse feeds at frequent fre-quent intervals, the irritation and itching is almost constant in cases of V If kM ' 1 Hogs Infested With Lice Cannot Thrive. gross infestation. In an attempt to relieve the intense itching the infested animals scratch themselves with their feet and rub violently against any convenient object. The frequent rubbing rub-bing destroys the hair lu patches and often causes wounds In the skin. The lice congregate around the abrasions and thus cause further irritation and annoyance to the animals. Lice may attack hogs of any age or condition, and if allowed to spread ihe Infested animals suffer and the owner loses in the increased quantity of feed consumed per pound of gain, arrested growth of young pigs, and .shrinkage in weight of fattening hogs. When young pigs become infested at an early age from the brood sow and the lice are allowed to remain on the animals until the hogs are ready for butchering, the loss caused by the parasites is a considerable item in the cost of producing pork. Estimates based on observations and limited experimental ex-perimental data fix the direct money loss in such cases at from 2 to 6 per cent of the market value of the hog. The Indirect losses caused by lice are seldom taken into consideration, because be-cause on casual observation they are not so apparent. Hogs infested by large numbers of lice suffer a lowering lower-ing of vitality and a generally unthrifty un-thrifty condition which renders them more susceptible to attack by other parasites and by contagious diseases. The damage and losses caused by hog lice are of sufficient importance to warrant the application of treatment for their eradication. |