Farmers Losing Chicken to Thieves and Mites, 1945

By F.H. Jeter, Extension Editor, N.C. State College, Raleigh, as published in the Wilmington Star on July 9, 1945

Chickens continue to be spotlighted in the news. Reports are received nearly every day telling of thieves visiting poultry farms by night and cleaning them out of chickens.

The thieves do not seem to be so particular as to whether they take laying hens, broilers, or fine breeding birds. Apparently, all they are interested in is getting a supply of birds that they can sell for meat. Poultrymen, therefore, are again advised to keep a sharp watch over their flocks.

Bob Smith, farm agent of Wilkes County, says some indication of the way in which farmers of his county are growing poultry this year may be seen on the farm of Ed Heitinger who has 53,000 young birds, most of which are now out on open range. He plans to select 17,000 laying hens from these young birds and sell the remainder on the market.

But because of the shortage of meat over the state, a number of persons are starting back chicks later than usual this year. Roy Dearstyne, head poultryman at State College, says many hatcheries are booked with orders far ahead to meet this demand for summer hatched chicks.

However, while the starting and raising of chicks at this time of the year may add to the available supply of meat, it must be emphasized that the chicks which are started now do not have a comparable vitality to those that are hatched earlier in the year. They do not make comparable growth and apparently are nightly susceptible to any disease that may be prevalent. Persons starting chicks at this season should be very careful to avoid overcrowding, must pay careful attention to ventilation as often cool nights follow very hot days, and should practice rigid sanitation. Don’t expect too much from these chicks as the appetite is quite dormant in hot weather and usually it takes about two weeks longer to bring them to [target?] weight than those started in the spring.

But the hot weather also brings another problem for the poultryman. The common red mite of chickens costs and poultrymen of this state many thousand dollars in direct and indirect losses each year. While direct death from mite infection is quite uncommon, the infection with mites causes reduction and reduced vitality and, therefore, may predispose to disease.

Great numbers of mites attack a single bird at night while it is on the roost. After feeding, the mites crawl back to their hiding places and lay eggs. A female lays about four eggs in 24 hours and feeds again before laying four more eggs. The cycle may be repeated eight or more times. The eggs hatch in about two weeks.

Birds on which mites feed appear pale and unthrifty because of the loss of blood; growth is retarded; and production drops.

Dearstyne asks every poultryman to be on the lookout for mite infection during these warm summer months and watch his egg production for sudden drops in laying. Eggs are becoming as scarce as meat. Once every two weeks, one or more perch poles should be detached and the underside examined for mites. They appear gray or reddish masses of small insects. If mites are found on perches, nests, and dropping boards should be painted or sprayed with a wood preservative containing anthracine oil. If this cannot be obtained, crude petroleum or crank case oil would be effective.

The food situation in the vicinity of Wilmington must be rather acute, J.E. Dodson, farm agent of Brunswick County, has observed that a good many city and small town people are combing the county for chickens, lard, cured pork, and beef these days but they are meeting with very little success in finding any of these products. He says, “We do not believe there is nearly as much black market operations as some people think. There is an actual scarcity of meat products, and conditions are probably going to get worse if Selective Service continues to take labor from the farms. Those boys who are being discharged from the armed services are not coming back to the farms, in this particular section, because of the simple fact that they can make more money elsewhere.”