Friday, September 5, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Biology

Cage-free chickens are louse-y

July 17, 2024
in Biology
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Chicken body louse
66
SHARES
596
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT

Lice have been found feeding on the skin and blood of free-range chickens, which are infected at much higher rates than caged flocks. This finding could have implications for states like California, where all egg production is cage-free.

Chicken body louse

Credit: Amy Murillo/UCR

Lice have been found feeding on the skin and blood of free-range chickens, which are infected at much higher rates than caged flocks. This finding could have implications for states like California, where all egg production is cage-free.

Previously, lice were not known to be significant poultry pests. However, a UC Riverside study published in the journal Parasites & Vectors shows for the first time that they are.

“We didn’t expect to find skin lesions associated with chicken body lice, but we did. This has not, to my knowledge, been documented before,” said UCR entomologist and lead study author Amy Murillo.  

Murillo studies pests of poultry and other livestock. To help detect mite infestations in chickens, Murillo previously led a team of entomologists, computer scientists, and poultry scientists in creating a new insect detection sensor. These sensors, worn on the birds’ backs, have been dubbed “Fitbits for chickens.” 

The Fitbits translate the birds’ behaviors into algorithms that can be recognized by computers. For this study, the sensors were used to monitor activity at three points in time — during a period where cage-free chickens were not infested with lice, during a growing infestation, and during a full-blown infestation. 

The clearest signal of a lice infestation was an increase in preening behaviors, as the birds clean their feathers with their beaks. While preening is generally considered positive, too much of it could disrupt other healthy chicken behaviors. 

“We found such a significant increase in infected flocks it makes us think they’re spending time preening when they might have been doing other things, like resting, eating, sleeping, or laying eggs,” Murillo said. 

A major increase in preening was detected even when the lice infestation was relatively small. “Just a few lice and you see a dramatic change in what the chicken is doing,” Murillo said. “I don’t know if you can measure itchiness or irritation, but they’re spending significant amounts of time trying to get the lice off.”

Lice tend to live in places on the body, both in humans and in chickens, that make it harder for hosts to remove them. Chicken body lice tend to go under the wings, a place with a warmer than average skin temperature that is harder for birds to reach. The lesions the researchers found there were actively bleeding.

At this time, there are not many strategies for mitigating chicken lice. Few insecticides are allowed to be used on poultry, and it is difficult to apply pesticides to cage-free birds. However, Murillo and her colleagues have gotten promising results with food-grade diatomaceous earth, a powdery substance made from the fossilized remains of aquatic organisms. 

“When chickens get it into their feathers, it disrupts the waxy exoskeleton of the lice,” Murillo said. “In other words, the diatomaceous earth makes it so the insects can’t prevent water loss. Then they dry out and die.”

Given the possibility that excessive preening may interfere with egg laying, Murillo would like to conduct a follow-up study. “Lice were not previously looked at as serious pests. Now that there’s evidence the lice impact the birds, I’d like to measure the economic impact of infestations,” she said.

California’s Proposition 12, passed by voters in 2018, bans the sale of eggs from hens kept in cages. The law aims to reduce animal suffering by setting minimum space requirements for farm animals. However, the absence of cages alone does not guarantee chicken health and happiness. 

Murillo is not sure why birds with open air access are infested with lice at higher rates than caged chickens. As there is a gap in the literature regarding the origins of chicken lice infestations, she would also like to make this the focus of future research.

“From an animal behavior and wholistic standpoint, the birds definitely benefit from being cage free. They have more space and get to perform more natural behaviors,” Murillo said. “But from a disease standpoint, it is worse.” 



Journal

Parasites & Vectors

DOI

10.1186/s13071-024-06313-6

Article Title

Low levels of chicken body louse (Menacanthus stramineus) infestations affect chicken welfare in a cage-free housing system

Article Publication Date

14-May-2024

Share26Tweet17
Previous Post

Endometriosis typology and ovarian cancer risk

Next Post

Want to spot a deepfake? Look for the stars in their eyes

Related Posts

blank
Biology

Triazophos Effects on Immune Responses in Snakehead Fish

September 5, 2025
blank
Biology

Disparities in Pre-Dialysis Nephrology Care and Vascular Access Outcomes Among Hispanic Patients

September 5, 2025
blank
Biology

Nitrogen Boosts Wheat Recovery via TaSnRK2.10 Pathway

September 5, 2025
blank
Biology

Boosting Quasi-2D Perovskite Solar Cell Efficiency and Stability with Dicyandiamide Interface Engineering

September 5, 2025
blank
Biology

Marine Bradyrhizobium Triggers Nitrogen Nodules in Legume

September 5, 2025
blank
Biology

Unraveling Trebouxiophyceae Algae: Evolutionary and Ecological Insights

September 5, 2025
Next Post
Real v Fake image

Want to spot a deepfake? Look for the stars in their eyes

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27544 shares
    Share 11014 Tweet 6884
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    959 shares
    Share 384 Tweet 240
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    643 shares
    Share 257 Tweet 161
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    510 shares
    Share 204 Tweet 128
  • Warm seawater speeding up melting of ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn

    313 shares
    Share 125 Tweet 78
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • Advancements in Photocatalysis for Pollution Cleanup
  • New Study Reveals Rapid Insect Decline in Pristine Ecosystems
  • Scientists Uncover Vast Geo-Hydrogen Reservoir West of Mussau Trench
  • Unveiling North America’s Influence on Asia’s Monsoons: New Perspectives on Climate Change

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Blog
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 5,183 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Discover more from Science

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading