background: rodents play an important role as reservoir of some pathogens, and the host of some ectoparasites as well. these ectoparasites can transmit rodents’ pathogens to human or animals. the aim of this study was to assess the distribution and infestation load of ectoparasites on rodents in meshkin-shahr district, northwestern iran . method: rodents were captured using baited live traps in...

Adult White Leghorn hens (Hy-Line strain W-36) were inoculated with either northern fowl mites or chicken body lice, and the ectoparasite populations were monitored over periods of 9 to 16 wk. Two beak conditions (beak trimmed or beak intact) and 2 housing densities (1 or 2 hens per 25 × 31 cm suspended wire cage) were tested. Populations of both ectoparasites were at least 10 times lower on be...

Fifty-four White Rock hens were infested with 2,000 northern fowl mites/ bird and six hens were sampled at nine time periods during the 28,week study. Hens supported an average of 15,028 mites when mites were collected from infested bird carcasses digested with a modification of the Cook's technique. Mite-specific Ilrccipitating antibodies were quantified from hen serum samples with rocket elec...

—Carotenoid pigments produce the ornamental red, orange, and yellow integumentary coloration of many species of animals. Among individuals of a population, the hue and saturation of carotenoid-based ornaments can be extremely variable, and studies of fish and birds have shown that females generally prefer males that display the most saturated and reddest coloration. Consequently, there has been...

In July 2008 a survey of ectoparasites on domestic animals was conducted in the Royal Thai Army areas of operation along the Thai-Myanmar Border, Tak Province, Thailand. Eleven different ectoparasites were collected: two species of hard ticks (Ixodidae), three species of fleas (Siphonaptera) and 6 species of sucking or chewing lice (2 species each in the suborders Anoplura, Ischnocera and Ambly...