shaft louse
- noun
- Specialized
:
piojo del eje
- A shaft louse can cause irritation and feather damage in poultry.
Examples
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Veterinarians recommend checking for shaft louse when birds appear restless or scratch frequently.
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The farmer treated his chickens to prevent a shaft louse infestation.
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The shaft louse is a common pest in poultry.
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Farmers often struggle with shaft lice in their flocks.
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A shaft louse can cause irritation and feather damage in poultry.
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The farmer treated his chickens to prevent a shaft louse infestation.
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Veterinarians recommend checking for shaft louse when birds appear restless or scratch frequently.
Synonyms
3
6.7
A small insect that lives on hair or fur and drinks blood
A small insect that lives on chickens and other farm birds and eats their feathers and skin
A small insect that lives on chickens and eats their skin and feathers
A small insect that lives on chickens and other birds and eats their blood
A small wingless insect that lives on birds and bites their skin or feathers
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'louse' denotes a parasitic insect and 'shaft' specifies the central part of a feather or object, so 'shaft louse' straightforwardly means a louse associated with the feather shaft. This literal noun–noun compound follows regular English formation and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Shaft louse: The name shaft louse comes from where the bug lives: it is a louse that lives in the hard middle of a bird's 'feather', the shaft. So the term means a small 'parasite' that makes birds itchy and can damage their feathers.