Do my chickens have mites? Feather loss and winter is coming!!

[RADK]

Hello, I have 12 black sex link hens. This is my first winter with them and most have bald butts and bald spots where their backs meet their tails. They are 7 months old (not old enough to molt?) I supply additional lights and get 10-11 eggs per day.

I initially thought they were feather pecking due to low protein but now I’m not so sure. I’ve upped their protein to 20%, but today I noticed once again that the bald spots were growing. (My sister also gave them an old loaf of bread yesterday, maybe this was enough to kickstart more feather pecking? She knows now to only give treats in small amounts.) I do see the odd hen feather peck but I am not around often enough to see how often this happens.

Please se some photos below. Almost all girls have some level of bald butts (not around vent, but lower). 4/12 have bald patches on their backs as well. As it is getting colder I don’t want half naked chickens running around!

Do I have mites? The coop is just below freezing lately, and will be getting colder yet. I never see anything moving on them when I check. There are lots of “specks” from their dust bath.


The butt’s:

The backs:

Thank you in advance for your advice, I am very worried about them as I don’t have the ability to heat my coop for naked hens should the problem continue!

 

[BobStuart]

They are beautiful chickens you got. But I think you should grab a pair of gloves and check there feathers for anything

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you see any moving tiny bugs on them? When you handle one, are you getting mites on you? There looks to be some feather picking going on, but you are the one who can best tell if there are mites. Mites or lice can be treated with permethrin garden dust or Permethrin 10 liquid mixed with water 5 ml to each quart of water, to use in a spray bottle. Treat twice within 7 days if mites are seen to get the live mites, and then any that hatch. The facilities also have to be treated along with removing all bedding.

 

[RADK]

They are beautiful chickens you got. But I think you should grab a pair of gloves and check there feathers for anything

Thank you! I see specks, but nothing that ever moves. Not sure if the specks are just from their dust bath.

 

[RADK]

Do you see any moving tiny bugs on them? When you handle one, are you getting mites on you? There looks to be some feather picking going on, but you are the one who can best tell if there are mites. Mites or lice can be treated with permethrin garden dust or Permethrin 10 liquid mixed with water 5 ml to each quart of water, to use in a spray bottle. Treat twice within 7 days if mites are seen to get the live mites, and then any that hatch. The facilities also have to be treated along with removing all bedding.

I never see anything moving, just stationary specks which I assume are from the dust bath (soil + sand + wood ash). Nothing moving on them, or me, or their eggs. I’ll keep checking regularly, thanks for the instructions!

 

[BobStuart]

Thank you! I see specks, but nothing that ever moves. Not sure if the specks are just from their dust bath.

Take them for a bath with nit lotion. I did research on possible diseases but thankfully it isn’t a bad disease. So they must have lice or mites

 

[BobStuart]

And vinegar is good just avoid the face

 

[Eggcessive]

Get a magnifying glass to look at the skin. Some mites may only come onto the chickens at night, so good to look then with a light. They may get on walls and roosts.