Hello! My 6 month old bearded EE has been missing feathers on her throat area for over a week (see below). She has been eating and drinking fine. The other chickens are not missing feathers.
Today I checked her whole body for mites. There is an area on her back with a dirt/sand-like substance shown below. It seems to slightly resemble pictures of northern fowl mites but not exactly, so I am not sure if it is just dirt from dust bathing (if that ever sticks to skin). Her vent and sides were clean.
There are no vets in my area that treat poultry so I would like to ask here:
1. Does it look as if the dirt-like substance could be mites or just dirt?
2. Has anyone seen feathers missing only from a chicken's throat area? If so, what caused it?
Thank you for reading! I am new to Backyard Chickens so please let me know if there are any rules I am missing. I really appreciate the help.
Today I checked her whole body for mites. There is an area on her back with a dirt/sand-like substance shown below. It seems to slightly resemble pictures of northern fowl mites but not exactly, so I am not sure if it is just dirt from dust bathing (if that ever sticks to skin). Her vent and sides were clean.
There are no vets in my area that treat poultry so I would like to ask here:
1. Does it look as if the dirt-like substance could be mites or just dirt?
2. Has anyone seen feathers missing only from a chicken's throat area? If so, what caused it?
Thank you for reading! I am new to Backyard Chickens so please let me know if there are any rules I am missing. I really appreciate the help.