Black mold/mildew on tail feathers

[Angelita]

Hi, so I’m a little concerned about my girl, she’s a 5 month old buff Orpington and I’ve noticed she’s had little black mold-looking specs on a few of her tail feathers. She’s an indoor chicken and I clean her coop daily so it’s always clean and dry. I use cedar wood shavings now that she’s older and I change them daily (she’s an only child lol so it’s not that hard to do for me). I do have a little bit of black mold in my bathroom, but her coop is far from there and I haven’t noticed any mold anywhere else in my house or in her coop. I bathe her regularly with animal friendly conditioning soap, rinse her with white vinegar and warm water, and even carefully blow dry her every time, making sure she is COMPLETELY dry (yes, she is very spoiled). She’s super happy and healthy, I was unemployed the first four months she was alive so she is FAR from neglected. I do bring her outside every day, but only when weather permits so it’s not like she’s ever out in the rain or snow getting wet. She’s also never had any other issues and I have checked to see if it was possibly mites. As said though, she’s an indoor chicken and I pay close attention to her to make sure she’s happy and healthy. I really can’t figure out what these “mold” spots are... all of her other feathers are healthy and clean, even by her vent. The only thing I can think of is that sometimes she likes to lay by her water bowl and gets a little wet, but not specifically by her tail feathers. Anyone know what this is/ how to treat it? Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would do some research on feather mites or depluming mites:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/ectoparasites/mites-of-poultry

 

[Angelita]

I would do some research on feather mites or depluming mites:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/ectoparasites/mites-of-poultry

Thanks, I wasn’t sure if it was mites because it’s so isolated, but this helps. I definitely wanted a second opinion on whether this could be mites or not

 

[Eggcessive]

You should take a magnifying glass and look over the skin as well. I would use permethrin 10 liquid or dust for mites or lice, and you may also use ivermectin pour on.

 

[Angelita]

You should take a magnifying glass and look over the skin as well. I would use permethrin 10 liquid or dust for mites or lice, and you may also use ivermectin pour on.

Thank you so much, I will look more closely and try that!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would just try to find any evidence of possible mites. I suppose there could be mold on his feathers, but feather mites would seem to be more likely. The permethrin is very safe, but if you use ivermectin, you would need to wait for an egg withdrawal time 14 days after the last treatment.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I’ve noticed she’s had little black mold-looking specs on a few of her tail feathers.

She’s an indoor chicken and I clean her coop daily so it’s always clean and dry. I use cedar wood shavings now that she’s older and I change them daily

I do have a little bit of black mold in my bathroom, but her coop is far from there and I haven’t noticed any mold anywhere else in my house or in her coop.

bathe her regularly with animal friendly conditioning soap, rinse her with white vinegar and warm water, and even carefully blow dry her every time, making sure she is COMPLETELY dry (yes, she is very spoiled).

It looks like it the coloring of her feathers to me. If she came from a hatchery it's color leakage called "smutting".

I would not use Cedar shavings for her bedding. Use pine or aspen, you can also use puppy pads. Cedar is aromatic and can be harsh on a chickens delicate respiratory system.
I realize she is in the house and you want to keep her clean. Keep in mind that everytime you give her a bath, you are stripping out the natural oil in her feathers. Chickens have an oil gland that they utilize to spread oil through their feathers as they are preening. Dust bathing is one way that they keep feathers in condition (along with preening). I would try to minimize the times you give a bath.

Now, for you. The mold in your bathroom needs to be addressed. Your respiratory system and health needs to be considered as well. Try treating that with a bleach solution or you can find a mold killer in the cleaning section of most stores. Try to get that taken care of.

 

[Angelita]

It looks like it the coloring of her feathers to me. If she came from a hatchery it's color leakage called "smutting".

I would not use Cedar shavings for her bedding. Use pine or aspen, you can also use puppy pads. Cedar is aromatic and can be harsh on a chickens delicate respiratory system.
I realize she is in the house and you want to keep her clean. Keep in mind that everytime you give her a bath, you are stripping out the natural oil in her feathers. Chickens have an oil gland that they utilize to spread oil through their feathers as they are preening. Dust bathing is one way that they keep feathers in condition (along with preening). I would try to minimize the times you give a bath.

Now, for you. The mold in your bathroom needs to be addressed. Your respiratory system and health needs to be considered as well. Try treating that with a bleach solution or you can find a mold killer in the cleaning section of most stores. Try to get that taken care of.

Thanks for the info, and I definitely should have made that more clear... I really only bathe her once every two weeks (unless she rolls around in her own feces which she just loves to do lol) and she does have a dust tray for the winter. I appreciate the helpful info about the oils though, I didn’t necessarily know that one... as for my mold issue I KNOW! I hate it so much and every time I try to get rid of it, it comes back in that little corner. I’ve been treating it with bleach and water almost weekly but the vent in the bathroom is broken. I rent though and the owners won’t do anything about it. My mother in law even started to file a lawsuit... thankfully it’s only in that corner though.

 

[Duckworth]

Consider keeping a spray bottle with a bleach and water solution in your bathroom and spraying the mold each day after you shower to make that little corner more inhospitable to the mold. You may also want to put a small portable fan in the doorway to the bathroom for awhile after showering to blow drier air in there. If you are spraying bleach water, I would avoid blowing air out of the bathroom into the rest of your rooms, or you could just wait until you have run the fan blowing out for awhile and spray after you turn it off.

I have lived in very humid climates and mold is hard to manage without daily effort. Once you can get rid of the mold, it will be a lot easier to keep it gone with a daily fan to keep things drier and weekly treatment. I feel your pain.

 

[Eggcessive]

Glad that Wyorp Rock has helped identify what you are seeing in the feathers. Glad that it may not be any type of mites.