Could this be mites?

[BuffOrpington88]

Hi!
So, my chickens have a few ruffled feathers on their back, not very noticeable, just a little ragged. They may also have a few missing fluff on their bottoms. They take dust baths often and I checked their feathers and didn't see any eggs or anything. Is this mites?
Thanks!

 

[mnferalkitty]

Do you have a rooster? Check for mites by the vent hole if they have mites you can usualy see them gathered around the vent amongst the base of the feathers

 

[duckinnut]

Also how old are they? Could be going into molt.

 

[BuffOrpington88]

Do you have a rooster? Check for mites by the vent hole if they have mites you can usualy see them gathered around the vent amongst the base of the feathers

No rooster. Didn't see any around their vents.



Quote: I think that's what it is. They should molt this year.

Thanks everybody!

 

[duckinnut]

First adult molts can be from barely noticeable to out right near naked. It seems as you think that there is something wrong with them. Hard molts effect there overall personality to as a few of mine kept away from the rest of the flock during the time. Had 4-5 go thru a hard molt and it wasn't pretty, they just looked miserable. more so when the new ones were coming in, all those quills,ouch.