does this look like mites in the feathers (pic)

[sydney13]

i think my silkie might have mites because she has been preening a lot so ive been putting de on her but i ran out a few days ago. i gave her a bath yesterday and used soup to try to remove some of the mites untill i can go and get some more de. when she was in the sink i noticed that her underneath her fluffy feathers the others look like this

is this a sign of mites or lice or fleas or something else?
and by the way she doesn't have that big bald spot its just because i moved the feathers feathers out of the way as she was wet

 

[Lesa]

Looks like new feathers growing in to me...

 

[chicmom]

That looks bad. You can actually see mites, lice and fleas. See any creepy crawlies on her? That looks like big dirt to me. Now, DE isn't going to help that. You need to go get some Sevin Dust or you can go to a farm store and get poultry dust. You'll need to dust her from head to toe....under and over....and then do it again in about 10-14 days because the eggs hatch and you kill the young parasites before they are old enough to lay eggs. You'll need to check your whole flock, clean everything out, apply dust everywhere and then put new bedding in there......It's a real pain in the rear!

You can actually use some shampoo too first, to get all that dirt off of their feathers....

Good luck!

 

[Lesa]

Can you see any bugs on her? I sure can't in the pic....

 

[CMV]

Hold on a minute. Those spikes you are seeing are just new feathers. What has you thinking she has bugs? I see no evidence of bugs in that picture. I see evidence of a mini molt, but that's it. Do you see clumps of greyish white near the bases of the feathers? Those would be visible in the case of lice. Mites are much harder to see and are active at night, so a search with a flashlight would reveal tiny, tiny reddish moving specks. I think your girl is preening a lot because she is molting and that's itchy business. I do not see any bugs from the picture, though.

 

[sydney13]

i looked at her feathers and i cant she any bugs on her. i gave her a bath right after she had a dust bath so those little brown things are just dirt.
as you can see here the bath didn't remove the dirt it just seemed to put her in a bad mood

i keep her coop clean and when i bought her she has always had torn feathers on her wings i have just never looked under the feathers until now so it could have always been like that.
i checked and the farm store doesn't sell any poultry dust the only sell de and its not the food grade type. do you think this might work
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/poultry_protector.html
i would have to order it online so it would take a few days to come
i was only thinking she has bugs because she has been preening a lot lately and she also seems to take more dust baths then usual. she also had scaly leg mite but that is starting to go away from putting vetrx on it

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Dog flea and tick sprays works as well or better than dust. It's definitely easier to use. Depending on the number of birds you have, baths in a flea/tick shampoo that has a residual affect will also work. DE is very drying, so dusting her with it is probably making the itching more intense than the molt has already made her.

 

[chicmom]

Hey, Sydney, if you don't see any actual bugs, then I'll bet you're right and that isn't bug droppings--just dirt. Chickens do like to dust bath.....I think it's like heaven to them. Mine do it all the time. I just go to Walmart and buy the Seven dust--it's in the gardening section. I like it because it's safe for veggies and chickens both. The stuff you looked at online would probably work fine too. You probably don't need it though if there are no actual insects on your silkie. I'm thinking that maybe the dirt just looked bad because it got wet when you washed your silkie?

Chickens can get lice in the cleanest environments....wild birds can spread it. (So I just want to make sure I didn't offend.)

And others are right as well--I'm sure you know those are new feathers growing in...those quill things.

Have a great day,
Sharon

 

[Ridgerunner]

I also think it is just new feathers coming in. This site has pictures that might help you determine if there are any mites or lice there. It never hurts to know what to look for and it migth make you feel better knowing for sure.

Ohio State – Mites and Lice
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html