Dreadlock/Calcified Feathers.. Possibly mites?

[dgeter]

Hi everyone!

I recently got more chickens and have already encountered something I've never seen before. My Silkie hen had a very large beard and recently it turned to dreadlock/calcified clumps. I examined her and found a few mites, so I bathed her and checked again. After not finding anymore bugs, I decided to try and cut the clumps off because they were clearly distressing her.

Once the clumps were cut in half, the composition of the clumps did change and I found a few more bugs. Now I'm concerned that seven dust won't be enough to get rid of these.

Any advice? I attached a picture.

 

[JaeG]

It could be clumps of lice eggs. Were the bugs you found long or more round? Longer bugs are lice. I've read you can use coconut oil to soften the clumps and remove them. Probably any type of vegetable/cooking oil will do the trick. Then you could give her a bath if you feel up to it - she may be a bit nervous at first but she will relax and enjoy it. A splash of vinegar in the water will help kill off any more bugs that are hiding anywhere and a bit of baby shampoo will wash off the oily bits. People use Dawn dishwash liquid too in the water if you don't have baby shampoo. Any mild soap should be fine.

 

[User395221]

From the photos I've seen, those look like lice nits. The mites look more dirty, like sand, darkish.

If you use insecticide, that will kill live bugs. You then need to wait a week (or so, it says it on the insecticide how long) and do it again. Those nits will hatch into live bugs, and the retreatment will zap them. You might need to do it again in another week or so.