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they were almost CERTAINLY mites. Mites are VERY tiny, smaller than a pinhead, and EXTREMELY easy to miss. Many times you won't see them at all unless you use a magnifying glass. Mites can and WILL KILL your bird(s)! Sheer numbers of the tiny bloodsuckers will weaken your bird and cause them to die from anemia & blood loss. You'll need to do one or more of the following AS SOON AS POSSIBLE: 1) dust the birds, roosts, & bedding with Sevin (carbaryl) dust to kill the mites. 2) use Adams Flea & Tick Mist for Cats, use one spray under each wing and one spray in the "fluff" near the vent (but avoid the vent itself; the mist has alcohol that can sting -- also avoid getting the spray around the chicken's face b/c the alcohol can cause respiratory irritation) 3) give the chicken a bath in flea/tick shampoo for pets.
After treatment, remove old bedding and spray the henhouse down with Poultry Protector or dust everything down (including nest boxes) with Sevin dust. Replace the bedding with fresh bedding/shavings and mix some Sevin into the bedding/shavings. Mites are persistent and hide in tiny, tiny cracks, sometimes only coming out at night and getting onto the chickens. I hope your girl makes it; she looks very weak. If she were mine, I'd bathe her in the flea/tick shampoo immediately and dry her on the LOW setting of a blow dryer.
