Eye bugs

[bethanym]

Hey all,
My barred rock has some white crawlies around her eye I just noticed. There isn't a lot, and she looks fine otherwise. Is it lice, or mites? What is a safe treatment around her eye? It's been so wet they haven't been using their dust bath enough lately.
Thanks so much!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Welcome to the forum.

If you see the bugs around the eyes, it just means they are more visible in a nonfeathered area. I think the whitish bugs are more likely lice, but whether lice or mites you would treat them the same way. I used Sevin dust which is most commonly recommended. I put it in an old stocking and used it like a powder puff to dust everywhere below the neck. I would not dust the face, I would just hope that the bugs would crawl to a treated part of the bird and die.

Here is a link to more info:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/mites-chicken-pests-how-to-protect-your-chickens-from-mites