Favus? Face Mites?

[MeredithLindsay]

New chicken mommy here. I have two 10 week old silkies in a brooder bc it’s very cold and they’re not fully feathered yet. I noticed some white flaky skin on one the other day. This picture is about a week old. Since then she’s lost some feathers in this area as well. I’ve treated with oils and anti fungal cream. It hasn’t necessarily gotten worse but the feather loss is concerning and it has spread (or I’m just now noticing it) on her head and the back of her neck as well. I’ve used baby oil and coconut oil so her feathers looks really awful and greasy but I will post another picture in the morning so you can see the feathers loss and improvement or lack thereof.
From my research it is either scaly face mites or favus. How do you tell the difference without seeing a vet??

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What do you feed?
I would be inclined to add Vitamin E and B-Complex to her diet a couple of times a week.
400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex. Give her a treat of egg to help with the uptake of E.

As for the skin. Hard to know what that is. I've seen a few threads with similar concerns, but I really don't know if anyone has completely figured it out. I think I would follow treatment for Favus using an anti-fungal cream (athlete's foot cream) or Iodine (as mentioned in the article linked below). The dandruff shampoo mentioned seems promising as well - not a cure, but the thought is it helps remove the loose crusty "junk" so the skin can heal. It might be worth a shot to see if it helps, just make sure she's really good and dry before taking her outside - use a hair dryer.
On the left hand side of the page look at "Favus"
https://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html

 

[MeredithLindsay]

What do you feed?
I would be inclined to add Vitamin E and B-Complex to her diet a couple of times a week.
400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex. Give her a treat of egg to help with the uptake of E.

As for the skin. Hard to know what that is. I've seen a few threads with similar concerns, but I really don't know if anyone has completely figured it out. I think I would follow treatment for Favus using an anti-fungal cream (athlete's foot cream) or Iodine (as mentioned in the article linked below). The dandruff shampoo mentioned seems promising as well - not a cure, but the thought is it helps remove the loose crusty "junk" so the skin can heal. It might be worth a shot to see if it helps, just make sure she's really good and dry before taking her outside - use a hair dryer.
On the left hand side of the page look at "Favus"
https://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article.html

This is so helpful. She’s on organic starter grower still however she also has a slight cross beak which does make it difficult to eat and as a result she’s smaller than her sister who is a week older. I’ve been looking into more nutrient dense foods lately to make sure she’s getting plenty of good vitamins. It’s been cold (17 today) and she’s not fully feathered so I’ve been hesitant to let her outside but I do know some sunshine and grass/bugs would do her well. Thank you for the help!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This is so helpful. She’s on organic starter grower still however she also has a slight cross beak which does make it difficult to eat and as a result she’s smaller than her sister who is a week older. I’ve been looking into more nutrient dense foods lately to make sure she’s getting plenty of good vitamins. It’s been cold (17 today) and she’s not fully feathered so I’ve been hesitant to let her outside but I do know some sunshine and grass/bugs would do her well. Thank you for the help!!

How much protein is in the starter/grower. I would aim for 18-20% feed. Personally I feed a 20% all flock feed year round to all my birds but a lot of people transition to layer feed once the ladies start laying eggs - that's fine, but I would not be in a hurry to get pullets onto a layer feed, they do fine with higher protein feed.

I've never had Silkies, but from what information I have read about them they do seem to be more prone to having a few problems, especially with vitamin deficiency. Not sure if it's the food, their genetics (maybe they don't absorb nutrients correctly?) I don't know, but it seems vitamin therapy may help - can't hurt to try. B-Vitamins are water soluble so you can't really overdo on those, but with E that's why I said to try a couple/few times a week. For neurological issues you will want to give E daily for a few weeks. If a couple of times a week doesn't seem to make a difference increase your days to see what happens - make sense?

If she's having difficulty eating due to cross beak, then try making her a wet mash of feed. It's just feed + water. I like to let it soak for at least 30 minutes, add water as needed to make to the consistency of oatmeal - you'll find the right consistency for her I'm sure. Offer it in a dish deep enough so she can "scoop". Birds with beak deformities sometimes have trouble picking up individual pieces of feed. Again, worth a shot.

Hopefully you will see some improvement. Please do keep me posted on how she's doing. I'm interested to see what treatment you administer and if it works. Even if we can't figure out the "name" of the issue, if folks will follow up in their threads (good or bad) that helps others who are searching for answers to similar issues.

 

[MeredithLindsay]

How much protein is in the starter/grower. I would aim for 18-20% feed. Personally I feed a 20% all flock feed year round to all my birds but a lot of people transition to layer feed once the ladies start laying eggs - that's fine, but I would not be in a hurry to get pullets onto a layer feed, they do fine with higher protein feed.

I've never had Silkies, but from what information I have read about them they do seem to be more prone to having a few problems, especially with vitamin deficiency. Not sure if it's the food, their genetics (maybe they don't absorb nutrients correctly?) I don't know, but it seems vitamin therapy may help - can't hurt to try. B-Vitamins are water soluble so you can't really overdo on those, but with E that's why I said to try a couple/few times a week. For neurological issues you will want to give E daily for a few weeks. If a couple of times a week doesn't seem to make a difference increase your days to see what happens - make sense?

If she's having difficulty eating due to cross beak, then try making her a wet mash of feed. It's just feed + water. I like to let it soak for at least 30 minutes, add water as needed to make to the consistency of oatmeal - you'll find the right consistency for her I'm sure. Offer it in a dish deep enough so she can "scoop". Birds with beak deformities sometimes have trouble picking up individual pieces of feed. Again, worth a shot.

Hopefully you will see some improvement. Please do keep me posted on how she's doing. I'm interested to see what treatment you administer and if it works. Even if we can't figure out the "name" of the issue, if folks will follow up in their threads (good or bad) that helps others who are searching for answers to similar issues.

Her feed is an organic starter grower from tractor supply, 18 or 19%. I just gave her a scrambled egg and some kale. She picked out the kale but enjoyed the egg. She didn’t eat the whole thing but I guess it’s a lot for a little chick. And of course her sister enjoyed some as well.
we have a vet appt this morning but I’m thinking I’ll cancel and focus on nutrition and continue with anti fungal cream.
do you have suggestions for nutrient dense foods I can offer her? I gave her some pure pumpkin and oatmeal the other day which they both enjoyed. One still has pumpkin on her beak

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Her feed is an organic starter grower from tractor supply, 18 or 19%. I just gave her a scrambled egg and some kale. She picked out the kale but enjoyed the egg. She didn’t eat the whole thing but I guess it’s a lot for a little chick. And of course her sister enjoyed some as well.
we have a vet appt this morning but I’m thinking I’ll cancel and focus on nutrition and continue with anti fungal cream.
do you have suggestions for nutrient dense foods I can offer her? I gave her some pure pumpkin and oatmeal the other day which they both enjoyed. One still has pumpkin on her beak

Her eating her normal nutritionally balanced poultry feed (starter/grower) should be the main focus. Egg is very good so I would offer that.
I'm not a fan of giving oatmeal - there's a debate on that, you can do some reading about it. I try to limit the amount of things that I give to my confined birds.
I don't see anything wrong with a small amount of pumpkin, kale or other veggies/fruit as long as it's a small amount.
Provide a source of grit (crushed granite) free choice, for both of them. They will pick up what they need.

I understand! Sometimes we feel we want to give them something special - I think it makes us feel better. Youngsters I usually stick with eggs as a treat.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/the-shocking-effect-of-oatmeal/

 

[MeredithLindsay]

Thank you so much for your help. I’ve got some feed soaking right now to offer later as mash. I’ll be giving her a warm bath with dandruff shampoo today too. Here’s hoping I can avoid the vet! I’d much rather focus on nutrition!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you so much for your help. I’ve got some feed soaking right now to offer later as mash. I’ll be giving her a warm bath with dandruff shampoo today too. Here’s hoping I can avoid the vet! I’d much rather focus on nutrition!

Make enough so they both can have soaked feed, chickens seem to like eating together LOL Wet feed won't hurt the sister and she may like it too.
My birds thing wet feed is a treat! I make it a few times a week and they think they are getting something grand

You can always make dry available too. There's nothing wrong with giving them a choice.

 

[dawg53]

Here's some info on Scaly Face mites if that's what it is (tough to tell on a Silkie.)
https://wagwalking.com/bird/condition/scaly-face-mites