Help!!! Silkie Feather issues!

[byrdixiechicken]

Hi All! I'm new to this and need some help!...ahhh!

My black Silkie is having some feather issues. Her feathers on her crest look like whitish sticks or spikes. When I first got her a few months ago she only had a few now it's all over. I have searched the Internet and can't find any other issues like this. Is she molting? I'm afraid it's a disease. I use poultry protector on her, keep my coop super clean, and use DE frequently...could it be lice or mites? I don't really see any on her.

Here are a few pics.... (the best I could get, sorry)

Thank you for your help!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

That doesnt look like pin feathers. It looks like she has crest mites, very common in Silkies. They like to hide in the abundance of feathers there. I would wash all of that mess from her create, dust her with sevin, clean your coop REALLY well (I take out all shavings, spray everything with bleach, rinse, let dry, then dust the heck out if it with sevin dust). Repeat in 10 days (I'm pretty sure its 10 days). If you don't repeat the process, any left over eggs will hatch and you'll be infested again. Make sure you wear long sleeves and a face mask while dealing with the sevin, for safety's sake. The dusting should take care of any other pests she may have as well. Good luck, I've only been infested once so far, but ACK!

 

[aoxa]

Looks like dirty pin feathers to me.

 

[byrdixiechicken]

Thank you! I did recently clean the whole coop out and used sevin dust. After seeing Pin Feathers, that's exactly what they look like. Keeping my fingers crossed! And hope it isn't an infestation. I can't see any mites on her either....

 

[aoxa]

Thank you! I did recently clean the whole coop out and used sevin dust. After seeing Pin Feathers, that's exactly what they look like. Keeping my fingers crossed! And hope it isn't an infestation. I can't see any mites on her either....

I don't think it's mites. My silkies love to stand out in the elements, and this is what they look like when they have dirty pin feathers. Just my opinion.