Help! What is this on my chicken?!

[Swall1017]

New chicken mom here. Just noticed this on the back of my chicken yesterday and now the other girls are starting to peck at it. Is it mites? It looks all scabbed up. It’s right above her tail on her back. I can try to add more pictures later

 

[Kiki]

Do you see tiny bugs crawling around?
The pictures aren't clear enough to see detail.

 

[Swall1017]

Do you see tiny bugs crawling around?
The pictures aren't clear enough to see detail.

No not that I could tell. She does itch herself.

 

[Kiki]

See if you can get a clearer picture.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

New chicken mom here. Just noticed this on the back of my chicken yesterday and now the other girls are starting to peck at it. Is it mites? It looks all scabbed up. It’s right above her tail on her back. I can try to add more pictures later

Welcome to BYC!

That's a fair amount of feather damage.

How long have you had her? Do you know her age? How does the rest of her skin look below her vent and on her belly, light pink or angry red? Do you have a rooster or did she previously?

Feather quality is effected by a few basic things.. age (second season before first molt can look kinda rough), mating damage or flock antics, nutrition (lack of protein while growing out), and definitely also parasites. One other thing, some birds (possibly lavenders or sizzles) may also have brittle feathers.

ETA: using a flashlight after dark can make it easier to see the bugs crawling away.

 

[Swall1017]

Welcome to BYC!

That's a fair amount of feather damage.

How long have you had her? Do you know her age? How does the rest of her skin look below her vent and on her belly, light pink or angry red? Do you have a rooster or did she previously?

Feather quality is effected by a few basic things.. age (second season before first molt can look kinda rough), mating damage or flock antics, nutrition (lack of protein while growing out), and definitely also parasites. One other thing, some birds (possibly lavenders or sizzles) may also have brittle feathers.

ETA: using a flashlight after dark can make it easier to see the bugs crawling away.

I got her as a chick a few days old. She’s about 11 1/2 weeks old. I’ll have to take a look at the rest of her skin. She always try’s to jump out of my arms so it’s kinda hard. No rooster although one of my hens might be a rooster still waiting to see she/he crows or lays eggs lol. I feed them scratch and peck grower feed, give them some grubs here and there and a few kitchen scraps.she is a Russian orloff

 

[Swall1017]

I tried inspecting her pretty good. I really don’t see any mites anywhere. I will check again at night with flash light: also doesn’t look like any damage near the vent area. Any ideas what it could be and how to treat? Thanks!

 

[Tonyroo]

Try zooming in on the bald spot or get closer for the picture.

 

[Swall1017]

Try zooming in on the bald spot or get closer for the picture.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I got her as a chick a few days old. She’s about 11 1/2 weeks old.

Possibly brooder boredom/flock antics.. are they roosting in darkness at night now or still piling? She should still mini molt into her adult feathers. Mini molting might be the answer at least in part.. since the skin isn't angry.