how can I tell the diference between feather loss from MITES versus MOLTING

[ladyearth]

broken feathers vs .. in other words does molting take out the whole feather area like the "shaft" or base of it??? bare skin versus the shaft left... LUNG problems, too?
could it also cause younger girls( 7 month old) to not have such a Bright red comb?? wheezing in the other 1 1/2 old hen (esp when she gets excited)
MY 1 1/2 yr. old Baby GIRL (not an egg layer)is is acting strange.. again,
Hubby wormed them again with )Valzaban)and gave Baby Girl a dose of that expensive stuff, VERAFLOX, got, I mean Bought from the vet several months ago.
She is hanging by herself mostly seems a bit hoarse.... Lays down on the bare ground under the shed....laying on her side. not much energy.. she eats okay...
I looked at her on the roost last nite.... she sure has lots of feathers gone.. Besides from ROOs wild mating.... Her bottom seemed more pink and no feathers.... she wheezes some. she has lost weight, she not as sprightly. Hubby said she looks aged.......
PREV in that same coop and run my first real flock (2yr old chickens) some developed( I found out later what it was) SCALEY leg mites......
those chickens I gave later away... when I got Chicks....
I have two coops and smaller runs with a common Giant yard....
since we had so much rain this past spring and early summer they could NOT just feather dust in their giant yard....
so thats why I started using large plastic Bins or "sled"s to hold stuff for them to feather dust...
I stopped using wood ASH in their large plastic bin(under a big storage shed) when I noticed two of the older hens kind of wheezing.. esp when she gets excited...
then changed to peat moss noticed that was very fine too...
so switched now to sand from a gravel pit... after reading "chick-chicken web site)
Their fav spot esp during summer.....being in that big of area under the BIG storage shed. It concerns me. It is an Area ( that Hubby blocked off for the Chickens) is like 16 feet wide 4 feet tall (can get under there myself to get out the poo on the bare ground).. Under shed area, it has lattice and window screen stapled,on the lattice . It a big area also about 6 feet deep with that area hdwe cloth from rest of the downhill part of the shed
also they were using an aluminum truck topper raised up about 3 feet off ground to feather dustin plus also severed as a shelter too
After hearing couple of them wheezing....and reading about a lady on here, with hens dying from a formof lung problems from fine DE dust..........
My worry meter went OFF.....
then I remembered a guy, VAcUUM cleaner repair store owner,,,telling me to never vacuum up fireplace ash with a reg vacuum cleaner.. That it would clog the motor.....
THAT GOT ME worried.....BIG TIME since our Lungs and theirs are FILTERS...
so bbeen reading long time on here.... Just reently cleaned their coop with Concentrated simple Green put in new horse stall nuggets(?) instead of wood chips or shavings.....
unfortunately their coop is almost on the ground not raised.... with a pine wooden floor and old wood 6 ft tall fence boards for walls...covered outside with vinyl siding..... Roof with AN ALUMINUM truck topper for a roof.. Which is great cause it ,the coop ,is
so natural lighted...
I know this is long post but I am trying to explain .
. thanks all

 

[QueenMisha]

Wheezing, paleness, and lethargy in multiple birds sounds like a contagious respiratory disease. I recommend a blood test, since many respiratory diseases present identically but cannot be treated with the same medicines. Blood test is the best way to confirm which one it is. Until you have confirmed its presence or lack thereof, do not sell or rehome any birds, even if they appear healthy.

Molting is characterized by loss of entire feathers, the presence of pin feathers over the body, and a decrease or stop in laying. Many times feathers will simply fall off when you run your fingers through their plumage.

Mites and lice rarely cause feather loss. If they have them you will see their nests (bunches of small white eggs clumped at the base of feathers on the neck and below the vent) and you will see adults crawling on the skin. Mites should be treated with a permethrin poultry dust.

Broken and missing feathers, when seen on the back, thighs, and upper hackle, mean you have too many roosters, or an aggressive one. You should remove the males, purchase more hens, or purchase hen saddles.

Missing feathers with bleeding or bloody areas mean picking, which can be solved by application of anti-pick lotion and removal and subsequent reintroduction of bullies.

 

[Ballerina Bird]

I hope it's OK if I add to this thread -- I have the same question, but a different situation. Several days ago, I posted some pics of one of my hens having trouble getting a stool out of her. A local chicken friend said the pic made it look like her vent was irritated and she might have mites. That day, she laid an egg with a very tiny and faint streak of blood on it, so it did seem like she was irritated. It seems, from what he said and what I've read, that the only solution to that is a chemical pesticide like Frontline, so I decided to wait for a few days and see how everyone was doing. She has been totally fine ever since, as has her sister (I have only two); did not see that symptom again, and the eggs have not shown any blood. I checked them twice during the night for mites but didn't see any, though I know they are hard to see.

I am also constantly petting and handling them, ruffling under their wings, and don't see anything.

This afternoon, while they were running around, I noticed (hadn't noticed this earlier today) that they both sort of seem to have more feathers on one side of their chest than the other (this is a little hard to describe; it's like if you look at them straight on you can see the feathers on one side of their chest curving down away from their bodies). I picked each girl up and turned her over, and there is a bare patch maybe the size of a short index finger on each chest/tummy. No bites, no irritation. But also no pin feathers and no feathers lying around the coop. I thought molting meant losing neck feathers first, and I don't see that happening yet.

I plan to check them again tonight, with particular attention to turning them over and looking at their tummies. Ideas about what is happening, or what else to check for, would be much appreciated.

I am stressed about the idea of chemical pesticides if it is mites (sorry -- this is maybe a separate question and I can move it if that's more appropriate). In addition to worrying about the hens and all the other wildlife in their environment, I feel like I would want to throw away the eggs for weeks - I would worry about the "no withdrawal time" thing with an off-label use like this. Any advice or recommendations would be much appreciated. If the verdict is that Frontline is the only option, I would appreciate a detailed explanation of how much, how, cat/dog/other formula, and how to clean the coop, as I am new at this. Thanks.

 

[ladyearth]

Baby Girl is the dominant hen so no one picks on her.....
I have read different on here. Mites can be really tiny.. Read on here there are several types of mites....
LIke I mentioned my first real set of cheickens I bought at as suppposedly two year olds... some of them developed scaley legs and I did not know till much later reading ...to just take them off the roost at night....
I gave that set away when the new chicks got of age and the two Roos fought.... well
so now I try to use spray on " scaley leg protector "and or Vaseline with olive oil appled with a 1 or 2 inch or so soft paint brush). I did it last night with the four 1 and 1/2 yr old..
while ago I had some ready to spray bottles of Neem OIl.. used 2 bottles so far... hard to get places since unfortuntely made the coop of out OLD fence bds. on the insides of coop..
checked after dark, with a flashlight Baby Girl's area under her belly is somewhat red looking and the feathers there still have the base on them...but ends are missing.. there are lots of her feathers around.. I have been disposing of her feathers.. From now on I will not put any feathers in the manure pile... will throw them away....
as a chicken newbie,,, I only use straw for a short while.. Then read on here about straw being bad and hollow.. so then right away switched to pine shavings....as a newbie...
so I am not sure what to put on her somewhat irritated belly area