Lice? Mites? Help please (photos attached) and possible additional problems

[Farmgirl805]

I have a 10 yr old Dark Brahma hen who hasn’t laid an egg in years (one of the 3 remaining OG hens from our first flock). She has been pulling out her feathers near her vent. She does have some white debris, but it looks more like dandruff and dried feather quill shaft than parasites as I don’t see any movement upon close inspection. Also, her crop feels empty today even though I see her eat, pretty much all day everyday. She does have cross-beak but it’s never really slowed her down.
Her most recent poo pick is attached too just for reference. Never have had a parasite problem in 10 yrs but there’s always a first for everything.
In addition to the feather plucking/ white areas on vent, she has REALLY HARD lumps to the left and right, sort of “above” her vent, kind of the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions in relation to her vent. I checked the other ladies just for reference and they feel firm but there’s some “give” in that area, like a muscle. You can put pressure there and it moves a bit, but my Gertrude is in a totally different situation. Looking for any kind of advice or suggestions or other things to check, ways to best determine if these are mites. I’ll also include pics of her old dinosaur feet to see if anyone thinks there are scaly leg mites. Thanks in advance. I apologize some of the vent photos aren’t great. Holding a chicken backwards with one arm while taking photos with the other isn’t always easy.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

In addition to the feather plucking/ white areas on vent, she has REALLY HARD lumps to the left and right, sort of “above” her vent, kind of the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions in relation to her vent. I checked the other ladies just for reference and they feel firm but there’s some “give” in that area, like a muscle.

Do you happen to be feeling her pelvic bones if they are oriented at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock?

Hard to tell if she's got lice on the body, if she's aggressively picking at herself, then try dusting her with a Permethrin poultry dust to see if that gives her some relief. I put the dust in a sock, then use it like a powder puff to apply the dust, patting it onto the feathers and working the dust down to the skin.

At 10 years of age, her feet are aging just like the rest of her. With her having feathered feet, some of the scales may be lifted due to that, but it won't hurt anything to work some vaseline up under the raised scales of the legs and feet weekly to help soothe dry skin and it will also smother mites.

I'd check to see that she's eating well, that she's filling her crop before bed time. She's done very well to be a cross beak and live to be 10 years old, you've done a great job taking care of her. If you find that she's now starting to struggle with daily meals as she's older, then try offering her a wet mash or you can try torpedo feeding her at least once a day to see if that makes a difference.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...eeding-what-is-it-and-when-to-use-it.1532744/

https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[Farmgirl805]

Do you happen to be feeling her pelvic bones if they are oriented at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock?

Hard to tell if she's got lice on the body, if she's aggressively picking at herself, then try dusting her with a Permethrin poultry dust to see if that gives her some relief. I put the dust in a sock, then use it like a powder puff to apply the dust, patting it onto the feathers and working the dust down to the skin.

At 10 years of age, her feet are aging just like the rest of her. With her having feathered feet, some of the scales may be lifted due to that, but it won't hurt anything to work some vaseline up under the raised scales of the legs and feet weekly to help soothe dry skin and it will also smother mites.

I'd check to see that she's eating well, that she's filling her crop before bed time. She's done very well to be a cross beak and live to be 10 years old, you've done a great job taking care of her. If you find that she's now starting to struggle with daily meals as she's older, then try offering her a wet mash or you can try torpedo feeding her at least once a day to see if that makes a difference.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...eeding-what-is-it-and-when-to-use-it.1532744/

https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

Thank you so much for this info! I ordered the one time application from the website you linked for the ElectorPSP. Should be here in a day or so. I just checked Gertrude again for reference based on your question about her pelvic bones. I do feel the pelvic bones - maybe closer to 9:30/ 2:30 positions and the larger “mass” is around the 1:30 area and the other the 11:00 area, respectively. So- I’m feeling both. The one at 1:30 is definitely harder/ larger than the other side. I suppose without a vet looking at her and being hands-on to feel/ inspect I might not know. She shows a small amount of discomfort/ irritation when I palpate those areas. She’s slower going than she used to be but still is the first one to the feed in the AM. If I’m not messing with her, she doesn’t seem bothered except for the feather pulling - I suppose that could be pain due to the lumps or if she’s itching? She doesn’t seem to be scratching or preening herself anywhere else more than normal to indicate an infestation. I’m stumped. It’s ok to treat with the ElectorPSP even if there ISN’T actually any mites/ lice? Thanks again for your help and experience @Wyorp Rock i appreciate it more than you know.