Little bugs on my hen!

[VerginateChicks]

So my largest hen has had a runny nose for the past 3 days. I have been trying to give her good foods and herbs to help her. Seeing as it has not been cold the past few days or nights, I was unsure as to why she was having a runny nose. I have looked at her every day to make sure there were no signs of mouse bites or injuries, nothing. Then today before putting them in the coop for the night, I noticed two, and probably more, little tan colored bugs. They are the size of a flee. Any ideas what they might be? Can flees be tan? Keep in mind I am in North Italy, IDK, I'm sure there are bugs here that aren't in the USA. I read in another thread about bugs that the spray frontline will work for most bugs. Any opinions? Thank you so much!

Ciao!
Dana

 

[aquagolda]

could be leg mites which is bad and needs some spray btu other than that no clue good luck on finding this sickness!

 

[Eggcessive]

They could be poultry lice or perhaps mites. Those are the two common insects in chickens, along with a poultry tick. Lice are fairly easy to distinguish because the eggs will be in white balls at the base of feathers, especially under the vent. Using permethrin, sevin dust, or Ravap every 7-10 days on both the chicken and coop, and cleaning out the coop of bedding will get rid of them. Here are 2 good links to read:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf