I have 9 4 month old pet silkies that go indoor and outdoor, their feathers have always been looking great and I always kept them in very clean environment, with minimum contact with the wildlife. However today I discovered that they have microscopic mites crawling all over them but mostly closer to the skin, on the skin and on the feathers and a lot on their vents. They are not visible to the naked eye unless you look very closely with flashlight on them, and they are cream/gray/white color, not red or brown. The birds don't have any loss of feathers or excessive picking. Their skin looks normal and no scabs or dry scales. I had a grain/mold mite infestation from chicken feed store, and these mites look similar to that, but I suppose if they are living on the chickens it's a different species. Some are crawling on their skin and some are stuck on the feathers similar to photos I see on "feather mites." None of them are red, and they don't look like lice. I had to observe very closely with x8 magnifying loop. Do these mites go on dogs or humans? They are the size of dust mites, really really hard to spot them. I wonder if they are harmful to the chickens, I dusted them with food grade Diatomaceous Earth but I am afraid it's bad for their respiratory system. And doing it once didn't get rid of the mites. Any input would be greatly appreciated! I also have two dogs that go everywhere so I'm afraid these mites would be all over the place. So far they don't seem to bite anyone, but I sneeze quite a bit, the chickens look totally fine so far.
Last edited:
