Mites, lice or something else?

[LSHensOKC]

Hi, I have 15 hens. No roosters. They are eating and laying normal. The have pine beds they lay in.
One of my sexlink hens started having a bare backside (pictured) and now two more have it. I have searched for mites and lice but I am not seeing anything. I started using some 1st Saturday Lime in the beds and where they dust bathe. Their poop seems normal, and they seem to be acting normal overall. I have seen a couple of occasions where one of the hens is jumping on the others like a rooster would behave. One of the three impacted hens has feathers that seem to be broken/shortened in addition to the bare skin. She has the worst of the three.

Does this look like mites or lice? I am not seeing any bugs, so I am confused. I thought maybe it would go away, but since more now have the bare spots, I am concerned. I do have a sick bird with diarrhea who is isolated and for whom I am seeking treatment from a vet, but none of the other hens are exhibiting symptoms like hers- they just have these bare red backside. Has anyone experienced something similar?

I looked through the threads but don't see other photos quite like this where it is such a large area that is bare. Thank you!

 

[charlie1051]

Hi LS, my vision isn't the greatest but I can see what looks to be like nesting at the base of some feathers.

If that's the case then I'd say lice. My girls get those web nests (not proper terminology ) when they've had lice issues before.

Have you looked them over like super duper good? I've not had many mite issues so I can't speak about them but lice can usually be found pretty heavily on the back of their necks, above their rump/back and around their vent. And you'll see those "web nests" at the base of feathers in areas that are badly affected.


I use Diatomaceous Earth ( yea for spell check)...and I put it on them heavily....then I do their coop and anywhere they take dirt baths. You could hit them with some Triple antibiotic cream or some neosporin to give them some relief for the pain and redness too. I use cheap triple antibiotic cream.


Best of luck, keep us updated please !!

 

[coach723]

I don't see any lice nits in the pictures. Those are usually white clumps at the base of feathers, and hard to miss if they are there.
In flocks that have no rooster, sometimes a dominant hen will display rooster behavior. I had a hen that did that, she was a total terror when there was no roo in the flock. Once I replaced the roo, she calmed down and went back to being a normal hen. So that damage looks like roo damage, so I would imagine it is your hen doing it. Short of getting a roo, which you may not want to do, I would try separating her for a period out of sight and hearing of the flock, to try to reset the pecking order, see if she calms down when you bring her back. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Alternately you can put hen saddles on your affected hens to help protect their backs (do a search, there are many that sell them, or you can make your own). The hens that are affected are probably the most submissive ones in the flock.

 

[IsayOsiyo2U]

A magnifying glass or stereo/dissecting scope help immensely. Feathers can be (gently) collected at night (some mites are nocturnal), then add a drop of mineral oils to the feather to immobilize any creature attached to he feather, and take a look. Remember to break open the feather shaft to inspect because there are also mites that colonize the calamus or quill of the feather.

 

[LSHensOKC]

Hi LS, my vision isn't the greatest but I can see what looks to be like nesting at the base of some feathers.

If that's the case then I'd say lice. My girls get those web nests (not proper terminology ) when they've had lice issues before.

Have you looked them over like super duper good? I've not had many mite issues so I can't speak about them but lice can usually be found pretty heavily on the back of their necks, above their rump/back and around their vent. And you'll see those "web nests" at the base of feathers in areas that are badly affected.


I use Diatomaceous Earth ( yea for spell check)...and I put it on them heavily....then I do their coop and anywhere they take dirt baths. You could hit them with some Triple antibiotic cream or some neosporin to give them some relief for the pain and redness too. I use cheap triple antibiotic cream.


Best of luck, keep us updated please !!

Thank you for your thoughts! I am going to examine them better and will update you.

 

[LSHensOKC]

A magnifying glass or stereo/dissecting scope help immensely. Feathers can be (gently) collected at night (some mites are nocturnal), then add a drop of mineral oils to the feather to immobilize any creature attached to he feather, and take a look. Remember to break open the feather shaft to inspect because there are also mites that colonize the calamus or quill of the feather.

This is very helpful, thank you! I will try this.

 

[LSHensOKC]

I don't see any lice nits in the pictures. Those are usually white clumps at the base of feathers, and hard to miss if they are there.
In flocks that have no rooster, sometimes a dominant hen will display rooster behavior. I had a hen that did that, she was a total terror when there was no roo in the flock. Once I replaced the roo, she calmed down and went back to being a normal hen. So that damage looks like roo damage, so I would imagine it is your hen doing it. Short of getting a roo, which you may not want to do, I would try separating her for a period out of sight and hearing of the flock, to try to reset the pecking order, see if she calms down when you bring her back. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Alternately you can put hen saddles on your affected hens to help protect their backs (do a search, there are many that sell them, or you can make your own). The hens that are affected are probably the most submissive ones in the flock.

Thank you so much! I had no idea it would reset their pecking order. we will try this!

 

[Birdinhand]

I don't see any lice nits in the pictures. Those are usually white clumps at the base of feathers, and hard to miss if they are there.
In flocks that have no rooster, sometimes a dominant hen will display rooster behavior. I had a hen that did that, she was a total terror when there was no roo in the flock. Once I replaced the roo, she calmed down and went back to being a normal hen. So that damage looks like roo damage, so I would imagine it is your hen doing it. Short of getting a roo, which you may not want to do, I would try separating her for a period out of sight and hearing of the flock, to try to reset the pecking order, see if she calms down when you bring her back. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Alternately you can put hen saddles on your affected hens to help protect their backs (do a search, there are many that sell them, or you can make your own). The hens that are affected are probably the most submissive ones in the flock.

^^ 100% this^^^. I’ve even had hens grow long tail feathers, waterfall saddle feathers and hackle feathers just like a rooster and even crow as a stage of maturation, just to one day lay an egg and have the rooster feathers fall out and go back to “normal”. Sometimes it’s driven by hormonal imbalance. A hen can definitely “wear the pants” and become an alpha and excessively mount or maraud the submissive hens just like a rooster. Flock dynamics trigger different behavioral biological expressions in different hens. I’d focus on tweaking the pecking order or rehoming the offending hen.