Mites on Silkies

[Emery03]

I have noticed over the past 2 weeks that my silkies have had these little black mites on them. They seem to cling onto their feathers, and the only time I have seen them on the skin is on my male, there were like 3 of them and they looked a little different, almost beige in color. I have been using the mite killer from Tractor Supply, and systematically cleaning the coop and giving them time to dust bathe, but it just seems like nothing is working.

Does anyone know what kind of mites these are?
And does anyone have any suggestions to kill these little bastards?
Thank you

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some pictures of lice that look similar:

 

[Kathy Golla]

We have something like that in California that has several stages of larva, looks like this. It’s not a mite, lice or flying ant or termite, I have forgotten the name. It’s a flying bug.

 

[Kathy Golla]

This looks like wing lice, Lipeurus caponis. You can treat them with permethrin dust like this one.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...MI-Zio6KHe5gIVRdbACh14ng5oEAQYAiABEgJfD_D_BwE

What the? I’ve never heard of wing lice, nor of lice that aren’t very very tiny, but that looks to be exactly what it is! Good job @Sue Gremlin !
Pic From internet:

 

[EggSighted4Life]

There are several lice species and they may inhabit only one location on the bird never visiting others... it's the reason I asked how treatment was done.

Some that I know of head lice, body lice, feather lice.. finding good resources to identify the different louse species has been difficult but this one is pretty good...
https://www.hobbyfarms.com/7-facts-need-know-poultry-lice/

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I bred Silkies for several years... DE is not effective at my location due to high humidity and nor is it welcome... Permethrin based applications have been VERY effective against lice and mites, mosquitoes, fleas, and even termites.. when used according to directions.

"be careful they don't breath it".. what about every time they shake out and a plume of DE fills the air??
https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef516

Checking the birds after dark with a flashlight or headlamp can give you the clearest picture to parasite load.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

This looks like wing lice, Lipeurus caponis. You can treat them with permethrin dust like this one.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...MI-Zio6KHe5gIVRdbACh14ng5oEAQYAiABEgJfD_D_BwE

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I have noticed over the past 2 weeks that my silkies have had these little black mites on them. They seem to cling onto their feathers, and the only time I have seen them on the skin is on my male, there were like 3 of them and they looked a little different, almost beige in color. I have been using the mite killer from Tractor Supply, and systematically cleaning the coop and giving them time to dust bathe, but it just seems like nothing is working.

Does anyone know what kind of mites these are?
And does anyone have any suggestions to kill these little bastards?
Thank you

Those don't look like mites or any other chicken specific parasite I've seen before. Can you put a coin next to them for size comparison? My best guess is they are just an environment bug randomly getting on your birds but not setting up shop or feeding on them.

Are you seeing any angry red skin or egg clumps at the base of feathers?

What mite killer and how are using it on them? Since you mention TSC, I'm gonna figure you are in the US. Adding your general location to your profile can help folks make the best suggestions possible at a glance.

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

Good paying attention!

 

[BloomBunny]

I don't have any experience, but they look like lice to me (harder to get rid of than mites.)
This discussion looked helpful.

 

[QuackersGoose]

A careful application of DE (diatomaceous earth) can help. Just make sure you, and the birds, don’t breathe it. That’s the hardest part. We use it for our silkies. Seems like silkies get bugs worse than the other breeds- at least in our experience.