Mites on Silkies

I feel your pain. You may want to take a few critters to your Dept of Ag or University for identification. I had a similar issue last summer with "mites"

Did not realize how many different kinds there are! I discovered "mites" in my Chicken House ... Straw colored, not on the chickens nor on the roost nor in the nest box, just crawling up my legs. Checked my bag of shavings, not in there either.

Got the Permethrin Spray out sprayed at night the birds & coop. Still found them on my black rubber boots which I started wearing so I could see them instead of feeling them. Caught a few, took to the Dept of Ag & the University ... The guy at the DoA gave me a binder about 6" thick to look through when I ask he ID the mites, ok I get the message. Its a mite but not a bird mite but some kind of ground or grass mite, told it's a good mite that eats ground junk & they don't bite.

That still did not sit well with me, I had to find a way to rid of them. Found the mites collected under the molded plastic dish I fed them their FF in. So every night when I picked up their dish, flipped it & poured 91% alcohol into the mold, killed them instantly. Did that for several months before they disappeared completely. Then summer started with our hot/wet/humidy discovered them again but this time it didn't bug me so much, doing the alcohol bath & they're just about gone.

Live & learn ...
 
Here are some pictures of lice that look similar:
 

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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 really look like mites to me, they sort of look like ants.
 
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. :confused:

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! :highfive:
So I did a lot of research, and found that they are Poultry Body Lice. Play sand and Diatomaceous Earth knocked them out in a day or so. Thanks for everyone who replied :)
 

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