mites

[ArabianHaven]

Hi, I have had chickens for about 6 years now but this is the first time I have ever had mites. I was holding one of my bantam roosters last night telling my mom that I was going to keep him and sell his brother when I saw mites on him. I picked through his feathers and they are everywhere! Please help! I do not know how to treat this.

 

[MimiChick]

Don't panic. Unfortuately, this is a fairly common occurrence and there are lots of threads to help. Do a search for "mites" and you'll get all kinds of information.
Now, from my own experience with the little buggers

you're going to need to dust them with some type of poultry dust - some people recommend a "Sevin" based dust, others a "Permethrin or Pyrethrin" based dust. Check some of the other threads for pros and cons. You can also use "Ivermectin pour on", which although is typically a cattle wormer, can also be used (carefully) for chickens. It's a dual purpose treatment because it de-worms and kills topical parasites like mites and lice.
The other part of this whole process is to give your coop a thorough cleaning/dusting to get rid of any mites/lice in the bedding/walls/perches, etc. I actually had to make a "paint" with water and poultry dust and "paint" the whole inside of the coop. Once you've done all this, you have to keep on top of it by re-dusting the chickens every week to 10 days until you get all mites/lice/eggs, etc.
Finally, you can get some DE (Diatomaceous Earth - Food Grade) to mix with the bedding and in any inside dust bath. That's a preventive measure that can help keep the bugs from coming back. It's only preventive and helpful however. It's not a cure and not necessarily sure fire. You have to be pretty proactive and constantly check your chickens for pests. And if one has some, treat them all.
All that being said, check out other threads, weigh all the pros and cons of the various treatments and make whatever choices are right for you and your flock.
Good luck.

 

[Barnyard]

Very well said Mimichick