My chicken has dandruff or something similar

[newbie4chickens]

Someone please help!! My easter egger has this weird white stuff on her head. I can just rub it off and it flakes away like dandruff but just can't get it all, more and more just keeps coming. I can't see any type of lice or mites in her feathers and she does pick at herself a lot. My other easter egger is getting it too but can't see any of it on my other 6 chickens. Should I quarantine her? She is about 2 years old and free ranges. I noticed her feet look particularly scaly but don't seem to be sensitive to the touch. Someone please help.

 

[Twistedfeather]

It looks like she has scaly leg mites, you can tell because the scales on the leg are upturned we've been going through a case of it as well. We've been spraying WD-40 on the legs then applying it with bagbalm

 

[Eggcessive]

I can't tell if your chicken has lice eggs or what on her head, but she definitely has bad scaly leg mites. For scaly leg mites, you want to gently scrub the legs and feet scales once a week with an old toothbrush and warm soapy water. Then apply castor oil, vegetable oil, or vaseline once a week and rub it under the scales for several weeks until you see new scales growing in. For lice or mites on the skin, use permethrin or Sevin dust every 7 days until the eggs are gone.Don't bother with DE because it won't help with an active infestation. The coop has to be cleaned out of bedding (nests , too) and sprayed with permethrin, then clean pine shavings added. Here are some good links to read about how to recognize lice eggs and mites:
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig140

 

[bhawk-23]

I can't tell if your chicken has lice eggs or what on her head, but she definitely has bad scaly leg mites. For scaly leg mites, you want to gently scrub the legs and feet scales once a week with an old toothbrush and warm soapy water. Then apply castor oil, vegetable oil, or vaseline once a week and rub it under the scales for several weeks until you see new scales growing in. For lice or mites on the skin, use permethrin or Sevin dust every 7 days until the eggs are gone.Don't bother with DE because it won't help with an active infestation. The coop has to be cleaned out of bedding (nests , too) and sprayed with permethrin, then clean pine shavings added. Here are some good links to read about how to recognize lice eggs and mites:
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig140

So a couple of my chickens have the white flakes on their feathers. The shaft of their feathers are clean, the skin is looks to be in good condition, the vents are clean and healthy, legs look good, no signs of mites along roosts and no one appears sick. Can I be missing something else? The articles you linked are nothing like what I have so I would think it's not lice or mites but what gives? Thoughts?

 

[Sally PB]

@bhawk-23 this thread is 6 years old, so I don't know if you'll get an answer. You would probably have better luck if you started a new thread about this.