My chickens are balding.. under the vent

[wendigo]

So yeah. This started happening a while back. One chicken has had this bald patch under her vent for a long time. Her butt is also a bit swollen but it seems like it's under control. It was always there, didn't grow any larger and she's healthy otherwise. The other chicken just recently started losing her butt fluff. The skin looks normal to me except for a few black spots which are where the feathers used to be. No idea what these are. I hope a picture will help.

Both chickens are completely happy otherwise. Last year we had a huge invasion of red mites in the coop. The walls were literally red with blood. Now there are still mites here and there but nowhere near like last year. I'm in the middle of solving this problem but I figured it could be a clue for my main problem. I doubt it however since I have 18 chickens and only 2 are having the balding problem. Hope to hear your opinions soon!

 

[SunkenRoadFarms]

Sounds like mite infestation. Balding is a result if them pulling feathers in an effort to ease the pain from bites. If you see one mite, you probably have thousands more in the cracks of the coop. Are you treating with Sevin? Every bird will need to be dusted, all coop bedding changed, and the coop dusted as well.

 

[wendigo]

They were sitting in the little cracks on the walls indeed. I just covered the walls in plaster and made the surface smooth 2 days ago. Seems to have solved the problem with the walls. The ceiling is still a problem and I'm going to fix it tomorrow. There are no mites on the chickens. I checked them numerous times. The vet gave me a dust to apply under the wings and around the butt. Will start doing this today. And as for the bedding, there isn't any. They have carpets in their rooms. Easy cleaning.

 

[SunkenRoadFarms]

The mites are probably living in the carpet too. They will feed on the chickens at night, then crawl into the smallest of cracks during the day. To completely solve the problem you'll need to rip out the carpet and treat the whole coop with Sevin.

 

[wendigo]

It's one of those rubber carpets. The problem is the roof I think.

 

[SunkenRoadFarms]

Either way the infestation is bad enough for the birds to be pecking feathers. The while coop and flock needs treatment.