OH NO! Do my chicks have mites? What do i do???

[Tannubyky]

This little guy is the worst, but a couple of my other chicks are starting to show thin spots now too!

I'm assuming this is from mites (I've never had this problem with chickens before but I haven't raised many!)

I figured if it is mites DE should do the trick... problem is I'm worried about "dusting" these guys (assuming dusting means just sprinkling them with DE) because I thought DE was deadly to breathe?

Any idea what is wrong? IF it is mites and DE should do the trick, any tips on how to apply it? So far I just put a little in my hand and rubbed it on this guy since he is the worst (the second worst only has 2 pencil sized dots of missing feathers)

I'm really anxious and not sure what to do! Can I sprinkle the whole brooder with DE? The chicks are just under 2 weeks (turn 2w on tuesday.)

Any help would be appreciated!!!!!

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

that's a picking problem more than a mite problem, do you see the bugs. they look like tan ! just a little wider and of cource they move around. look for them under tail feathers, around the vent under the chin(beek) under the wings. if you have a bad case of them you will see white, lite tan eggs stuck to the feather shaft in the same places

 

[Tannubyky]

Just seems weird a picking problem would decimate the feathers on the little guys chest as well. I haven't noticed them picking at each other and I've been trying to keep my eye on them often to be sure, but he doesn't seem to have any wounds and I haven't actually seen anyone picking at him. I also don't see any creepy crawlies on him at all though so I'm sort of at a loss. I thought maybe there were several varieties of mites, maybe one you can't see. The white/tan eggs stuck to feather shafts sounds like lice to me, and I don't think that's the problem. (no sign of eggs)

*Edit: I didn't mean to sound like "your totally wrong" lol I just am surprised you think it's picking, not something I thought of, and still really anxious for the babies.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

how old are they, they could be growing faster than the feathers are coming in. I've had that happen on 4-6 week old chicks. they look almost naked

 

[bigshoes213]

my babies this year had the same problem atleast on their tummies. I could really feel the bones on their stomach. what feathers they had on their stomach looked wet and there were hardly any there just bare skin. It looked like they were sick at first. It turned out they were just growing in feathers and lost the baby fluff faster than the adult feathers could come in. At least that was my conclusion it may be they picked out the feathers on the belly area. I am not sure. I didnt have any problems with the back area however. I was really worried that I hadnt been a good momma but they are fine now.

 

[Tannubyky]

They'll be 2 weeks on Tuesday (so 12 days old?) The little guy in the picture is not the smallest chick in the bunch but he is on the smaller side. We have a mixed set of chicks (same age) and all the yellow/brown ones are about an ounce heavier than the black chicks. The one in the photo is sort of right in the middle of sizes of the black chicks we have. (not the smallest, not the biggest)

 

[Kittymomma]

I can't say for sure if it's mites, lice or something else, but I can tell you that DE won't do the job if you do have an infestation. DE is great stuff, it really helps keep things dried out which in invaluable for minimizing all kinds of problems and I do think it has some effectiveness as a preventitive, but once you have a problem you need to use sevin dust or something similar.I agree that the bare chest patch doesn't look like a picking problem, though the base of the tail could be.

You can put some powder in an old sock and dust them that way. It's usually easier to do these kind of things at night when they're on the roost. I haven't had mites/lice here (yet, I'm sure--too many wild birds to be lucky forever) but I'm pretty sure that you'll need to change out all the bedding and nesting material and dust the nooks and crannies of the coop as well.

 

[Tannubyky]

Okay, maybe it is the feather thing. He does show signs of his adult feathers starting on his back... Most of the other chicks seem just fine with only a couple having thin spots.... If it was some sort of parasite I suppose they'd all be showing more symptoms of it since they've all been together since day one.... Uhmmmmm

Any thoughts on using some DE anyway just to be on the safe side?

 

[Tannubyky]

Quote:
Put it in an old sock and dust them that way? I still don't understand... do you beat them with the sock? doesn't that still put dust in the air? Do you just sprinkle it on their backs and that is what they call "dusting"??? (Okay I don't mean BEAT them with a sock... I'm laughing so hard about that image, I meant more like powder puff it) I guess I can see if there's a video on youtube for it. They're all in a brooder, they're only a couple of weeks old... they're our whole flock right now, we're just starting so no roosting, or coop yet.

 

[wenlo]

Where do they sleep? On a roost or on the floor?