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

[Tannubyky]

I could take them out for a romp, but I'll wait till they've got all their feathers in LOL They do have some dirt in the brooder now to practice dust bathing & for grit. I'm thinking that it is just growth and looking raggedy. I can't think of why else it wouldn't be spread to all of the chicks and only a couple having the issue. They peck at each other some, but it's just the normal chick thing and not done to extreme or aggressive, again if it was I think the smaller chicks would be affected more and it's not the smallest chicks that seem affected. Plus the chick that is the worst doesn't show any signs of injury: no scabs, no bleeding, etc. He's just missing feathers is all. I'm even more convinced that it's just growth though since Wenlo said his BA's looked scraggly for awhile!

I'll keep a close eye on them, but I am pretty convinced now that it's just scraggly chicks and not anything more serious. I am MUCH relieved!

And sorry if I didn't put enough info to start with, I just hate posting a gigantic overly informative post to start off with and I wasn't thinking about pecking being an issue, so didn't think space & setup description would be needed.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Very typical with black birds. Most mites would much rather suck on your bird's blood than eat their feathers (the feather mite is an exception). Some lice would prefer to eat the feathers as well; however, the presesnce of the bugs or their eggs is the clue to their presence, not the lack of feather growth. I do not think you have a bug problem based upon your photos.