PLEASE CAN SOMEONE TELL ME IF THIS IS MITES ?

[poulet]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/7478_dscf0003.jpg
Have already posted this before but only had one response to say maybe it is mites . Can someone tell me if this is really bad and do I treat with flea powder?
Also can they kill chicks as all but one of her babies have died over the last three weeks

 

[Wynette]

Looks like molting to me. You should be able to see mites if she has them. Flip her over, check around her vent and under wings; look at the base of the feathers, too. Some mites are easier to see during the day, and some at night. Good luck!

 

[Love my Critters!]

I agree with Wynette... if they are mites you will see the white eggs around the chicken's vent area.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Heavy molting can also look like that this time of year. The two chickens of mine that just got done being broody, are having very heavy/hard molts. One lost feathers like that and much more! My non-broodies are just doing the typical slow molt.

When mine have had mites several times over the years, it's been easy to find them on the birds. Look in the vent area, especially. Mites are tiny specks and dark. Lice are a little larger, plumper and light colored. The lice lay eggs at the base of the feathers and make them kind of clumpy. My chickens with mites did not have feather loss like that, either, although I treated them as soon as I realized they had a problem.

Can you post a link to your other post(s) or give more information about what's been going on?

The loss of her chicks may have been due to something else. It could have been a lot of different things. Did you post about that? More information about symptoms, living conditions and diet might help.

I'm sorry you are going through such a hard time with your chickens right now and very sorry that you lost chicks. That would be so heart-breaking! I would say, check her vent area and under her wings. Then post more information on the chicks, ok?

 

[chicksinthemachine]

Looks like molting to me too. I have had both problems lice and mites and noticed that they tend to hang around darker moisture spots like the vent, under wings and sometimes at the base of tail feathers if this is the case seven dust the flock and then repeat in seven days and replace bedding.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Mites look like black pepper granules that crawl and move around.... They are noticable when you have them. This just lookes like a heavy molt.

 

[tiki244]

poulet, I read your other thread but cant find it now. Lack of feathers could be a protein deficiency in the diet. Could this be a possibility? I know you said that you lost some of her chicks too and it is an ongoing problem. So I am thinking protein deficiency migth be looked into. Is she getting 16-20% protein feed? A higher 20% won't hurt her for a while. And maybe to cut out any other food for a while. And a vitamin supplement to help her metabolize her feed properly. I would also look into worming her, in case worms may be taking her nutrition from her.