Possible depluming mites?

[MaggieMay'sMom]

Oh my gosh, I had never heard of depluming mites. I have several (5) RReds that have been looking like yours. They are the only ones out of 60 laying hens. Should I treat the whole flock? thanks so much for sharing.

 

[Giantmoma]

I’ve been dealing for six months with this issue. I can’t see any bugs so I thought it was pecking. For a while it was only half my chickens now it’s all of them. At this point all of my six hens have at least bald red butts and three have also bare backs. Very red irritated skin and broken feathers that look chewed. There is also a lot of itching preening and dust bathing going on. I used a dusting powder that was permethrin and no change. I also sprayed down the coop with pyrethrin. I just recently read about depluming mites and I think now that is what we are dealing with. I have heard the only treatment that works is ivermectin. I don’t mind going off eggs for a while I have too many eggs as it is. But I’m not sure how to administer the ivermectin. Topical, oral, injection, and dosing? Do I need to retreat? I do have a bird vet so I was thinking about taking in my roughest one for a skin scraping to be sure but it sounds expensive. Also what can I apply to the skin to soothe it or promote regrowth of feathers? Do they need immune boost? They are currently on a layer crumble that is 18% protein plus they get extra oyster shell. I’ve been scouring the internet and found very little information about depluming mites. I appreciate any advice or experience that can be shared.

I'm dealing with these vampires myself. Please keep me informed if find anything out. I've used the ivermectin both orally and pour on

 

[Giantmoma]

I’m happy to report it’s been three days and today my two Marans do not have bright red irritated skin. They just have the normal pinkish white skin. I’m sure it will take time for feathers to regrow but I also noticed that are not constantly preening. I think we are on the right path. I’m going to keep spraying the skin every other night for a bit longer and will retreat the ivermectin in one month. It will be interesting to see if feathers come back quickly or if we have to wait for a molt. I’m assuming that the ones that are broken will have to wait for a molt and the ones that were plucked clean may grow back. I will post picture in a few weeks.

I'm going to try this too. The Ivermectin I tried didn't work. Maybe it wasn't stored at the proper temp or out of date Thank you for the update