Possible lice/mites

[Petermariah]

So all six of my hens are missing feathers on their bottom and two of my hens also have bare tummies. I have yet to see any bugs or eggs at all but I was thinking that they are too tiny to see. They can’t be molting because they are less than a year old. Little wild birds are constantly flying into their run so I assume that is how they got them. So last week I locked them out of the coop for 24 hrs and I sprayed it down with pyrethrin. I have also now dusted them twice (a week apart) with Gardstar Poultry Dust. Well I have 12 new chicks coming next week from Meyer and they will be brooding for a while and then slowly introduced but I don’t want the new babies to get mites. How will I know when the mites are gone if I can’t see them to begin with and the feathers take a while to grow back? Should I just keep dusting them each week? Elector PSP is too expensive.

 

[Byrd gal]

Are you sure they are not picking feathers? If they been locked up in this cold spell it is a possibility. I use a magnifying glass to check them for bugs or take a photo and expand it. My eyes aint what they used to be. You could use ivermicin too.