Possible Mites

[DYarbro97]

If i have mites in my coop, will they be on all the chickens or just 1? The reason I am asking is, my EE has lost all of her feathers on her back between here wings ( I think they are saddle fethers). None of the other birds have, so I am not sure what it is. I have looked at her back and dont see anything but a couple of scabs, nothing that looks like mites but I am not 100% sure. I will try to get a picture when I get home but I wanted to see what everyone thought in advance. All my hens are 14 weeks old and I have no roosters that I know of. Any help or opinions would be great.

 

[Judy]

Is she at the bottom of the pecking order? She may be getting her feathers pulled -- but mites could also be part of the problem. Examne them closely at night with a light. Check the underside of the roost during the day as well, for hiding bugs.

http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

 

[DYarbro97]

Not sure where on the pecking order she is, I thought she was at the top because when we got 2 new birds she was on them all the time. I will look for mites tonight but thought they would be on all of the birds not just one.

 

[Judy]

The will be on them all, at least eventually. Certainly if you find them, you need to treat the flock as well as the coop.