Probably Mites, Please Help Identify What Kind!

[Fluffy_Butt_Hutt]

If you don't want to read it all, please look at the photos in the middle!

At first, all I noticed was one was not coming to me anymore (as I have them trained that they go in to my arms to go to a different area). I thought nothing of it. Then, I noticed my head hen wandering outside the coop for 30 minute intervals multiple times per night.

Now I am leaning towards the likelihood that they have gotten mites

If you can label what the issue is, or if I got the issue completely wrong, please comment! If you know of treatment methods that isn't permethrin but can be anything similar is welcomed.

What I've noticed in my chickens in order from as long as a week and a half ago: hunched sitting, listlessness, head hen not sleeping, slightly increased dust bathing, and in the head hen slightly poopy butt, smells different?, and decreased weight.
For the smells different, I sniff all my chickens daily (because I'm weird), but I cannot name the difference in smell. The smell is not strong. Egg laying hasn't decreased, but now there is a little poo on the eggs sometimes. Combs are normal. They have been sleeping on the poop tray more than the roost.

Inspecting the head hen today I found nothing at the neck, feet, vent area, or under the wings. Also, no sign of skin irritation anywhere. However, I found what looked to be dander build up and some black spots (assumed dirt?) on the saddle. Additionally, I saw one tiny tiny mite-looking bug there that I could not get a picture of before my girl got fed up with me. The bug was an off-white with a slight pink coloring.

After this was over, I weighed her and found her to be .4 pounds lighter than when I weighed her on friday. What is to note is that today, I did not do my normal routine of letting them out into a bigger closed area with their normal food, so they only had the feeder in their coop run. Additionally, that scale isn't always extremely accurate, so both measurements', friday and today's, weight could be slightly off. However, the weight difference is still concerning.

Enough with my descriptions, here are the photos.
Feet after being cleaned with a wet towel:

Oil gland:

On saddle dander build up:

Another pic of saddle where I did see the bug, but it is not in picture:

Poopy feathers I cut from her behind:


More feathers, there wasn't many of them:


And finally, the small gift she gave me (did not smell until smushed):

Smushed gift (smells like normal poo?):

I could not locate anything specific in the coop at late night, but I wasn't all that thorough because I didn't want to disturb the birds too much.

Is this coop mites or mites on the hen? What should I clean and what should I use for coop vs bird? I do not know of any night animals/rats that would get close to the coop because there is electrical wire and bright lights outside of it. Are there preventatives or just cautionary cleanings? Does it look like something else? Is more information needed? I assume it is on all my birds, should I check all my birds or just treat them all?

Currently, I have food grade DE, isopropyl alcohol, wood ash, and citrus-based mite deterrent for grass. What I was thinking of doing was increasing wood ash and DE in a new dust bath container. With the chickens outside of the coop, spraying the coop (inside and outside, especially the cracks) thoroughly with isopropyl. Additionally, spraying outside the coop perimeter of the coop with the citronella and cedar stuff. Is there any reason for concern that I should not do the previous? Is there anything else I should get? I was thinking of getting Premo Guard Poultry Spray; can anyone vouch for the product? I want to avoid permethrin as it isn't labeled for poultry anymore.

 

[Fluffy_Butt_Hutt]

Also, since mites are very small, are the little specks that I thought was dirt or darker dander actually dead mites? They weren't moving and picking them up with my nail I didn't think they were mites, but are they?
I checked another chicken and I still don't see signs of mite eggs, but I do see the same concerning dander build up, so I'm still not exactly sure if I'm dealing with mites or not.
Also, the little bug slightly bigger than a speck doesn't match the look of what I can see of mite pictures. Maybe looks like lice sort of, but kind of not. Still confused, any help is appreciated

 

[coach723]

The dropping looks pretty normal, feet look normal, oil gland looks normal. I'm going to attach a link on lice/mites that has pictures, and treatment options. If in doubt, I would go ahead and treat them and the coop. You will need to remove all bedding and nesting material, dispose of it (burn it if possible, if not seal it up well in plastic bags and discard), and treat the entire coop getting in all nooks and crannies. Spray works better for the coop, for the birds you can use spray or poultry dust. In the short term you can take some sticky tape and wrap it around the ends of roosts with the sticky side out, overnight, see if you catch anything on it in the morning. Some mites hide in the coop and only come out at night when they are roosting to feed on the birds.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[thecatumbrella]

How cold is it in Washington? If you get a warm, sunny day (something like 75+ degrees), you could do an Elector PSP soak. It's 10 minutes a bird. Quite the commitment for a large flock, but super safe.

I know you said you didn't want to use permethrin, but that really is one of the gold standard treatments. Sweep out the coop and dust all the cracks and crevices. Dust the birds down to the skin (being very careful to avoid their eyes and nose). Mask up and wear gloves. I get being uncomfortable using it (I would be too), but the mites will suck the life out of them. I wouldn't waste too much time with alternative treatments.

Good luck!

 

[coach723]

The Elector PSP would work for both birds and the coop, and it's supposed to work with one treatment, rather than the at least 3 needed with permethrin. Most use permethrin because it's less expensive and easier to get, but either is effective.

 

[thecatumbrella]

at least 3 needed with permethrin

Oh geez, I thought it was two treatments. Good to know!

 

[coach723]

I would absolutely want to get them all and not have to do a redo. It's a lot of work!

 

[Pebbles25]

Leave the eggs in later maybe and when it’s dark look for dark spots crawling all over them! Check the roost bars for mites in the cracks if you have a wooden coop!