Red Mites or Moulting

[Kutak2]

My chickens are losing feathers. I'm wondering if they are moulting or they have mites. No decrease of egg production. Everyday I get 8-10 eggs out of the 11 pullets (1 is 2yrs old and never lay egg) although I noticed that the egg shells are getting lighter than when I got them in May. Eggs are smaller rather than getting bigger. They have good appetite and seem happy to me. Can they be moulting at 30wks old?

The base of their feathers are black, and whatever feathers left in their vent are dirty. One egg has a blood smear. I know I should check at night for mites in the perch but I'm too scared to look. Just the thought of it makes me squeamish. Is there another way of checking?

I never have any problems with the previous chickens I had. Pls help me....Thank you.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The base of their feathers are black, and whatever feathers left in their vent are dirty. One egg has a blood smear. I know I should check at night for mites in the perch but I'm too scared to look. Just the thought of it makes me squeamish. Is there another way of checking?

If you have mites you need to ID them first before treating. Better get over the squeamishness and check, or instruct a friend/family member on how to do it and what to look for. There's 2 main types to look for, so you need to check the roosts at night as well as pick up a few birds and give them a very thorough inspection.

 

[aart]

Everyday I get 8-10 eggs out of the 11 pullets (1 is 2yrs old and never lay egg) although I noticed that the egg shells are getting lighter than when I got them in May.

How old are your pullets, in months?

If you have mites you need to ID them first before treating. Better get over the squeamishness and check, or instruct a friend/family member on how to do it and what to look for. There's 2 main types to look for, so you need to check the roosts at night as well as pick up a few birds and give them a very thorough inspection.

Ditto Dat!

My Bug Check notes:
Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

 

[Kutak2]

I have mites and I've ordered Permethrin to spray the coop and the chicken. Can anyone pls let me know how to dilute it with water to spray the coop and the chicken?

I appreciate all the help I can get. Thank you very much.

 

[aart]

I have mites and I've ordered Permethrin to spray the coop and the chicken. Can anyone pls let me know how to dilute it with water to spray the coop and the chicken?

I appreciate all the help I can get. Thank you very much.

The dilution instructions should be on the bottle.
Did you determine what kind of mites they are(link in my last post)?

 

[Kutak2]

I didn't see anything in the roost but I found 2 mites crawling out of the crack (wall). Maybe I got rid of them when I power washed and sprayed water with oil and soap ( 4x so far) every 5days. Also I've dusted DE on nest boxes, roost and run. I also made them dust bath. I put few crushed garlic in their water and garlic powder in their feed.

Maybe by the time I received the Permethrin I've killed all the mites.

Any suggestion what to give my girls to help grow new feathers? soon it will be cold here in Ontario, Canada.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Can't really "force" them to grow feathers, but extra protein can possibly help them through the process.

 

[aart]

I put few crushed garlic in their water and garlic powder in their feed.

Go easy with this, maybe once a week, but always have plain water available.
Not sure it really does much, other than make us feel we're doing something.
Too much garlic can cause anemia.

 

[cmom]

 

[cmom]

I have posted this a few times, the best product to get rid of the mites and lice in my opinion is permethrin which is very cost effective. There are other products that work well but are quite expensive. If mixed properly Permethrin works great. I had some birds that were severely infested. I thought they were just molting but weren't getting their feathers back in when I discovered they were loaded with mites. I used a headlamp and went into the coop after the birds roosted. Some mites only feed on the birds after they roost. The first thing I tried was DE. The birds weren't improving and still had mites. I first discovered them in only one coop but eventually found them on birds in another coop. I dusted the birds and the coops with the DE and no improvement after treating them for a couple of weeks. Next I did use some sevin dust that I had but it was almost gone but it did help. I'm pretty sure the wild birds brought them into their coop, rodents can too. I have used the dust on the birds and do use it in their nest boxes and spray inside of the coops, every crack and crevice, on and under the roosts, ceiling, walls, floors, anywhere the mites can hide. It's best to clean out the coop before you spray. I use pine shavings in my coops. I wear special clothing including a mask and gloves. I do a weekly spraying for 3 or 4 weeks and put permethrin dust in the nest boxes. I have sprayed the birds getting under the wings and working it through their feathers with gloves which you can also do with the dust. My birds began to recover and get their feathers back in. I think if I hadn't treated with the permethrin when I did I probably would have lost some birds to the mites. The birds were in bad condition. Permethrin only kill live pests, not the pests eggs. TSC carries the poultry dust with permethrin, premixed spray bottles and the concentrate. I use the concentrate. For my initial application, I mixed it for a heavy infestation as I posted above. It did not affect the birds but I did keep them out of the coops while it dried. I spray my coops as needed and when I spray I do weekly spraying for 3 or 4 weeks then stop as I don't want the pests to develop a resistance to the permethrin. Repeated weekly spraying is necessary because again, it does not kill the mite eggs and as an added benefit is there is no egg withdrawal period. The birds are beautiful again. In my opinion the permethrin works great. Good luck...