Red Mites or Moulting

[cmom]

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.

You might kill some of the mites but not the mite eggs with what you have used so far. See the chart in my previous post. I gave my birds Game Bird feed which here is 20% protein. Since their feathers are made of primarily protein, I figured it wouldn't hurt them.

 

[Shadrach]

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.

Firstly, pullets moult until they get their first full set of adult feathers. With some pullets this is noticeable in stages and with others it's a slow progressive moult as the y grow.
The first moult is fairly obvious and it's when they lose their chick fluff.
However, feathers grow in proportion to the follicle size which correlates to the maturity of the pullet. So, a follicle size of A at say six eight weeks old will not support the required feather growth of a pullet at sixteen weeks old. They shed the undersized feathers and grow new ones.
Ordinary red mite is unlikely to be responsible for feather loss. Ordinary red mite live in the coop and not on the chicken. But, the ordinary red mite has a relative, smaller in size that lives on the feather shafts. These are called feather mites and these can cause feather loss.
In 'natural' circumstances chickens dust bath to help combat feather mite but a heavy infestation becomes a problem that needs to be dealt with using chemicals unfortunately. DE is not going to rid your pullets of feather mite.
It is worth investing in a powerful magnifying glass and examining the feather shafts of your pullets. Feather mites can be seen reasonably easily on the bird with the aid of a magnifying glass.
The treatment for feather mites is covered by the posts above, but be aware that you will need to treat more than once to ensure you kill any that hatch from eggs laid.