Rooster have scabs on neck and leg -- possible mites?

[citychicks99]

Hello,
My rooster is missing feathers on his neck and leg. My chicken is missing feathers near her vent. I tried to take some pictures. They're acting normally otherwise, eating and pooping normally.

I had been doing the deep litter method throughout the winter until I had hip surgery in March. My family would feed them and give them water but no one was willing to clean their coop. My hip finally healed almost completely and I cleaned out their coop two weeks ago and again yesterday and I sprayed it with vinegar. However, with the heat lately, I may have been too late and I wonder if they may have mites? I couldn't see any but I saw a black bug yesterday in their bedding. It was oval and kept slithering.

Should I go ahead and try and treat them even though I don't see any bugs? What would be the most cost effective way, since I only have two birds? Elector PSP seems like the best one so far. It's expensive but people are selling 10ml for $30 on eBay.

 

[coach723]

How old are they? When I try to zoom on his neck it gets too blurry to tell, I'm wondering if she's feather picking him. Could be happening on roosts. Part of her feather issues is over breeding, one hen isn't enough for a roo, usually 8 to 10 hens per roo is better, they don't get so beat up. I can't tell if what is in her feathers on her rear is just dried droppings or if there are also lice eggs/nits there. Link below has images you can compare with. Elector PSP is good, or you can use a permethrin product, you have to repeat at weekly intervals with permethrin at least 3 times.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/

 

[Kiki]

Hello,
My rooster is missing feathers on his neck and leg. My chicken is missing feathers near her vent. I tried to take some pictures. They're acting normally otherwise, eating and pooping normally.

I had been doing the deep litter method throughout the winter until I had hip surgery in March. My family would feed them and give them water but no one was willing to clean their coop. My hip finally healed almost completely and I cleaned out their coop two weeks ago and again yesterday and I sprayed it with vinegar. However, with the heat lately, I may have been too late and I wonder if they may have mites? I couldn't see any but I saw a black bug yesterday in their bedding. It was oval and kept slithering.

Should I go ahead and try and treat them even though I don't see any bugs? What would be the most cost effective way, since I only have two birds? Elector PSP seems like the best one so far. It's expensive but people are selling 10ml for $30 on eBay.

Are you sure they don't have lice?
The butt area looks like it might have lice stuff building up on it. The picture is not clear enough to tell.

 

[aart]

Should I go ahead and try and treat them even though I don't see any bugs?

I would not. First find out if and what.


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

 

[Sussex19]

Are you sure they don't have lice?
The butt area looks like it might have lice stuff building up on it. The picture is not clear enough to tell.

This was my thought as well.

 

[citychicks99]

I picked up the hen and examined her butt. I didn't see any bugs. It looked more like dirt. But after I put her down I found a small red bug on my leg. It flared out its legs and it looked like a mite. When I squished it between my fingers, it curled back into a small red oval.

 

[Eggcessive]

That crust on feathers and redness of skin in the 3rd picture looks like mite droppings and crust. Permethrin spray or martins or Gordons permethrin 10 concentrate mixed with water from the feed store may help if used at least twice at 7 days intervals to get live mites, and the newly hatched ones before they reproduce. It can also be used on the coop, roosts, and nest boxes. Note there are different mixing instructions for the birds and the coop. It is good to remove all bedding and replace with new pine shavings.

 

[citychicks99]

I used PDZ coop refresher on their floor and it's been difficult to get all of it out. Some of it has hardened on the corners. Do I need to vacuum it out? Their coop has a dip so I wasn't able to sweep it all out.

 

[coach723]

If it's hardened then maybe use a putty knife to break it loose. If you are dealing with mites then they tend to hide in nooks and crannies, cracks and gaps in wood, around roosts, etc. Using a spray in the coop is the best way to get into those places and kill them. I would remove all loose materials, bedding, nesting material, and dispose of it, then spray the coop, and replace all with fresh. Do that each time you spray. Any eggs that are missed will continue to hatch (the chemicals kill the live bugs but not the eggs) and they will just keep coming back until you get them all. That's why you have to repeat treatments, to get all the eggs that continue to hatch.

 

[citychicks99]

Oh no, I just swept their bedding last week out into the garden. Will sprinkling diatamaceous earth all over my garden help? I also put their giant pile of bedding from a few weeks ago into compost bins :/

I read that Elector PSP only needs to be used once. Is it better to use the other ones that need to be used more often? How many times would I need to repeat treatment?