Scratching at night wz up ?

[Dee Dee 2]

I went out this p.m. to do a final check on the chichens and horses. As I was watching the chickens in their pen they seemed to be doing a lot of digging in their feathers with their beaks. I had noticed this the night before also so I went in and checked each bird for 'bugs'. I had a flashlight so I got a pretty good look around the base of the feathers and etc. Did not see anything. Definatley no red mites. Could I be missing something ? I have a red heat lamp above the birds. Could the extra warmth be causing a mite of some sort to become acive ? Want to look again tomorrow night ~ what should I look for. ?

 

[Judy]

I hope the heat lamp is because they are very young. If they are around 6 weeks, I'd turn it off.

Really, it sounds like they are doing normal preening. Birds regularly clean and groom their feathers, and it's not unusual for them to do this at roost time. But I'll give you a link to have an idea what to look for, as mites and lice are quite common, and carried by wild birds. ou might check the underside of our roost was well.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[memphis]

Mine go through a pretty elaborate preening before they go to bed.

 

[Dee Dee 2]

Thank you , I'll check again tonight, If I find nothing I'll quit being a worry wart mom. Memphis nice R.I.R., roo.