PandemicChicken
Chirping
- Nov 1, 2021
- 27
- 13
- 59
Hi, this is my 1st time posting and 1st time chicken owner after my dad irresponsibly bought chicks in March 2020. We experienced a predator attack that left us emotionally traumatized, with only 1 small hen left named Jin (we thought Jin was a cute name but didn't know the chick's gender at the time haha)! She's been alone and broody even though she stopped laying, but we monitor her outside for 2-4 hours each day so she can poop, eat, bath, and scavenge. But, mid-October, I noticed her her comb dropped and paled (which I thought was due her flockmates' death) but she was itching/preening like crazy with a poopy butt.
That's when I discovered she had moving MITES all over her and in the nesting box during the day, which meant they're Northern Fowl mites. I've been cleaning, cutting her poopy dirty feathers, and treated the garage coop with Poultry Dust Permethrin powder. She's on her 2nd body treatment to get rid of the original mites' nits/eggs (1st - 10/26, 2nd - 11/5) and I haven't seen any MOVING MITES during the day or night. Tbh, I can't really tell if they're little specks of dirt from her sandbath or actual mites, since they're not moving. I also notice that when she does her dust bath, she spends more time just sitting in the dirt hole than kicking dirt into her feathers/body. She also squints her eyes when I touch her or get close. Is this normal?
When I first saw mites, I also noticed both her main wing feathers was breaking (in half). When I treated with Permethrin and didn't see any more mites, I thought I was safe. But her wing feathers still are thinning out more noticeably to the point where it's just a line of straw? It began at the top and each subsequent wing feather below is thinning out (progression in pics). It's happening quickly - like the thinning is more noticeable each day. She is also molting, but she's losing whole body feathers. Her thinning wing feathers makes me nervous since it could mean mites are eating her alive and she usually flies if there's something wrong or she's scared. Would her wing feathers grow back? How do I help her and prevent the mites/thinning? Could this be depluming mites? There has been a larger population of wild birds around our yard but I want her to spend as much time outside before winter. She's super small and cute; I love her so much and want her to be healthy, safe, and happy! Any advice is appreciated and thank you in advance! I'm so grateful for this community!
(Left (Sept 2021) to right (Nov 5) - feathers thinning)
That's when I discovered she had moving MITES all over her and in the nesting box during the day, which meant they're Northern Fowl mites. I've been cleaning, cutting her poopy dirty feathers, and treated the garage coop with Poultry Dust Permethrin powder. She's on her 2nd body treatment to get rid of the original mites' nits/eggs (1st - 10/26, 2nd - 11/5) and I haven't seen any MOVING MITES during the day or night. Tbh, I can't really tell if they're little specks of dirt from her sandbath or actual mites, since they're not moving. I also notice that when she does her dust bath, she spends more time just sitting in the dirt hole than kicking dirt into her feathers/body. She also squints her eyes when I touch her or get close. Is this normal?
When I first saw mites, I also noticed both her main wing feathers was breaking (in half). When I treated with Permethrin and didn't see any more mites, I thought I was safe. But her wing feathers still are thinning out more noticeably to the point where it's just a line of straw? It began at the top and each subsequent wing feather below is thinning out (progression in pics). It's happening quickly - like the thinning is more noticeable each day. She is also molting, but she's losing whole body feathers. Her thinning wing feathers makes me nervous since it could mean mites are eating her alive and she usually flies if there's something wrong or she's scared. Would her wing feathers grow back? How do I help her and prevent the mites/thinning? Could this be depluming mites? There has been a larger population of wild birds around our yard but I want her to spend as much time outside before winter. She's super small and cute; I love her so much and want her to be healthy, safe, and happy! Any advice is appreciated and thank you in advance! I'm so grateful for this community!
(Left (Sept 2021) to right (Nov 5) - feathers thinning)
