Quote: With Mites, it is called over preening. They are bothered so much by the lice, that they pull the feathers out!
I watched one of my Golden Comets doing this early this spring. You will have a very hard time seeing the mites. They do not live on the chicken(unless you have Northern Fowl Mites) but in the coop. They come out at night, like bed bugs and feed on the chickens. They then go back to the coop during the day. To see them you have to go out at night with a flashlight and look at the vent area. You will see little reddish specks that move. Also look for hot and inflamed skin around the vent.
If you suspect Mites, look up treating them with injectable Ivermectin. You can eat the eggs! You should also treat the coop with seven spray or Frontline. You could also skip the ivermectin and use Poultry dust. I would use the Ivermectin. I use it at the beginning of each season, so am going to be retreating tomorrow.
Ron