Very Pale comb. Can't work out problem

[villiams]

Hi everyone. My chook has a very pale/ brown comb. She used to have a lovely red one after she finished molting... but it has gone pale again
I have noticed she often had dirty vent feathers too.
I have just put wormer in their water in case worms but i have had close look at lots of their poops and i don't see any sign of worms.
I have online googled a lot and thought perhaps mites but they don't look like they have itchy skin and i have totally sprayed down coop - ready to spray insecticide but its raining...- snd last night i had a look for " mites" in coop and around vents and i couldn't see any thing.
I was using sugar cane mulch as flooring in their coop and noticed that when i got rid of it there were lots of tiny tiny brown mite looking things ? On the ground - and when i examined the soil around the coop i found many more... but when i read up on red mites i feel like what i have are smaller and not on the chickens - and being in soil doesn't fit in with what ive been reading about red mites living in wood
... so confused.
I am also hesitant to spray insecticide and kill all the insects there if it is not necessary.
In Australia and heading into hot summer....
Any advice would be very welcomed

 

[andreanar]

To be on the safe side, I would dust your chickens with Permethrine for lice and mites anyway. Also, worms don't always show up in poop.

 

[ronott1]

Your hens look fine to me. Nice big and fluffy.

She is likely not ready to start laying yet do the comb is paler than normal.

Do treat for mites though. It does sound like there might be mites in the coop. You do not always see them on the hens--some mites hide in the coop until night time and they like to chew inside the vent. The best way to see them is to wait until night time and check the vent with a flashlight