Ruffled Feathers, Head Shaking

[rebeccasl]

I have a 10 month old Dominique hen who is currently living in our house after a bad bout with mites (based on our vet's assessment). After the vet gave her a dose of revolution for the mites, she has grown back her lost feathers, gained her lost weight, and is almost back to normal. However, I've noticed more recently that her breast feathers are looking ruffled and she's had some head shaking that hasn't decreased in frequency as her other symptoms improved. She also clicks her beak frequently (not gaping, just opening and closing her mouth clicking her beak).

She just went to the vet on Friday and he gave her a clean bill of health, but am still wondering why her feathers are ruffled and her head is still shaking...any thoughts or advice?

--she lives in our house still because it's too cold to reintroduce to the flock at the moment. She's eating better feather food, drinking water normally, and gets about a tablespoon of mealworms per day with various small vegetable snacks and small pieces of bread. Poop is also normal.

 

[azygous]

Have you looked into her ears? Head shaking can be from an itchy, dry ear or a painful ear infection. You might see some crusty buildup if she has an ear infection.

 

[rebeccasl]

Have you looked into her ears? Head shaking can be from an itchy, dry ear or a painful ear infection. You might see some crusty buildup if she has an ear infection.

There's no obvious discharge from her ears, could it be from the dry air in the house? The humidity has been around 20% because, well, winter.

 

[azygous]

Try a drop of mineral oil in each ear. I bet that helps.

 

[rebeccasl]

Try a drop of mineral oil in each ear. I bet that helps.

I will definitely do that...Can I use any food grade mineral oil? Is there a brand that you would recommend?