Earlobe discoloration

[aryalclark]

One of my girls (Eloise) has been looking ratty for weeks now and I checked her several times for mites and found nothing. Although it's spring I live in the desert and just assumed she was confused by our crazy weather here and started molting. However today I noticed that her earlobes looked like they had powdery white and greenish areas and became concerned. None of my other chickens are having any issues and Eloise is eating, drinking, and laying as usual. Has anyone else seen anything like this or know what it might be??? Sorry for the poor picture quality.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Some mites only come on the birds at night, then head for cover during the daytime. The earlobes could possibly have some favus or fungus on them which could be treated with anti-fungal cream such as Monistat 7 or Lotrimin. I have an ancona who had yellow earlobes during her molt, then change back to the normal white later. Below is a serious case of favus. For mites or lice, permethrin or Sevin dust works well applied every 7 days until the eggs are gone. Here is some info for identification:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ig140