Depluming mites? Help please

[chrissilini]

In January I posted about some feather loss in a couple of my hens. It was thought that it was probably from over mating. I removed the rooster and things seemed to settle down but recently I’ve noticed that a couple of my other hens are showing sings of feather damage. Tail and wing feathers look damaged. While I don’t see any crawlers on them, I’m not convinced they aren’t there. Depluming mites?

How do I treat? I’ve looked online and there are so many ‘suggestions’. Figured it would be best to ask you all.

They are fed Blue Seal layer pellet and occasional fruit and veg for treats. They are layer fine, no decrease in production and are a year old.

 

[Eggcessive]

It may be feather picking. When are they due to be molting? Check for lice or mites. How much room do they have? Boredom, not getting out to free range, unbalanced food or too little protein in the diet, too much light in the coop or nest boxes, roosts too close to one another are all possible reasons for picking. Once feathers are gone, especially from over mating, they won’t grow back until the next molt. Watch for a bully, and sometimes pinless peepers may be used on one feather picker. Depluming mites are not that common, and feathers have a raggedy appearance. Ivermectin pour on which is expensive, can treat them.