Shiny yellow/orange parasite at feather bases

[joegg]

Maggie came to us three years ago her feathers have never been great. Last year her feathers were very ragged bum and chest bald tail feathers broken, I suspected depluming mite. So I used flea shampoo and ant powder at the end of last summer, she went into a moult just before xmas, feathers of better condition appeared to grow back but over the last couple of weeks bum and breast are bare again.
The other chooks have pecked her bum which started to bleed, so i have repeated dog shampoo/ant powder treatment plus stopped bleeding with corn flour and painted it blue with food colouring.

What is this parasite (this time i saw them), why doesnt it affect the other chooks?

[Claret]

Have a look at the pictures on the lice and mites thread at the top of this section - sounds like she might have lice.

[sandyhas3chucks]

you might like to do a search on here for depluming mite, also, tho these are not visible.

[Lavenders_Blue]

It sounds like lice. I've just got rid of lice on my girls and they were an orangey colour, crawling about on the skin under the vent.

Have you thoroughly inspected your others? I thought only one of mine had lice at first, but on closer inspection they were all crawling with them. Have a good rummage around in their fluffy bloomers, parting the feathers right down to the skin and also under the wings.

Johnson's anti mite spray worked a treat on mine (not licensed for poultry in the UK, but perfectly safe and jolly effective!).

[Claret]

If you're using that (or any other) treatment spray, then be sure to repeat the treatment again at weekly intervals until they have all gone... just like with head lice

[sandyhas3chucks]

If you're using that (or any other) treatment spray, then be sure to repeat the treatment again at weekly intervals until they have all gone... just like with head lice

having read that ,,,, guess who's scratching their head??

[joegg]

Not lice I know what they look like.

Maggie seem s much better and has even started laying again.

Strange, will be vigilant though.