Scaly leg mite woes

[Amina]

I am having the worst time trying to treat scaly leg mites. Last year I noticed that my rooster had some raised scales that were probably leg mites. So for several times, once a week, hubby and I dipped all the chicken legs in some old olive oil. Then we figured it was taken care of and he just needed to heal up. Well, his legs never looked any better. Next, we tried again with the same thing, except we dipped in olive oil and then added pyrethrin dust to their legs. Waited a while for legs to heal, but still there was no change. Then we treated all the chickens with ivermectin in the fall. They passed some roundworms so I know the ivermectin treatment worked for something at least, but there still has not been any change in the legs. Now I have been treating them daily with vaseline for the past two weeks, but still no change except that my chickens are greasy and upset with me. Haha.

How long do I need to do this? Is this normal for it to be so hard to get rid of? Does my rooster just have ugly legs naturally?? Thanks for any advice!

 

[sourland]

Can you post a picture of his legs ?

 

[Amina]

Hmm. I don't have any recent pictures, though I do have a pic from last spring:


He's got some kind of feather cyst (the big red swelling) that I can pop but it keeps coming back. Next to that you can see some raised scales. His feet are worse now than they were last spring, though. I'll get some better pics tomorrow.

 

[azygous]

Usually the leg mites are smothered in just a couple applications of a heavy oil or grease. Olive oil is a bit light weight for this application. I use castor oil since it's so thick and adheres well to the scales. The scales, however, will take up to one year to return to a normal appearance.

A picture would be helpful. You may be dealing with frostbite or bumblefoot, not leg mites.

 

[Beekissed]

Try massaging~not dipping~some castor oil upwards into those scales and then just wait a bit and see what happens. You can also dust your roosts with permethrin powder to help prevent transmission to other birds while they roosts.

In a couple of weeks, massage the CO in there again and watch awhile. Give it time to work. You can get castor oil cheaply at any pharmacy and you can find it in the laxative aisle.

 

[Amina]

Okay, here's a current picture of my rooster's feet. Sorry they're dirty. The ongoing vaseline treatment means that any time he digs in the dirt, it all sticks to him. Ugh.

I did notice tonight as I was massaging vaseling into his feet that bits of scales are falling off. That's a good sign, right?
'
Is castor oil better than vaseline? Should I switch?

 

[Beekissed]

Yep, it's better. Switching is up to you.

 

[Amina]

I've been treating the flock that this rooster is in for six weeks now, and another flock (has come in contact with this rooster in the past, but not much in the way of symptoms) for almost 4 weeks. Treatments have been daily up to this point. The rooster looks much much better... all his old yellowish thickened scales have fallen off and he's now got nice supple, slate-colored scales like he's supposed to, though some are still slightly raised. Is it safe to stop treatment at this point or do I need to continue the daily treatments until he looks 100% normal? Chicken leg treatments are taking me about an hour a day, so I would really like to stop if I can safely do so, but of course I don't want to waste all my efforts if it hasn't been long enough yet.

 

[Beekissed]

I've been treating the flock that this rooster is in for six weeks now, and another flock (has come in contact with this rooster in the past, but not much in the way of symptoms) for almost 4 weeks. Treatments have been daily up to this point. The rooster looks much much better... all his old yellowish thickened scales have fallen off and he's now got nice supple, slate-colored scales like he's supposed to, though some are still slightly raised. Is it safe to stop treatment at this point or do I need to continue the daily treatments until he looks 100% normal? Chicken leg treatments are taking me about an hour a day, so I would really like to stop if I can safely do so, but of course I don't want to waste all my efforts if it hasn't been long enough yet.

What are you treating him with? Usually it takes a bit for the damaged, old scales to fall completely off but if they have done so and you still have some raised up, there may still be something going on there. Got any good, clear pics?

 

[Amina]

I was planning to get the castor oil, but my husband bought me some giant vaseline tubs for it that I'm still using up... maybe that means I need to treat longer since it's just vaseline? I'll get some new pics.