With the CO, I don't paint nor do I dip, but just pour the oil into my hand and massage it with an upward motion into all the scales. I don't mix it with anything else, as it holds all the properties necessary for ridding the mites on its own~thick, viscous oil for smothering them and also...
I second the castor oil....it can soothe the pain of a bad infestation, while also protecting against infection, promoting faster regrowth of healthy scale and also has insecticidal abilities. It's even better than NUStock and that's saying a lot.
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No, they aren't. Some work to smother the parasite and some work to as an irritant. Some work to prevent further inflammation from the infestation and work to regrow healthy scale and skin while also acting as an antiparasitic and antibacterial agent. They are not all as effective...
The castor oil and the campho treatments have the triple purpose of being natural anti-parasitic/insecticides, antibacterial and antifungal agents, so I'd choose one or the other as a preventative/curative treatment over just base oils. The castor oil is the thicker of the two and has more...
I'm sorry, but that one is just too, too much... Not laughing at you but at whatever source that would offer that up as a treatment for scale mites when there are so many other, less toxic solutions for this very simple thing.
For one, that would sting like the dickens if there were any raw...
I usually dust the roost bars with sulfur dust a couple of times a year, especially this time of year when the birds are confined due to weather. Some old timers use lime or permethrin for the same reason. Sulfur dust is cheap and easily found at any garden center, like Walmart or Lowes, and...
Yes, you can use epsom salts as they will help soothe any angry looking skin but if you don't have any, plain ol' salt will help with the healing of skin too and it can also provide an irritant to mites.
I've had long standing cases but not what I consider a "bad" case, like the ones often visualized here where the foot looks like some kind of scaly, tumorous growth has happened and the flesh is red and bleeding. In my long standing, or re-occurring, case I saw raised, pale scales in a week...
I don't know if brushing on the oil will get it into all the crevices as good as simply massaging it inward and upward...especially if the scales are in pretty bad condition. I'd leave them alone for about a week and then recheck and maybe reapply then, with that massaging type motion. Then...
You might need to soak and clean off the Vaseline before applying the Castor oil to get any good out of it. It's not just for smothering the mites, but poisoning them....castor oil is toxic to them....and it may not penetrate in between the scales well if the Vaseline seals it out of those spaces.
I just pour it into one hand~ or directly onto their leg and foot~ and massage it upward into the scales, all the way into the feathers on the leg until I no longer feel any scales. It's a tad messy but just keep a rag handy for wiping your hands and the birds will be just fine with it the mess.
That doesn't sound like a mite problem unless he was so badly afflicted that his foot became infected and it entered his bone. Sounds to me like he's got other issues. It certainly won't hurt to do the epsom salt soak and another application but I don't know if that will help this other...
I'd let that coat work and just check him in a couple of weeks to see what progress has been made on his scale conditions and then apply more then if you think he needs it.
The castor oil relieves the pain of inflammation while it's working on killing the mites and renewing the scale growth, so it's a pretty neat treatment. And it keeps on working long after you would expect it would be gone, as it absorbs into the scale and skin to help shed the old scales and...