HELP

milliedave

Chirping
Aug 14, 2015
13
1
59
I have what looks like a infestation of scaly mite on my chickens I have treated with vase line on faces and surgical spirit on there feet House has been scrubbed and disinfected and powderedI've also put intervecim drops on back of necks 8 of my babies seem a lot better today but I have 1 buff bantam who is looking extremely sorry for herself and on inspection she appears to have lots of tiny mites crawling over her feathers Is there a shampoo I can use to clear these mites off her or do I just have to wait and leave it to the luck of the God's
 
Hi

What makes you think you have scaly leg mites and why are you putting Vaseline on their faces?

If they do indeed have scaly leg mites then the scales on their legs will be rough and gnarly and the idea is to coat their legs with Vaseline to smother the mites and also soften the scales.

If you can see mites on the chickens' bodies, then you need to identify what type of mites (or lice perhaps) they are. If they are round and red and squish with your finger nail leaving a smear of blood, then they are red mites and vaseline and surgical spirit will do nothing but the ivermectin should help. You need to treat the coop with a permethrin product though as the mites primarily live in the cracks and crevices of the coop and crawl onto the chickens at night to suck their blood. If the coop is not treated, they mites will continue to be a problem. Apparently they can survive as long as 9 months on one feed of blood from a chicken, so once the ivermectin has gone from the chickens system, they will just re-infest.
Providing the chickens with a dust bathing area will help them to keep parasites down themselves but once you have an infestation you need to hit it hard.

If it is just lice, these are more of an irritant than posing a serious health threat but can become an issue if they are overrun....usually a healthy chicken with access to a dust bath will keep themselves reasonably clear of lice and finding a chicken with an infestation of them
often signals an underlying health issue.

Scaly Leg mites burrow under the scales on the legs and cause the scales to lift and become crusty and gnarled. They can eventually lead to a serious infection if not treated from which the bird could die. Many people dip their chickens legs in diesel to kill them or coat them liberally in Vaseline.

If you do online searches for poultry lice and mites you will find lots of information and images to help you identify which parasite you have.

Good luck getting rid of them.

Barbara
 
Thanks for the info There not red mite there brown in colour and I can see them on her feathers she's a buff bantam so they can be seen easily
 

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