leg mites - ivomec

A few of my chickens, especially the feather-legged bantams seem to have a chronic case of scaly leg mites. I have tied several methods in hopes of irradicating them for a couple of years now. The mites have always been present but never severe until now. Two of my banties have them really bad and I am debating whether or not to use Ivomec.

I called a local vet and he recommended the use of Ivomec (Ivermectin) injection for cattle and swine 1% sterile solution. He said to give it to the whole flock orally with a dose of .01-.03 cc depending on the bird's weight. The use of this drug scares me a bit since its not approved for chickens.

I have tried everything and I need a solution that works.
I have tried vaseline, vegetable oil, poultry dust, and a few brands of spray. I also have also sprayed the whole coop with a water and bleach solution after a good clean and then dusted every surface. I put a box with sand in the coop for them to dustbathe too. I boughjt some redcote to spray their legs with tomorrow. Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Instead of Ivomec I recommend Eprinex because you just put the drops on the skin of the bird at the back of the neck. Also it has know withdrawal time for the milk when used on dairy cows for which it was made and is safer IMO than Ivomec on the birds. For bantams use .25 cc and standards use .5 cc.

Wes, is the eprinex used to get lice off of the body and the legs? Are the leg mites and the body mites one and the same? I just can't figure how putting it on the back of the head would do any good for the leg mites which are settled in under the leg scales. I need to try this eprinex. Where do you find it? Johnny

Are you familiar with Frontline Plus or Advantix? The Eprinex works in the same way to erradicate the mites and several types of intestinal worms in the birds.

I haven't decided if I like it because of the ease of use, no fighting with the birds to swallow something that they hate or watching the water to see if they are drinking at all. Or because it is so effective in knocking out the mites which I had never had to deal with before this Winter.

No the leg mites and red mites are two different fellows. The Eprinex spreads throughout the birds system which as we know mites live on the blood of the birds by boring through the skin which is when they get the Eprinex.

Thanks Robin and Wes for sharing this great information. I understand now that it works like the Frontline from within the animals system. Sounds very simple and I will try it. Thank you for sharing, Johnny

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Do you use an eyedropper to apply the Eprinex or a syringe when you do your birds? From what I can find there are about 20 "drops" to a cc so I an guessing that using 10 drops on the back of the neck of a RIR would be correct? Is there a need to use another dose after a week or so or will one application take care of the scaley leg mites? I am with Picco... I have tried the things that he has and still have crusty legged fowl un !

I use a small syringe to apply it. They come marked in cc/ml. For leg mites I would do 2 applications 10 days apart. After the first application wait 3 days and wash the legs of the birds good and use a tooth brush to scrub under the scales. That is if you don't have 20 or 30 birds to do.

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ummmm.... 23 :|

I have used a mixture of 3 parts linseed oil, one part kerosene once a week on their legs as well as painted on their perches. After you apply the mixture, rub Vaseline over the legs to loosen the crusts. After 2-3 applications, they should be gone.

I have used this method found in my poultry library. It's messy to apply but it actually works. The vaseline is great for the crusts if you a wormer or another med.