Eprinex or dusting for scaly leg mites

[pkzman]

Just taking a polling to figure out the best preventative measures. Our GLW had scaly leg mites which I treated with Vaseline and a good coop cleaning. She seems to have responded well, and I am treating over a 2 week period to get any mite egg hatchings. Can only one bird be affected? The other hens' legs look fine. I was also going to worm with Wazine followed by Valbazen 10 days later, and didn't know if a pour on at the same time would be too hard on them, seeing how it treats for certain internals as well. I'm kinda torn between preventative treatment vs. treating for known issues. A fecal float on the GLW last season also showed a low level (they said a 3 out of 10) for coccidiosis, but they have never showed any signs of illness (all are 9 months old) and my understanding was that birds have some level of cocci/worms/parasites in their systems and that it's only a problem if it gets out of balance (infestation stage). I've read a LOT of threads, but wanted to ask this specific question, and I know there are many varying opinions.

Thanks for any advice!

Z

 

[chicmom]

Personally, I do vaccinate for Mareks, but I don't do alot of preventative treatments. I treat if I see a problem. I just don't like to give my chickens alot of chemicals and such....But that's just my humble opinion.

I wanted to share a tip with you regarding the scaly leg mites. I mix some Seven Dust powder in with the Vaseline then I smear it on the legs. The SD kills them and the Vaseline suffocates them, an also soothes their legs. It really works. Got that tip from an old timer.

Sharon

 

[galanie]

Don't use a pour-on at the same time as the wormer. Pour-ons worm also, though they don't do as good a job as Valbazen. You'd be double dosing in a way.

 

[pkzman]

Thanks for the replies.

Sharon: Thanks for the mixing tip. About half of the big raised scales have sloughed off with nice new pink underneath, and I plan to continue to see If the rest will slough off, and catch any new hatchers.

Galanie: Great suggestion. I knew Eprinex was a wormer too, and was debating whether to use Valbazen or Eprinex since the scaly mite thing showed up and Eprinex catches externals too. I think I'm just going to use Valbazen now since it's their first worming, and treat the mites with vaseline and poultry dust (or Sevin) for now. Thanks for helping.

Z