Growths on my chicken's feet HELP!!!!!

[klmclain1]

You're NOT a bad mama! There are different methods for maintaining coops. Sounds like you're trying a "deep litter" method and I've heard it does help keep a coop warmer. I believe you have to be sure to keep dry litter on the top all the time - but other than that i don't know much about it. You can do a search for it here though! I don't think that's what "caused" the issue - but I'm no expert. Keep at her legs with the vaseline and do a search for "scaley leg mites" to find all the info on causes, prevention, treatments! This site is FULL of great info!

 

[sharla]

Ok,
So I am going to Orschelns today to pick up some Ivomec and some Adam's flea and tick spray. Also going to clean out my coop really good and put down some sevin poultry dust. I really didn't realize this was a "live" problem. I thought it was a problem with their diet or a disease. What really made me sad was I thought we were going to have to cull these girls. I am relieved I can fix this. What a great site this is for learning, so glad I found it.

 

[Martine]

Scaly leg is very common especially in summer in Africa where I am.
We use a remedy you may not be able to get:
I mix a 500g jar of vaseline with a half tea cup of KARBASPRAY. This is a garden insecticide with Karbaryl as an active ingredient, so you might find something similar. Karbaryl is a pyrethroid and very safe.
With this goo you mix in a 100ml bottle of CALAMINE lotion, the type you use on kids with chicken pox.
Mix all this thoroughly. Apply to the legs.
Leave for three days, you will see an orange powder like substance on the legs, that is your dead mite.
Apply again, and you should have no further problem.
Ivomec works well but only internally. With this type of mite you need something external as well. You can do both, wont hurt. Good luck. martine

 

[klmclain1]

I love this idea...however, I don't know if we can get Calamine anymore! Seems to me we can only get Caladryl?? Anyone know the chemistry of this formula and how we in the US can mimick it??

 

[AHDCST]

That does look like leg mites. I was told to rub cooking oil on the perches and all the wood in the coop like nesting boxes. You have to treat now and then again in 10 days or the eggs will hatch and you will be right back where you started!

 

[Martine]

I dont know Kaladryl but if you ask a pharmacist he should be able to tell you. Ask for a mild lotion to stop itching which is what calamine does. The karbaryl might be more difficult as I dont know what your legislation is in the US as far as pyrethroids goes.
Maybe look at all garden insecticides and find one that is based on pyrethroids?
Otherwise there is a web site here that posts to everywhere in the world.
www.vetproductsonline.co.za
These people also stock DRASTIC DEADLINE which is a cattle product but which I use on the birds, one ml between the wings on the back of the bird, external use only.
It is based on levamisole and works well on any bird older than three months.
You could ask the vet at vet products to procure what you want. M

 

[Jessie66]

I use just petroleum jelly, but have heard you can mix it with Sevin, which is used to kill external bugs (my brother uses this to dust his chickens for mites and lice). I am scared that if they happen to ingest some of the petroleum jelly from picking at their feet, they might eat some and get poisoned, that's why I use the petroleum jelly by itself. Works good.

 

[iluvsedward]

mites!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

What I do for scaly leg mites is to take mineral oil (veg oil will work) and dip each leg in a cup of it daily (I just save the cup for the next day until it gets too gross). This smothers the mites.

Do it for two weeks, and toward the end of the two weeks I am doing it every other day. This works really well...for severe cases you might not see the scales of the legs back to good looking status until the molt of the scales of the legs.

Also treat the comb/wattles with oil as the scaly leg mite can affect the face.

Also get rid of all shavings and treat the coop with liquid permethrin diluted as per bottle:

http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/pesticides.html

Go easy on the shavings because you will want to retreat to get the hatching eggs (in the coop) in one week. Toss the shavings again when you spray.
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/204715.htm

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0019.html

 

[chicknmania]

Something else that works well, is to wash and gently scrub the legs and feet with warm water and a little Dawn detergent, then rinse and let them
stand in warm water with a spoonful of Epsom salts in it, for about five minutes once a day. I have read the salts help to kill the mites and it also relieves
pain, because their legs can get sore from the mites. Another thing with bad cases is that the mites cause bones to weaken,
and that might be the cause of your thin shelled eggs, actually. Make sure she has the layer and shell, but we also give
our chickens with leg mites some poultry vitamins as well, and they get the best food we can give em, healthy table scraps
included. In severe mite cases, a chicken can actually lose toes and break bones. And we have a hen who is (apparently) permanently lame
as a result of having a bad case of them. I have read that rats carry scaly leg mites. It seems that some birds are more
susceptible to the mites than others.

You can also stand the bird in permethrin, and this works, but that stuff's horrible and you're supposed to wear
protective clothing and mask if you use it, so I can't imagine how the chicken feels about that...