Neem oil for mites

[Ballerina Bird]

Natural flea and tick shampoo and vasoline didn't do much. I know I was supposed to apply another coat of vasoline a few days later. We're in a blizzard and cant really tend to the chickens how I wanted to. I can see their legs are red/pick and slightly swollen at the base of the feet. I know it's mites, but haven't seen any so far in the coop. Seems like the more time they spend in the coop the worse their legs look. Some are worse than others. It started with my favorite chicken and within a few weeks they all have the red/pink streak and pink between their toes. uggghhh. Please tell me how to use this neem oil.

Lots of people have different techniques for using it on this thread, so you'll have to decide what will work best for you. Also, I think there are different kinds of mites. I don't know if you have the scaly leg kind and if neem oil works for those. Maybe others can address that. Here is what I did, based on other advice here:

-Removed and threw out all bedding on coop floor and in nesting boxes, and sprinkled DE on bare surfaces, to go under bedding.

-Made a 50-50 mix of pure neem oil (not that garden spray stuff) and canola oil, put in a small spray bottle, and sprayed inside the coop, concentrating on crevices, cracks, and points where wood joins other wood. I also used paper towels to rub it all over the roosting bars (including underneath them). Try to do this on a sunny day when you can leave the coop open for several hours after you treat, as the smell is very strong and your chickens might be sensitive.

-Added new bedding.

-Made a much more diluted solution (a couple of drops of neem oil to a few tablespoons of canola oil) and put one small drop of this under each wing during the night while the birds were sleeping. I only did this once. (I had a friend come over and help me with that; I recommend a second person there to hold a flashlight while you handle the bird).

-Repeated the coop treatment above after one week.

Like you, I hardly saw any actual mites, but one had a vent that was slightly irritated which is why I thought there might be an excess mite load. After the first treatment, I saw a couple of dead ones on the roosting bar in the morning. Other people on the site wrote about looking into their coop during the night and seeing the mites; you may want to do that, as I think you generally don't seem them during the day unless you have a very severe infestation.

After all that, I have been using an occasional sprinkle of DE in the coop as a preventative (I don't think this will get rid of mites once they are there but might keep things under control when you don't have an actual problem), and I also frequently put fresh cut rosemary in the coop, which mites don't like but chickens seem to enjoy.

I also read that straw can harbor mites because it's hollow, so if you are using it you might want to switch to pine shavings. I had straw in the nest boxes but removed it all.

Hope you get rid of yours soon! I know it is very stressful.

 

[8HopefulHens]

Thank you for your response. I use pine shavings in the nesting boxes. And I have been using DE in the boxes, under the linoleum and rubbed into the walls of the coop. The first time I did this I noticed the next day a huge decrease in their redness. I also sprayed most of the coop with "poultry protector". And wiped it down with warm soapy water.
One of hens is molting in the middle of winter!! She was born in May so she isn't a year old yet. From what I read she shouldn't be moulting, but she is the first hen to start laying eggs which means she is the oldest. She doesn't seem like a happy camper in this freezing weather. I'll try the rosemary. Sounds like a great idea. I noticed when I had garlic in their water their legs seems less irritated too. It's just so difficult with nearly a foot of snow outside to get the coop cleaned. I"m thinking to wrap each chicken in a towel and carry them to the garage while I clean up the coop again. For now, do you think cleaning the coop out of pine shavings each day will help keep it at bay until I can get the neem oil? I have canola oil. Should i try that tomorrow? I can dip each foot in for 5 min, so it would take me an hour to do all 12 legs...Ha ha.

 

[Ballerina Bird]

Thank you for your response.  I use pine shavings in the nesting boxes. And I have been using DE in the boxes, under the linoleum and rubbed into the walls of the coop.  The first time I did this I noticed the next day a huge decrease in their redness. I also sprayed most of the coop with "poultry protector". And wiped it down with warm soapy water. 
One of hens is molting in the middle of winter!! She was born in May so she isn't a year old yet. From what I read she shouldn't be moulting, but she is the first hen to start laying eggs which means she is the oldest. She doesn't seem like a happy camper in this freezing weather.  I'll try the rosemary. Sounds like a great idea.  I noticed when I had garlic in their water their legs seems less irritated too. It's just so difficult with nearly a foot of snow outside to get the coop cleaned. I"m thinking to wrap each chicken in a towel and carry them to the garage while I clean up the coop again.  For now, do you think cleaning the coop out of pine shavings each day will help keep it at bay until I can get the neem oil? I have canola oil. Should i try that tomorrow? I can dip each foot in for 5 min, so it would take me an hour to do all 12 legs...Ha ha.

Canola oil is basically neutral -- It's the neem oil that actually interferes with the mites' breeding cycle. However, I did read on here that any kind of oil will smother them, but that result might be easier to get by continuing with Vaseline. I'm not sure dipping them in canola oil would be worth the trouble, plus they are sensitive little creatures, so I wouldn't expose them to too much of anything without researching it a lot first. I probably woukdn't dip their legs in oil, but someone else on here might have experience with that.

Definitely junking all the bedding in there can't hurt. It sounds like that's about all you can do with the weather you are having right now. I'm sorry you are having to deal with this! I felt very stressed about it last fall, and people were very kind and reassured me that I would get rid of them eventually, so I will say the same to you, in case it helps. Good luck!

 

[tonykeywest]

Why not try diatamaceous earth. I rub it under my parakeets wings and the mites were gone.

 

[Cluckies]

Has anybody used this for scaly leg mites, mixed say 50/50 with a carrier oil, then dipping their whole leg in for a few seconds? did it get rid of the leg mites? if so, how many applications? I think i'm going to try it. would baby oil be ok to use mixed? I looked at the ingredients, it is mineral oil, aloe vera extract and vitamin e. I'm also going to gut the coop, clean and spray with 50/50 mineral oil and neem oil, roosts and such. I just noticed the problem yesterday. rubbed coconut oil on their legs quickly last night as I was panicky and heard that works with regular mites.) I have 5 chickens.
Great thread, thanks!

I'll check in and let you know how it is going if anyone is interested. I've heard these can be hard to get rid of

 

[Ballerina Bird]

Has anybody used this for scaly leg mites, mixed say 50/50 with a carrier oil, then dipping their whole leg in for a few seconds? did it get rid of the leg mites? if so, how many applications? I think i'm going to try it. would baby oil be ok to use mixed? I looked at the ingredients, it is mineral oil, aloe vera extract and vitamin e. I'm also going to gut the coop, clean and spray with 50/50 mineral oil and neem oil, roosts and such. I just noticed the problem yesterday. rubbed coconut oil on their legs quickly last night as I was panicky and heard that works with regular mites.) I have 5 chickens.
Great thread, thanks!

I'll check in and let you know how it is going if anyone is interested. I've heard these can be hard to get rid of

I vaguely recall when I was reading around about this last year that it only worked for those regular mites that live in the coop. But I am far from sure about this so wouldn't want to discourage you from trying. It smells REALLY strong, and the one time I actually applied it to the chickens' bodies (drop under each wing) I did a much more dilute solution (like one tiny drop to a tablespoon full of canola oil). But I did do 50/50 on the coop and roosts, again with canola oil. The coop application I did three times, I think, over the course of two weeks. I made sure to do it on nice days when I could leave everything open for the entire day, because it really needs to ventilate.

Really hope you can get them under control; I know it is very stressful to have mites.

 

[Cluckies]

I agree, 50/50 was way to strong. I cut it back to about 5 percent of so. Well see if it works. I'm also putting coconut oil on their feet evergy morning and night, so will see what happens. I didnt get the neem oil on the coop yet, it got too late, and the ladies wanted back in. I did get it cleaned out and put poweder in the corners and edges though.

 

[Joleneschickens]

I used the neem tree oil with water on our vegetables tonight to keep pest away. My husband gave the girls cherry tomatoes from the garden without washing them or telling me he was doing this. Should I be worried the girls just injested cherry tomatoes recently sprayed with water down neem tree oil?

 

[Ballerina Bird]

I used the neem tree oil with water on our vegetables tonight to keep pest away. My husband gave the girls cherry tomatoes from the garden without washing them or telling me he was doing this. Should I be worried the girls just injested cherry tomatoes recently sprayed with water down neem tree oil?

I don't know for sure, but I would think it is probably OK since it is just one exposure. Do they seem OK?

 

[mskluck]

Thank you for your response. I use pine shavings in the nesting boxes. And I have been using DE in the boxes, under the linoleum and rubbed into the walls of the coop. The first time I did this I noticed the next day a huge decrease in their redness. I also sprayed most of the coop with "poultry protector". And wiped it down with warm soapy water.
One of hens is molting in the middle of winter!! She was born in May so she isn't a year old yet. From what I read she shouldn't be moulting, but she is the first hen to start laying eggs which means she is the oldest. She doesn't seem like a happy camper in this freezing weather. I'll try the rosemary. Sounds like a great idea. I noticed when I had garlic in their water their legs seems less irritated too. It's just so difficult with nearly a foot of snow outside to get the coop cleaned. I"m thinking to wrap each chicken in a towel and carry them to the garage while I clean up the coop again. For now, do you think cleaning the coop out of pine shavings each day will help keep it at bay until I can get the neem oil? I have canola oil. Should i try that tomorrow? I can dip each foot in for 5 min, so it would take me an hour to do all 12 legs...Ha ha.