RID lice shampoo for scaly legs?

[Linda V]

Any one try holding your hen's legs into a bowl or pot with RID LICE shampoo in it to rid them of scaly leg mites?

The idea of slathering greasy, sticky Vaseline or other oily substances on their legs just doesn't sound right to me and I imagine they'd have a hard time staying upright on their roosting perches at night.

I'd like to just DIP and hold their legs (up to the very top, of course) into a liquid to smother the mites/lice and something that wouldn't make a nasty mess out of their clean, neat coop & run.

I could not find one thing on RID LICE SHAMPOO for this on the interweb so I thought I'd just post it here and see what happens.

Gave them both a bath today in tepid water with almost an entire bottle of Head & Shoulders shampoo with eucalyptus oil in it today.

I picked H&S as it contains DIMETHICONE which smothers lice but the hens had to stay in it 15 minutes at a time, and then be held in another bucket of clear rise water a minute or two before being let lose again. Omg! It was exhausting! They are super strong gals!

I know about Vaseline, Vick's Vapo-Rub, veggie oil, and those are also options but I won't try Tea oil as the label was pretty scary!

One other thing...what is that odd growth on her right leg? It's not on her left leg so I don't understand that.

Thanks everyone.....

Linda V in NC
7/22/17

 

[Poultrybreeder]

I think the odd growth is the eggs, I had a rooster like that, it came off just like the scales as he healed, I know you don't want to use oils, but I used Vet RX for him, it seemed to work pretty well!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Severe cases of scaly leg mites if left untreated will result in your hens losing their toes and feet.

The crude oil in Vaseline softens and helps in the shedding and regrowth of new foot scales.

The "odd" growths on your hen's feet is caused by the buildup of scaly leg mite feces under the surface of the hens skin.

Back in the days of true free range poultry, the recommended treatment for scaly leg mites was to stick one leg at a time into a empty tin can that was filled with kerosene.

You should treat ALL of your hens for scaly leg mites at one time or otherwise you will be playing musical mites with your chickens' health.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Yes...that "growth" on the leg is exactly as mentioned above.

Your hen has a severe case of leg mites. That's quite serious. Here is some information on the scaly leg mite. Key points are they take 10-14 days to complete their life cycle and an oil based product works because the mites breathe through their cuticles.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/scaly-leg-mites

I use cooking oil spray to treat my cases. The thin oil penetrates well under the scales. It's much quicker and cleaner than picking each bird up and rubbing their legs with petroleum jelly etc. The key is to keep at it with regular treatment intervals.

 

[Linda V]

I think the odd growth is the eggs, I had a rooster like that, it came off just like the scales as he healed, I know you don't want to use oils, but I used Vet RX for him, it seemed to work pretty well!

Thanks, Wickedchicken!
Regardless of my wanting not to use it, I'm really scared now and anything (and I mean anything) would be EZ PZ in comparison to what I went thru giving them a bath last weekend! I had to make them stay in the tepid water in a plastic bin up to their necks for 15 mins and it was not fun.

Now that I've got a really good net to catch them with and help from my hubby, I can catch them tonight and start with the vaseline treatment. I'll use gloves but I'm really glad I gave them both a nice cool bath last Sat cuz their skin looks so much nicer where you can see it - and Henrietta's nasty "black or brown growth" near her vent is gone and her whole backside looks clear and nice.

I only have 2 hens but they mean the world to me...so I'll have to put my big girl panties on and get-r-done SOON!!!

Thanks so much for your excellent advice!

 

[Linda V]

Severe cases of scaly leg mites if left untreated will result in your hens losing their toes and feet.

The crude oil in Vaseline softens and helps in the shedding and regrowth of new foot scales.

The "odd" growths on your hen's feet is caused by the buildup of scaly leg mite feces under the surface of the hens skin.

Back in the days of true free range poultry, the recommended treatment for scaly leg mites was to stick one leg at a time into a empty tin can that was filled with kerosene.

You should treat ALL of your hens for scaly leg mites at one time or otherwise you will be playing musical mites with your chickens' health.

GOING TO START VASELINE LEG TREATMENT TONIGHT! Thankfully, there are hundreds of videos on how to do it, so I'm ready to get this done asap!

 

[Linda V]

I think the odd growth is the eggs, I had a rooster like that, it came off just like the scales as he healed, I know you don't want to use oils, but I used Vet RX for him, it seemed to work pretty well!

OMG....that's sooo gross! I had a feeling it was not going to be good news on that...but I'm going to do whatever I have to do (with gloves on) so now that I've given them both a bath - this would be a piece of cake compared to that!

THANK YOU!!!

 

[Linda V]

Yes...that "growth" on the leg is exactly as mentioned above.

Your hen has a severe case of leg mites. That's quite serious. Here is some information on the scaly leg mite. Key points are they take 10-14 days to complete their life cycle and an oil based product works because the mites breathe through their cuticles.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/scaly-leg-mites

I use cooking oil spray to treat my cases. The thin oil penetrates well under the scales. It's much quicker and cleaner than picking each bird up and rubbing their legs with petroleum jelly etc. The key is to keep at it with regular treatment intervals.

THAT'S A GREAT LINK! My local TS doesn't carry it, so I may order it thru Ebay but I need to get started on the oil treatment tonight, so that will be my 1st order of cure, followed by VetRx!

Thanks so much for your informative advice!

 

[Linda V]

So, from what I've read - the vaselene is to be applied from top of leg down to bottom of foot (both birds) every single day until I SEE the legs clear up and new scales start to return? Also...does that horrid pointy thing on her leg fall off at some point? I'm so grossed out over that thing! I'm going to use tight-fitting, latex gloves so my hands will be super slick and the gunk will go on smoothly and it won't be painful for them. Let me know if I've got this right now, okay? Thanks ya'll!

 

[KarennFallon]

Is the hen isolated for this treatment or left in the coop? I'm visualizing the litter and dirt collecting on that salve or oil being used. How often is it removed and reapplied?
I have 12 hens and just planning ahead in case.