Scales Led mites!

[FiveCuteChickens]

ive had my chickens for 3 years now and they have only now got scaley leg mites! I'm not sure how they got them but they are quite severe and I have tried a spray and applying Vaseline but nothing works! Any suggestions?

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Good morning! One of the important aspects of treating scaly leg mites is to treat them consistently. Some of the treatments, such as Vaseline...need to be applied more than once over a period of time to be completely effective.

Some people have found using a soft bristle brush and scrubbing the affected chickens legs in warm water with soap helps soften the scales and loosen the mess the mites have left. They apply the oil/Vaseline/concoction they have after washing the legs.

I've been using plain, generic brand cooking spray for ease of application because I have a number of birds. I'm using olive oil cooking oil that's expired on the worse cases. It won't spray so I use a paint brush coated with the oil or my hands to coat the legs.

 

[igorsMistress]

I've not had this problem but I did read somewhere here on BYC that castor oil works. Let me look for that post...

 

[FiveCuteChickens]

Good morning! One of the important aspects of treating scaly leg mites is to treat them consistently. Some of the treatments, such as Vaseline...need to be applied more than once over a period of time to be completely effective.

Some people have found using a soft bristle brush and scrubbing the affected chickens legs in warm water with soap helps soften the scales and loosen the mess the mites have left. They apply the oil/Vaseline/concoction they have after washing the legs.

I've been using plain, generic brand cooking spray for ease of application because I have a number of birds. I'm using olive oil cooking oil that's expired on the worse cases. It won't spray so I use a paint brush coated with the oil or my hands to coat the legs.

Thank you! I'll try that now and how often do you brush oil on?

 

[FiveCuteChickens]

I've not had this problem but I did read somewhere here on BYC that castor oil works. Let me look for that post...

Thank you I will try that

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Thank you! I'll try that now and how often do you brush oil on?

The more often you can treat your birds (daily, bi-weekly or weekly as opposed to monthly) the quicker you will smother/kill the mites that are living. Oil or oil products work well because the mites breath through their cuticles, the oil essentially drowns them. The key is being consistent.

The entire life cycle takes place on the bird and takes between 14 and 21 days to complete. (Depending on the species of mite I'm assuming.) The mite is spread by close contact with another infected birds; mites can survive for a limited time off the host. This means you want to treat all of your birds every time you treat if all of your birds are showing signs of scaly leg...or segregate the affected birds so they don't infect the birds not showing signs. Apparently the mites can be spread by affected scales and matter that is cleaned off, so if you choose to gently scrub the legs...make sure the procedure is done away from the coop and other birds.

To get all the mites that hatch from the eggs, you need to treat for an extended time period; at least past 21 days...preferably 2-3 treatments past the 21 days to guarantee all hatched mites were effectively killed. The cleaner the scales on the legs...the more effective the oil will be because it can reach everywhere the mites may be.

Below are some links discussing scaly leg mites. Other treatments that have been tried are listed. Perceived severity of this mite ranges from effectively treating this mite to more extreme measures...such as possibly culling (as mentioned in the Merck vet manual.)

https://en.wikivet.net/Knemidocoptes
[URL="https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/scaly-leg-mites-need-best-easiest-quickest-solution-scaley.33903/"]Scaly Leg Mites - Need Best / Easiest / Quickest Solution - Scaley[/URL]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaly_leg
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/SearchResults?query=scaly+leg+mite
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/03/scaly-leg-mites-in-chickens.html


I've tried the following: I've dipped my chickens’ legs in a tub of vegetable oil. I found it made too much of an oil mess that gravitated onto the belly of the birds and into the nest boxes. I didn't like this method.

I tried Vaseline. I found it too stiff to work with in the winter and messy in the summer. Please keep in mind that I have over a hundred birds to treat...lol. I was concerned with the birds ingesting it because they did work at their legs afterwards with their beaks.

I've tried Red Cote and liked it. The thin oily spray penetrated under the scales on the legs really well. I think it helped with the mites and made a difference for only treating once with it. Red cote is also an antiseptic. It didn't seem to bother the birds. The cost was prohibitive for the amount of birds I have at $15/bottle.

I tried cooking spray and it's my favorite method of treatment. It's a thin oil and it penetrates the scales very readily. It's the easiest and quickest method of treating I've found so far, which I really appreciate. The spray gets good coverage and goes a long way. The spray works well in both winter and summer. It's food safe so I feel it's safer in that regard. At $3-$4 dollars a can, it's an inexpensive choice.

I'm trying olive oil on the worst offenders...mostly the older roosters. I have old olive oil that is no longer fresh, so I'm using it for leg mites instead of throwing it out. I thought I could spray the legs with a spray bottle but the oil is too thick. I've used it with a paint brush to coat the legs while they're roosting at night. It's a better way than picking each individual chicken up and the dripping oil coats the roosts which should have an effect on parasites living on the roosts.

 

[FiveCuteChickens]

The more often you can treat your birds (daily, bi-weekly or weekly as opposed to monthly) the quicker you will smother/kill the mites that are living. Oil or oil products work well because the mites breath through their cuticles, the oil essentially drowns them. The key is being consistent.

The entire life cycle takes place on the bird and takes between 14 and 21 days to complete. (Depending on the species of mite I'm assuming.) The mite is spread by close contact with another infected birds; mites can survive for a limited time off the host. This means you want to treat all of your birds every time you treat if all of your birds are showing signs of scaly leg...or segregate the affected birds so they don't infect the birds not showing signs. Apparently the mites can be spread by affected scales and matter that is cleaned off, so if you choose to gently scrub the legs...make sure the procedure is done away from the coop and other birds.

To get all the mites that hatch from the eggs, you need to treat for an extended time period; at least past 21 days...preferably 2-3 treatments past the 21 days to guarantee all hatched mites were effectively killed. The cleaner the scales on the legs...the more effective the oil will be because it can reach everywhere the mites may be.

Below are some links discussing scaly leg mites. Other treatments that have been tried are listed. Perceived severity of this mite ranges from effectively treating this mite to more extreme measures...such as possibly culling (as mentioned in the Merck vet manual.)

https://en.wikivet.net/Knemidocoptes
Scaly Leg Mites - Need Best / Easiest / Quickest Solution - Scaley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaly_leg
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/SearchResults?query=scaly+leg+mite
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/03/scaly-leg-mites-in-chickens.html


I've tried the following: I've dipped my chickens’ legs in a tub of vegetable oil. I found it made too much of an oil mess that gravitated onto the belly of the birds and into the nest boxes. I didn't like this method.

I tried Vaseline. I found it too stiff to work with in the winter and messy in the summer. Please keep in mind that I have over a hundred birds to treat...lol. I was concerned with the birds ingesting it because they did work at their legs afterwards with their beaks.

I've tried Red Cote and liked it. The thin oily spray penetrated under the scales on the legs really well. I think it helped with the mites and made a difference for only treating once with it. Red cote is also an antiseptic. It didn't seem to bother the birds. The cost was prohibitive for the amount of birds I have at $15/bottle.

I tried cooking spray and it's my favorite method of treatment. It's a thin oil and it penetrates the scales very readily. It's the easiest and quickest method of treating I've found so far, which I really appreciate. The spray gets good coverage and goes a long way. The spray works well in both winter and summer. It's food safe so I feel it's safer in that regard. At $3-$4 dollars a can, it's an inexpensive choice.

I'm trying olive oil on the worst offenders...mostly the older roosters. I have old olive oil that is no longer fresh, so I'm using it for leg mites instead of throwing it out. I thought I could spray the legs with a spray bottle but the oil is too thick. I've used it with a paint brush to coat the legs while they're roosting at night. It's a better way than picking each individual chicken up and the dripping oil coats the roosts which should have an effect on parasites living on the roosts.

Thank you! That was very helpful I will apply oil to their legs daily x

 

[tcox1963]

I have finally found something that works great for scaly mites. I use two bottles of Campho-phenique and pour into glass spray bottle. Then I refill the jars with with witch hazel (twice) to be sure all the campo-phenique is completely out. Then I add 1 1/2 cups of coconut oil. Shake well and spray on chicken legs. It's not real oil so the girls don't slip on the roost. I use it twice a week. It works excellent. I can see the result in the first two weeks. The old scales just fall off. I have tried a lot of things but I won't go back.

 

[Christinecam]

Good morning! One of the important aspects of treating scaly leg mites is to treat them consistently.
About a week ago, I noticed that 2 of my new hens had extremely dry feet, with some scales raised up. Well fast forward to now, I know it's leg mites. Very irritating that I didn't notice this before I brought them home. I've never had any problems. Now I'm reading that my method of bug control may not be the best for my chickens. I mix poultry dust with diatamtious earth and place it on the bottom of coop and in the pen. And I spray all other areas with a poultry safe bug spray. But diatamtious earth may cause respiratory problems?
Back to the legs. I rubbed a salve on the girls legs that is used to treat animals feets. Dogs pads, chickens scales etc. Should I rub their legs down with rubbing alcohol each night then place the salve on? Also that salve works great but even the next day... those white feathers turn brown. So when this is over I'll have to bathe everyone. I'm also worried that they may have more bugs. I'll have to do a through check