Scaly Leg Mites - Need Best / Easiest / Quickest Solution - Scaley

[Nifty-Chicken]

Hey everyone!

We've got scaly leg mites. A couple of our 7 hens look affected, but one of our RIR looks the worst... by far.

I've tasked Emily with researching how to treat them, but I wanted to post here to leverage the great wisdom of the group. Here are my questions:

1) Is this really scaly leg mites?
2) What is the BEST solution?

I know there are LOTS of suggestions (Vaseline, DE, orange oil, WD-40, etc. etc. etc.). I don't know how many of these are old wives tales or super excellent solutions that seriously work.

So, if you have experience with whatever you see in the pic below, and you effectively treated it, please reply with what worked best / easiest / quickest for you and your girls.

Thanks so much in advance for your help and ideas!

 

[FlightsofFancy]

There are alot of different methods, I like your thinking....Quick, Easy, and well, Safe!
I rescued a chicken with a really bad case and this is what I did. It only took one round and it was GONE!
First I bathed and soaked the chicken (you could just do the legs and they LOVE it!) in an herbal flea shampoo. I used a tooth brush and lightly brushed her feet and shanks. This does 2 things: softens the skin and loosens the mites and mite dirt, then it treats the area to help it heal.
Next I put Campho-Phenique on her legs, completely covering her shanks. I also treated all my other chickens with the Campho, just in case.
Now that really took care of it, but I re-treated with the Campho in 10 days and then 14 days after. Just to be sure.
With this method there is NO egg contamination.
GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Okay, we did it. We grabbed the RIR which was the worst and gave her legs a bath in warm water and baby shampoo. We put tripple antibiotic on her legs and then Vaseline.

We then put her back on the roost and grabbed the other 7 girls and lathered their legs up too (no wash).

What a process... sheesh! They didn't seem to be big fans of all the goop on their legs and it sure didn't help their roosting abilities (slip and slide). Good think I rotated my 2x4's today so the wide part was facing up! They also started rubbing their beaks in their legs which couldn't have been good.

Ugh. I hope this helps!

BTW, while in process on our Black Australorp / RIR mixed hen we noticed some bumps, growths, lumps, bulbs, etc. on her legs.

Any idea what these are... or are they just normal for a hen of 5 years old?

BTW, how wicked is that picture? Makes me think of the old hag's hand in Snow White (the one that gives her the apple).

 

[azygous]

I needed to reply to this thread after reading several posts where folks recommended treating leg mites with petroleum distillates. Kerosene, motor oil, transmission fluid, WD-40 are all petroleum distillates, and they are extremely toxic to chickens when ingested.

Although all are extremely effective at treating leg mites, it isn't worth the risk when you understand what just a tiny bit can do to a chicken if they ingest it. A tiny grain of sand coated with WD-40 will kill a baby chick in just an hour or two, after rendering it paralyzed.

Should an adult chicken peck at their legs after being treated with any of these petroleum distillates, it can suffer neurotoxin poisoning, and it can go lame for the rest of its life.

Pecking at legs after treatment is a possibility given that these distillates sting and burn the already painful infested scales. It's a reaction chickens have to pain - they peck the offending body part to make it stop hurting, much as we grab our thumb after hitting it with a hammer.

The other oils mentioned, mineral oil, cooking oil, baby oil, castor oil, Vaseline are all non-toxic if a chicken should get some in their beak. Use those. Stay far away from the petroleum distillates.

If you ever saw what just a little WD-40 could do to a chicken, you would never use it anywhere around your chickens. That goes for kerosene and all the others.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

also, halfway through the dip, scrubbing the legs with an old toothbrush will help remove a bunch of dead mites/waste and allow the solution to get in deeper.

 

[Picco]

Yep, they look like mites. They are about the hardest things to get rid of so you'll have to hit them hard with immediate action and try to get rid of them. The mites live on the birds and in the coop. I like to soak my bird's legs in warm soapy water for a minute or so and then give the legs a good scrubbing with a finger or vegetable brush brush. After that rub on some sort of oily gel. I've used both Vaseline and Neosporin. Its easier to apply if you warm it for a few seconds in the microwave, or float a cup of it in a bowl of hot water. Use a paint brish and try to get every nook and cranny of the leg, re-coat the legs every few days. Red-Kote spray is an easy option for this if there are a lot of birds, but I think "hand painting" is most affective. After the birds are cleaned and oiled, put them in a pen or cage while you clean the coop.

Thoroughly clean the entire coop and take out all the old bedding, nesting material and feeders/waterers. Sprinkle all surfaces with an insecticide powder and let the coop air out for a few minutes (its best to leave all windows and doors open. make sure to get the roosts and nest boxes good and replace them if possible since they are the breeding ground for the mites. Put clean fresh bedding in the coop and try to repeat the cleaning cycle over a few times over the course of a couple months.

I did this several times and had good success but I never entirely got rid of the mights. I ended up using Ivomec, an injectable insecticide for cattle and swine. I called a vet to get the proper dosing, using an needle-less syringe I administered only a small drop to each hen orally, with bantams getting about have that dose.Ivomec is not approved for poultry so you'll have to withhold form eating eggs for a while. Ivomec is a bit extreme and its powerful stuff and can be dangerous if not used properly but in my eye its the only realistic solution to getting rid of leg mites.

 

[Picco]

You have to be careful of some oils. Since the bird's legs are irritated they may try to scratch them and get the oil off. Make sure the oil is non toxic. Some people use kerosene with success, but I would never put something that is toxic on them if there was any chance of them ingesting it. I don't know if cooking spray would have enough oil in it to do much good. Vaseline is safe and cheap. I've used Red-Kote wound spray (from the makers of Blue-Kote) and found that it is easy to use. It is made with scarlet oil which is used to heal wounds, keeping them moist. it is pinkish so you might have to watch for pecking, but since all of the chickens should be treated there wouldn't be an "odd bird out".

I use a powdered "poultry dust" insecticide that I buy from the feed store and sprinkle all surfaces. I have also used Sevin, a pesticide spray used for plants. You may want to check out the pesticide section of your local greenhouse. there is usually a line of safer/organic products that might work well for inside the coop. I have never used it, but insecticidal soap would probably work really well and would be very safe.

I like to keep my flock as natural as possible and not to use chemicals but I have found that chemicals are the only way to go with scaly leg mites if you have a large flock. I have too many birds and too little time to Vaseline applications frequently.

 

[jodip]

SCALY LEG REMEDY
Every winter I have a problem with scaly leg and have tried everything short of nasty chemicals. I believe I now have the answer!!
The answer is easy and inexpensive...it's simply povidone iodine (aka Betadine). I filled a spray bottle and sprayed as many chicken legs as I could one evening. I couldn't believe the results overnight! A few birds with tough cases have needed repeat sprays but it must be soothing because many now sit still while I saturate their legs.
The least expensive place to buy is a farm supply store in the dairy cow section. Make sure you buy povidone iodine and not the tincture which will burn and irritate.
Hope you have as good of results as I did!
PS: My egg production is going up rapidly also!!!!

 

[dthomascg]

Fish oil is not the main ingredient in WD-40, in fact, it has ZERO fish oil in it. WD-40 is a blend of lubricants (dino and synthetic), anti corrosion agents, penetrators and cleaning solvents. I REALLY dont think this stuff should be used on chickens. A lot of myths have been floating around the internet lately about all the uses for wd-40, but it is some pretty nasty stuff when it comes down to it. If you have ever gotten it in your eyes, or had it drip on more sensitive skin like your arm pit (looong story), it will make you think twice about using it on your chickens. Great for the tool box, but leave it out of your poultry first aid kit. Here is a link to WD-40s own site dispelling myths about their product.

http://wd40.com/about-us/myths-legends-fun-facts/

Dan

 

[as110]

Is this leg mites? I have treared with epsom salt soak and vaselibe 3 times in the last two weeks. I separated her in the last 4 days during the day and put her back on the roost for the night, but she went to the top and I think it hurts to come down do tonight she sleeps in a large box in the basement. She came from a farm where they had too many birds. Here is the picture from today after I scrubbed it with an electric tooth brush.