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

[Beekissed]

I had tried Vaseline, Bag Balm, Canola Oil....you name it, I tried it. Finally got some NuStock and it only took one application for most of my birds and two for the roo. It is a mix of pine tar, mineral oil and sulfur. They haven't come back, either.

 

[DaniLovesChickens]

According to "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" new edition by Gail Damerow You should clean the roosts like this: brush roosts monthly with a mix of 1 part kerosene to 2 parts linseed oil and at the same time coat their legs with vaseline.

I just went through my coop and did that. I also removed all of the bedding and the wood shavings on the floor and put Sevin down and then fresh wood shavings. That's what we usually do when we go through and clean and replace everything anyway is to put sevin down before the wood shavings. You can also "paint" linseed oil or another natural oil into cracks in walls and floors to get rid of parasited that spend any of their time off of the bird's body.

It will take several treatments of the birds though no matter which route you take.

Good luck!

 

[Beekissed]

I didn't treat my coop or roosts....just used the NuStock and they haven't come back. I don't know that I would want my birds being exposed to Sevin dust all the time or even standing on kerosene every night.

 

[GrandmaAnn]

Wow, this is an interesting thread. There is very helpful info here. I don't have mites now, but have worked at prevention since the beginning when I got my new chicks and set up the coop that had been empty for several years. Prevention isn't a guarantee, but it helps.

Back when the kids raised many varieties of chickens, we got an infestation when they got an older silkie. Silkies are a breed that are very susceptible to leg mites. One of the reasons I now have Hamburgs for my main egg laying flock is their blue legs. Hamburgs scales are much tighter, and they do not get leg mites. At least, I have never seen one with leg mites, even when the rest of the flock had them severely. When we used to have lots of different breeds, we would have to go through all of them and coat their legs with Vaseline. That wasn't fun, especially in the winter. To make it easier to catch them, we'd go down with a flashlight and pick them off the roosts at night. Any feathers on the legs makes the bird much more susceptible and harder to treat. Yes, you can cut the feathers off. They will grow back at the next molt. Sometimes birds can get such a bad infestation that they can lose toes from it. So, better to loose the feathers than the toes. Just clip them leaving a stub so you don't make them bleed, don't try to get really close to the leg. Also, legs can be permanently scarred from the mites.

So, the short of it - we'd use the Vaseline, then when we cleaned out the coop in the spring and in the fall, we would paint the roosts with something that killed the mites.

 

[DaniLovesChickens]

The kerosene soaks into the wood and kills all critters that are on/in there and the linseed oil seals the wood. A lot of people use Seven dust in their coops. It's safe and effectiive. We put it on the ground and then put the wood shavings over it.

This has been a horrible year for bugs. So even if there aren't mites and lice, there are plenty of other things to keep out of the coop to keep them from "bugging" my girls!

 

[Adora]

My silkies have leg mites. Last night I rubbed them down with vaseline, today I soaked their feet in warm water with murphy's oil soap, gonne rub some vaseline and seven dust on them tonight.

 

[Tropical Chickies]

I can't remember if I posted this on here or not, but you can use Ivermectin paste 4cc/ml to 1 gallon of water. Give this prescription as their only water source for three days. Repeat in 14 days. It works and there is no messy pastes to use.

Good luck!!

 

[Mom 2em All]

I realize that this thread is years old- however, it just helped me diagnose my poor chicken. Her feet are so bad.

It is the middle of winter. I cant clean and scrub out her coop. I have one other chicken. A frizzle. She wont let me get close enough to see her feet, but I am sure I couldnt see anything anyhow with all those feathers.

I need to treat their feet, wonderful advice in this thread..but I wonder how effective it will be until Spring when I can empty/scrub the coop?

 

[Miss Lydia]

You need to get on this right away, treat them both with what ever, olive oil, wd 40 but it needs to be done they can even lose their toes. As far as treating the coop you can get sevin dust and at least put it in the bedding and on the roosts till the weather is better for a through cleaning.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You need to get on this right away, treat them both with what ever, olive oil, wd 40 but it needs to be done they can even lose their toes. As far as treating the coop you can get sevin dust and at least put it in the bedding and on the roosts till the weather is better for a through cleaning.


The Person

From: WV
Registered: 02/15/2008
Posts: 4405
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Re: Scaly Leg Mites - Need Best / Easiest / Quickest Solution - Scaley
I didn't treat my coop or roosts....just used the NuStock and they haven't come back. I don't know that I would want my birds being exposed to Sevin dust all the time or even standing on kerosene every night.
We would do well to think of the long tomorrow.
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