About to do a big treatment for mites....

[zowieyellowflame]

Hello,
I have 21 adult birds and 6 day old chicks. The adults are infected with scaly leg mites. Egg production is low. One of the chickens has lost a lot of feathers on her wings. The quill remains in some cases but the little feathery part is missing. She looks terrible and now she is loosing feathers to the left and right of her tail. Pecking is not an issue, I spend a lot of time with them and she is high in the pecking order anyway. 2 or 3 other birds look like they are molting and 1 has lost feathers around her vent.
I have a few questions......
Does SCALY LEG mite cause feather loss and affect the entire body of the bird?
Could I have another type of infestation too?
What can I paint the roosts with that I would have around the house? I was thinking vinegar or canola oil. Or maybe just paint to seal them in?
I will remove all of the bedding (straw) and I will dust with Sevin.
I will put DE in the nesting boxes and continue to put it in their dust bath areas.
Can I put food grade DE in the nest where the day old chicks are?
I will dust every adult bird from top to bottom with Sevin including the rooster. (gulp!)
The following night I will vaseline all of their legs.
Is it still safe to eat eggs while treating with sevin?
I will repeat this whole process in 2 weeks.
Anything I am missing?
Thank you!

 

[Chickenaddict]

Hi there. You could also get ivermectin pour on to treat the mites and it also worms everyone. It will cure the scaley leg mtes as well but you would still need to slather some vasoline on their feet and legs until the scales go somewhat back to normal. I believe there is a 10 day waiting period before it is safe to eat the eggs with sevin dust. However I don't believe there is a waiting period when using the ivermectin altho I could be wrong. You can paint the roosts with motor oil or any kind of oily substance ie: canola oil, olive oil, veggie oil ect that will smother the lil buggers

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Chickenaddict has it turned around. Ivermectin has a withdrawal period, some say 2 weeks, others say one month. I have used it a lot and I go with the month idea for safety sake, although I doubt if it`s needed. Now, scaley leg mites only affect the legs. Anykind of oil will drown the rascals and the easiest oil to apply seems to be WD-40. Spray the legs while the bird is on the roost at night by just lifting the bird to the standing position with your hand and spraying away. Hit the roost area around the bird while you`re at it, then you can spray the rest of the roost. Use only enough light to see what you`re doing.

With a heavy infestation of mites or lice, as you describe, I would use Adams Flea and Tick Dip. Mix as directed for dogs in a 5 gal bucket and dip each adult bird up to it`s neck. Mix more and spray the entire coop. The chicks and nests can be safely treated with Sevin Dust. Although many people swear by it, I have zero confidence in DE, even as a preventative. Sevin is time proven, by me, so go with that. But like I said, with your infestation, use the Adams on the adults. You can eat the eggs with Sevin or Adams. Repeat the Sevin in 10 days. No need to repeat the Adams dip for a long time as you can smell it on them for about a month. Good stuff. To determine if your birds really do have lice/mites, pick one or two off the roost at night and check around the vent and under the tail with a good flashlight. They are tiny, so look close. If one has them, they all do. Good luck..............Pop

 

[speckledhen]

DE kills what soft bodied insect it comes in contact with, however, if mites are around the face, you can't dust their faces. It is not a preventative, per se, only kills what it touches and not instantly. I do use it in my nests and have never had a mite infestation. It does kill lice--I know that for a fact since the only adult bird I ever brought in was covered with them and DE is all I used to kill them.

Scaly leg mites need to be smothered. Some folks put a couple drops of invermection in vaseline and slather it on their legs.

I've heard many recommend Adams for chickens as Pop said. There is a bird lice/mite killer in a spray bottle I've seen at pet stores and you may be able to find that, but it won't do that many birds most likely.