alcohol for leg mites and feathered feet??? HELP!

[chickenboy95]

i have a little chick that is super small and hasnt grown much since janruary 12, 2009 ( when it hatched) and since it is super small i decided i was going to bring her inside and let her grow because she also gets picked on very badly. her hatch mate died and she was alone for a while because her mom abandoned her ( first time going broody and hatching chicks). but now she has a new mom. and white silkie hen. any way i decided to also bring in the white silkie so the chick wasnt alone and she has leg mites very badly.


i read that alcohol kills leg mites and since she has feathered feet i was wondering if her feathers would be affected by the alcohol. never used alcohol so i dont know.

also why is the chick so small. it has been about the same size since it hatched just with feathers now everywhere but its head.

anyway why is it small? is it because it got abandoned for a while or what???

any help will be helpful thanks.

cole.

 

[MoodyChicken]

Never used alcohol for leg mites, but I know it kills vent mites instantly. Olive oil works for leg mites. Rub it on the legs fairly thick and it will smother the mites. As far as her size, is she a bantam? Maybe a runt. How is her keel bone (well fleshed or protruding?)? Some breeds grow slower than others too.

 

[chickenboy95]

oh. so what exactually kills leg mites. shes a bantam but a bigger breed of bantam. well supposed to be. and what is a keel bone. sorry i dont know nothing. but ive never treated for leg mites. :]

 

[meezermom]

A keel bone is the breast bone, and it should be "well-fleshed". So the bone shouldn't stick out.

I haven't had to deal with mites, so I'm not much help there. But if the alcohol can be used for vent mites safely, it should be fine on feet & legs as the skin around the vent is much more delicate.

and good luck!

 

[MoodyChicken]

Yup, keel is the breast bone. When evaluating fleshing, if the bone feels like a V she's too skinny, but if it feels like a wide-mouthed U she has good fleshing. If her keel is well fleshed, but she is tiny, she's likely fine.

Well, the problem with leg mites is that they burrow under the skin, and they're microscopic. So I'm not sure if the alcohol would penetrate the bugs. Ivermetrin given orally will poison the bird's blood, so when the mite bites it ingests poison. But olive oil is less invasive.

 

[chickenboy95]

ok. thanks yes her keel bone is very well fleshed. they are doing very good inside the house together. i guess shes just gonna be a very small little chicken.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

You can also use vaseline, or VetRx. I personally like VetRx.

 

[Chickenaddict]

I use vet rx too, I was using vasoline but the way they run around outdoors it gets rubbed off right away