Egg production lowered by Scaly Leg Mites?

[amberflea]

KEROSENE IS TOXIC! There are alot of other BETTER ways to get rid of scaley leg mites that have been updated since the old old ways of using kerosene...
Also, I would give them more than a week or two once your problem is cleared up before sacrificing a chicken, it might take them a month to heal and de-stress before they lay as they normally should...
Have you wormed them at all?

 

[Whimsical Farming Wife]

Well I am about 2 weeks into my scaly leg mite attack, and seeing definate egg production improvements already! In about a week, we went from 3 eggs/day to 9! I dropped the leg dipping down to every 2 or 3 days rather than every night (every night is incredibly labour intensive). Their legs (particularly the Silkies) look so much better!

 

[klmclain1]

You probably don't need to treat them anymore. It will take a LONG time for their legs to get totally back to normal. One place I saw said up to a year. In the meantime, the mites should be dead...the scales don't go back down..they have to wait until they're shed eventually! Glad to hear you're finally getting some eggs!

 

[Llhaley]

Thank you for your encouragement! I always dust the coop and boxes with DE, but only for a preventative measure against other mites. From what the vet told me- the leg mites live their entire cycle on the bird (under the scales). I have not seen any signs of respiratory illness. Thanx for the suggestion. I think that I might have to take in a sacrificial bird to our animal health centre for necropsy, to find out what's really going on in them. It only costs $10, and provides a wealth of information about the health status of the bird (which will hopefully be relevant to the entire flock).

Yes scaley leg mites will cause egg production to decrease.
After you clean the coop and dust it, rub the affected birds legs with an oil, lard, or shortening. This serves to suffocate the mites.