HELP!! SCALY LEG MITE?!?!

[The Backyard Bantams]

I have a chooken who I just noticed has some raised scales at the top of her footsies. Is this a mild cas of SLM?? How do I treat it at home?? Will it spread, and is it dangerous??

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Just noticed- my other 3 flock members seem to hav the same thing, but even milder. I have to treat all of them, right??

 

[ChemicalchiCkns]

SLM does get worse if left alone. The common advise, is to soak their legs in warm water, flake off the dead scales and such, dry their legs completely, then regularly use petroleum jelly (white petrolatum) or olive oil to coat their scales to suffocate the offenders. Their roosts could be disinfected in case any are in transit.

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

SLM does get worse if left alone. The common advise, is to soak their legs in warm water, flake off the dead scales and such, dry their legs completely, then regularly use petroleum jelly (white petrolatum) or olive oil to coat their scales to suffocate the offenders. Their roosts could be disinfected in case any are in transit.

So you think it is a mild case? Or I can caught early? My girls aren’t super cuddly, but I still try to pick each of them up a couple times a day. Treating them will be hard! All of them except Ebony didn’t take “chicken spa day” (aka wing clipping, footsie washing, nail filling, butt fluff trimming) so well

Is it dangerous? I have 7 chicks which probably have it too, they haven’t been properly quarantined, as I don’t wash or change my clothes between handling them.

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

The coop and run will be almost impossible to clean, it’s a tiny, wooden, commercial coop, full of deep bedding which will be cleaned out soon. The run is just dirt/mulch. I don’t have any DE or the likes. I might buy wine, although as a kid I am basically broke, all of my pocket money automatically goes to my precious flock!

How hard is it to get rid of the mites?

 

[coach723]

If it's mites it's very early and mild. Sometimes scales are dry and a bit raised and there may not be mites, but if there is any detrius or debris building under those raised parts then mites are likely. Just wrap them in a towel like a burrito and lay them on their back on your lap or on a table top. Use a soft toothbrush to work some vegetable oil into the areas where there are raised scales. I like castor oil, but any kind of vegetable oil will work. Then cover that with a layer of vaseline or nu-stock ointment. Repeat that several times a week until the legs start to look better. Don't worry about dirt that may stick to the oil/vaseline. While scaly leg mites can spread they are not nearly as awful as the other mites that can infest a coop, and they don't spread as badly or as quickly. They do need to be dealt with as leaving them untreated can cause problems over time, but no need to panic. The oil and vaseline will smother the mites and kill them, they are microscopic and burrow into the skin under those scales. The oil will do no harm if in fact there are no mites there, and may make the dry scales feel and look better anyway.

 

[black_cat]

I"m sorry that I can't help with the thread, but @Ebonythechicken , Ebony is your pfp, yes? What breed is she? She's beautiful!

 

[Barleycorn]

You might try rubbing VetRx on her legs.

 

[ChemicalchiCkns]

Those are not at all severe looking. If you search for immages, you can compare them to a really bad case. Vegetable oil can be ultracheap, you aren't eating it, you are using its physical propertys to kill some very small vermin.

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

I"m sorry that I can't help with the thread, but @Ebonythechicken , Ebony is your pfp, yes? What breed is she? She's beautiful!

Awwwww thanks so much! Yes, eb is my profile pic! She is a silkie cross, walnut comb, dark skin, blue ears, small waddles, a crest, but only 4 cleanish toes.

I was thinking maybe sebright or Hamburg? She’s very small, about 1kg, but is an AMAZING layer, 6 eggs a week since she started. Her eggs look just like a silkie's.