I know this has been asked a MILLION times but...Scaly Leg Mites?

[Bec]

I was in wing clipping last night and I noticed that one of my hens looks like she has scaly legs mites. There were only 2 at the most others that look like they may have it too. Last year I had gotten a little banty roo who had them , used Vaseline, but before I could see if it was really working for him, he was taken by a hawk!

My question is....what is the BEST, sure fire way to get rid of them? I just got done reading through pages and pages in the search engine and there are tons of different ways it seams. But I want to know the Best way to get rid of the buggers!

 

[horsejody]

Coat the legs with vasoline. When we had it here I coated the legs with vasoline every other day until they were cured. It only took about 8 days. They haven't been back. Mineral oil works well too. Basically you are suffocating the mites by coating the legs. Any nontoxic oily or waxy stuff you can coat on the legs works. Vasoline works well because it smothers the mites and softens the crusty scales so they fall off quickly.

 

[TaLani]

Someone on the forum recommended Bag Balm too.

 

[Bec]

Excellent, then Vaseline it is!!

 

[Poohbear]

You can use Vasaline, Vicks salve, WD-40, Scarlet Oil, Corona Smear to kill the mites. Mites bore under the scales and raise the scale up while eating on the chicken. If you have leg mites then they are in your coops. Your birds will continue to have mites until you disinfect the coops. Buy a garden srayer, remove the chicken from the coop and SOAK all nooks, crannys and roost in the pen. You can use Premethrin or diesel in your sparyer to do this. Diesel is good but has a lingering smell. Don't put the birds back in the coop for a day or two. Premethrin by the directions with a little dish soap mixed to cling to the coop good will do as good as diesel for those who choose it. One other thing, if you have a small coop is Adams Flea and Tick spray. Good luck!

 

[Bec]

How about De? Can I sprinkle that around on the roosts and floor?

 

[NYREDS]

You cancure Scaley Leg mites with any kind of oil. Vaseline, Bag Balm, WD 40, Kerosene, old motor oil, Olive Oil, Etc.
I personally don't believe in the magic of DE in general- I'm certain that it won't help the birds the are afflicted with Leg Mites. The legs need to be treated directly. The Oil based product of your choice will not only kill the mites it will help soften & recondition the leg scales.

 

[Diva]

Hi all!

How do I tell if my girls have scaly mites? L.

 

[77horses]

Phew! I've been looking for a cure for scaly leg mites!

Our two old hens have it, and it's not from us. They had it before we got them from someone else(and before we knew about scaly leg mites)

So yea, we are gonna try the Vaseline, too. But that will be pretty hard, especially because the hens are usually crazy when we pick them up. They weren't really handled that much so it's hard to handle them.

This should be fun lol....

Diva: They way you can tell is by looking at your chicken's legs. The scales(mainly around the lower leg, close to the foot) will be raised up and they won't be flat and normal like they should be. Here's a link to a picture of a hen's legs with scaly leg mites(from Google):

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/2_scaly-leg-mites-chicken.jpg

 

[Tuffoldhen]

Quote:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=33903

This post of Niftys has a picture of what scaly leg mites looks like on a chicken. Hope it helps...

To find pics of Scaly leg mites just type in the Search button in the blue strip at the top of every Thread.