We went to visit a friend today to see their poultry set up and pick up some silkies that their daughter is ready to part with. She has shown in 4-H for several years and these guys are "past their prime" for showing. They let all their birds range together and have multiple coops. She very proudly showed us her oldest bird, a dominique rooster. Everyone was marveling over the length of his spurs while I was marveling over the size of his legs. On closer inspection I noticed his legs were covered in upturned scales - bad case of leg mites. I got distracted, forgetting the fleeting thoughts of whether the entire flock was infected or not, until we were loading the silkies and noticed that they also had pretty nice cases of leg mites (although not nearly as bad as the poor old roo). The owners are keeping them to do treatment. My question to all of you - I've heard that treating leg mites can be a nightmare. They have all their adult birds range together. About 30 adult chickens, about 10 ducks, about 15 wild turkeys, rabbits and 2 small goats, plus a coop with juvi birds in it. Treating all those animals is going to be a nightmare. How long does it normally take? The turkeys spend time in the coop during the day and roost in the trees at night. I'm thinking they need treatment as well, but that's going to be a nightmare. Did I mention they're wild turkeys? Do they need to treat the mammals as well? I'm guessing they could carry the mites around, even if they won't cause them any problems. We're wondering if we'll even be able to get these birds because of the difficulties in treating the mites on such a mixed barnyard and because of how difficult these guys can be to treat. I've never dealt with leg mites and would like to hold off on that pleasure as long as possible! Any thoughts? Thanks! Kendra
I've never had a case of Scaley Leg Mites, but have seen lots of posts about it..and it can be a long process for recovery.. wild turkeys, you say? yikes! sounds like treating with Ivermec along with traditional oiling might be the way to go... I'd sure consider replacing bedding and treating coops.. I'm not sure if Scaley Leg Mites are species specific..(from birds to mammals) good luck with to your friends.
My friends flock had scaly leg mite and she treated them by sraying WD-40 on their legs and cleaning out their coop and treated the coop with sevin. Two weeks later they were looking good except the old roo who had had them really bad. She retreated and recleaned the coop and retreated it. They are fine now. Good luck!!!! BTW-Her's were so bad I saw they had it when I was still 5-7 feet away (the farthest we were from the run on the side you can see them). She had had no idea what it was with their legs until I told her.
Oh where would I be able to find Ivermec? One of my mixes has them in his leg so bad his foot has 2 big gashes on it. Its swollen so much its busted.He free ranges so I wasn't able to get a good look at his feet until now.
camphophenique is good as well- and vicks and plain old petroleum jelly.But for FAST treatment- ivermectin. but retreatment is usually a must. feathered legs are harder to get them all I think.