Leg Mites and Blunt Beaks

[Fn87]

I have a flock (gold comets, leg horns, black stars, barred rocks, welsummers, EEs) that's a mix of two year old hens and one year old hens. The gold comets are all the two year old hens I believe and the rest are one year olds. I've noticed that while several of the hens show signs of leg mite issues, most of them (and at least the ones with the worst cases) are gold comets.
We bought the EEs etc. from a hatchery as chicks but we got the gold comets from another farm at a discount price as pullets. They came with several genetic health complications and on top of that, blunted beaks. I've seen the way the damage to their beaks has wreaked havoc on their ability to keep food and water in their mouths, clean their feathers, and forage and it's messed up. But none of the other breeds came with blunted beaks.
Now, there are some cases of leg mites in the other breeds. Our barred rock has some pretty gnarly legs but her beak is sharp. I haven't had time to look for correlation between less damaged beaks in the gold comets and subsequent healthier legs, but, in short, is blunted beaks likely the cause of the overwhelming tendency towards leg mites in the unlucky two year olds? Or is it more probable this trend is more a result of the difference in age, or perhaps the genetics of the chickens themselves? (I know leg mites are bugs and therefore not genetic, but maybe are certain breeds just better at cleaning their legs? Idk)

 

[Fn87]

Second question: Is it likely the hens got leg mites from wild birds? Sparrows often land in the pens to peck at the ground and drink the water on occasion. Do they bring leg and feather mites? If I purge the hens of their leg mites, will sparrows just bring mites back?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Leg mites are only really visible under strong magnification.
It takes quite a while for the damage being done to be visible on the legs too.

They may have already been infested when you got them or the wild birds brought them in.

It is best to eliminate wild birds access to the run. They not only bring mites and lice but cut into your feed budget and bring diseases.

 

[Fn87]

For a flock of around 90 birds, how severe of a case would this be considered^

 

[Reggan]

That's really bad... I can tell you I've battled far less cases on my brahmas and it was a battle. That BR's (looks like a BR) feet are close to causing lameness.

 

[berryncherry]

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For a flock of around 90 birds, how severe of a case would this be considered^

That looks pretty severe. I would start treating it quickly before it causes any more problems. Good luck!