leg mites

[Hiedi]

I suspect that two of my Barred Rocks have leg mites, but they are only twelve weeks old. I was under the impression that this was something that affected mostly older birds. Their legs have had some scabs on them. A few times I have also noticed some swelling with exudate underneath the scales. On one, the scales look a little raised and disfigured. Otherwise, they have been acting normal. For the past two weeks I have been applying petroleum jelly to the areas, but I believe that I have NOT been aggressive enough with the treatment. Partly, I was not quite sure if I was actually dealing with a leg mite issue or not. I noticed last night that it seems to be getting worse. My plans are to wash their feet with some mild soap and warm water daily and use a toothbrush to clean the scales. After that, apply some Neosporin to any sores or lesions, and then apply a good coat of petroleum jelly. I plan to do this every day for two weeks. I did notice some sores on their feet awhile back, but I dismissed it as something else. Perhaps that was the beginning of the mites. I also plan to treat my other four pullets with a daily application of petroleum jelly on their legs as well. From what I have read, there seems to be a lot of different ways people treat this problem. My question is: does this sound like a reasonable treatment?

 

[karrie]

When mine get leg mites I use petroleum jelly too. It's always worked pretty quickly. I have some powder that can be used on animals to kill mites & fleas, & I put it in the nesting boxes. I got it at the feed store. Others on BYC use DE but I haven't found it in this area.

 

[beakkeeper]

Sounds good, but maybe try a little less goopy stuff and more semi-mild washes. You want to eradicate the problem. Look in "products" on other chicken sites to see if they have powder you can put on the roosts in the coop

 

[priszilla]

Every two weeks is not often enough I don't think- at least once a week would be better if not every day for a week- then once a week for a month. Hard to get rid of them

 

[sammi]

are you sure it is mites?
could it be a fungal or bacterial infection?
if you can manage it..a vet can do a scraping and test it..

if it's mites..you also need to treat for mites..
using Ivermectin..

info:

http://shilala.homestead.com/ivomec.html

Bag Balm can work to smother the mites also...but mite treatment is still needed.

 

[hinkjc]

In addition to treating the legs/scales on the birds, you need to take care of the coop. I would recommend a good clean out and dosing to kill off the bugs in there. The roosts are especially important.

Jody

 

[chickenzoo]

I would use the Ivomec, it works well and you don't have to keep applying it. I would spray the coop w/adams flea and tick mist, great on bugs, you can spray the birds under wings and vent with it too bt would do one or the other for the first week.

 

[Hiedi]

Thanks for all the input.

I just finished the treatment on the two of them; today their legs look better, the puffiness has gone down, and I treated my coop with diatomaceous earth. I hope that will work.

 

[farmnut]

Hi everyone. I have tried the vasaline treatment on my flock and found that it took a lot of work to caught every chicken . i need a better way to deal with legmites. Where do I find Eprinex ? i did not find it in my order books, feed store, pet store. i have alarge flock.

 

[Jenski]

farmnut, have you determined that it's leg mites and not a fungal infection?