Leg scales dry flaky, can't find mites, something else?

[MasAhora]

A cockerel and pullet around 7 and 8 months old have on the front of their legs scales that look dry, flaky and slightly upraised.
No sign of mites when I picked up the pullet or inspected the roost, but I'll keep checking the next couple of evenings in case my eyes missed them. No feathers missing around vent, and overall both are looking very well and are active and always up to something! The rest of the gang of 15 look fine.

Can anything else cause dry scales on a young one?

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I've recently noticed the same thing on a few of my girls. The scales aren't picked up like I've seen in pictures of scaley leg mites.
I gave everyone an epsom salt leg soak and scub with a tooth brush. Then a good coat of Coconut Oil. I figured I'd either smother mites with oil or at least give everyone a nice coat of moisturizer.

 

[MasAhora]

I had a laugh, before my silly internet dropped a bit earlier, I had already wiped down the my fixed roost with the only oil at hand that was not toxic to the girls laying....yep coconut oil.
So we both have coconut fragrant chickens.

But is there a reason some chooks get flacky scales NOT to do with mites?

This new BYC format makes searching historical info and threads harder...I used to find soooo much OT stuff and indirect info. No mas.

 

[Eggcessive]

Scaly leg mites are not seen with the eye because they are too small, but regular chicken mites may be seen. If there are raised scales, there are probably leg mites. A good treatment is to soak the legs in warm soapy water once a week, gently scrubbing the legs with an old toothbrush to loosen scales. Apply an oil of choice such as castor, olive, vegetable oil, or petroleum jelly/vaseline to the dried legs rubbing it under the scales. Repeat once a week until new scales are seen growing in.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

I figured the little spa day they received was good either way.
I agree I have a much harder time searching the new site. I try different search parameters and wording. I still don't always find what I'm looking for.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

A cockerel and pullet around 7 and 8 months old have on the front of their legs scales that look dry, flaky and slightly upraised.
No sign of mites when I picked up the pullet or inspected the roost, but I'll keep checking the next couple of evenings in case my eyes missed them. No feathers missing around vent, and overall both are looking very well and are active and always up to something! The rest of the gang of 15 look fine.

Can anything else cause dry scales on a young one?

Unless you have access to an electron microscope you will be unable to see scaly leg mites. All of the part of a chicken South of the birds' drumsticks are feet. Use petroleum jelly to coat the scaly part of the bird's feet or shanks.

Just so you will know and not discount scaly leg mites, the dark or black matter oozing out from under the scales on your hens' feet is scaly leg mite feces.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I'm sorry your pair of chickens may have leg mites. I've had younger chickens show milder signs of scaly leg mites.

Here's some additional information about the scaly leg mite. In the article it mentions that the scaly leg mite takes 10-14 days to complete their life cycle, in which they spend their entire time on their host. It's good to understand their life cycle to combat the mites effectively so you get both the adults and any new mites hatching.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/scaly-leg-mites


I've been trying out aerosol cooking oil sprays as I have a number of chickens to treat. The mites breathe through their cuticles. That's why an oil based product can work well in smothering the mites to interrupt the life cycle.

The females are ovo-viviparous meaning that they give birth to live larval young. Once fertilised the female will create a burrow in the upper layers of the epidermis, the larvae will be laid in this burrow and move to the skin surface.
Larvae
Knemidocoptes mites have hexapod larvae. They burrow into the skin creating moulting pockets and undergo two nymphal stages before reaching maturity.

https://en.wikivet.net/Knemidocoptes

Every time I look up information on parasites...it makes my skin crawl.

 

[MasAhora]

GREAT INFO everyone. Thanks.
I wonder if a home pump spritzer spray bottle would work?

Now I must make sure when I oil their legs after dark and put them back on the roost, they don't slide off otherwise they'll think I'm a jerk.

 

[hbrown322]

Is there anything you do differently for feather footed chickens? I just gave my entire flock the soapy water/scrub/oil treatment. But when I got to my blue Cochin I was a little stumped as to what to do with her legs & the oil.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Is there anything you do differently for feather footed chickens? I just gave my entire flock the soapy water/scrub/oil treatment. But when I got to my blue Cochin I was a little stumped as to what to do with her legs & the oil.

I used a cheep toothbrush to scub legs and feathers. Then oiled it all too. I did my best to get it around the base of the feathers on the leg itself. But there is no avoiding the feathers.