long term mite problems on the mend hopefully

[StephieSky]

I was sugaring to just cover her feet with motor oil not the entire bird. Sorry but I don't write as I would want.

Oh please don't feel awkward. It was me! You were fine. If I only knew more I would have understood you right off just as everyone else did.
The fact that you're willing to take the time to help people like me is going to get you misunderstood a lot, I imagine. You'll just have to keep in mind that when doing so, just like this time, people like me who haven't the foggiest clue and are a little bit scared might not get it the first time around. Or even the third! I have to keep going back and rereading everything multiple times to make sure i'm not confusing issues and cures. I rushed to the rescue not knowing a single thing about chickens! If my hens survive me it will be entirely due to people like you who are willing to share ideas and information and forgive people like me who get things all tangled up and misunderstood.

 

[Pancholoco]

Oh please don't feel awkward. It was me! You were fine. If I only knew more I would have understood you right off just as everyone else did.
The fact that you're willing to take the time to help people like me is going to get you misunderstood a lot, I imagine. You'll just have to keep in mind that when doing so, just like this time, people like me who haven't the foggiest clue and are a little bit scared might not get it the first time around. Or even the third! I have to keep going back and rereading everything multiple times to make sure i'm not confusing issues and cures. I rushed to the rescue not knowing a single thing about chickens! If my hens survive me it will be entirely due to people like you who are willing to share ideas and information and forgive people like me who get things all tangled up and misunderstood.

No problem, just keep us updated.

 

[StephieSky]

Thank you!

When I rushed home for lunch today and found wormy poo all over the patio I was sure this wasn't going to be a good day.
Tonight, Gracie has less inflamed color in her legs. Liza and Gracie are both ahappy as two hens on a fat bug and all excited to go for a long walk with me : P
I worried myself silly all day for nothing.



Here they are getting ready to sleep. Liza always, always goes in just before dusk and Gracie follows. Thankfully! I do think Gracie would sleep in the bushes if she could get Liza to agree to it.

Liza is her usual self: a calm and composed shy little lady. And then there's Gracie: always growling at me when I don't come bearing food gifts.

It felt a lot like Christmas when I came home this evening and they were both in great shape. I celebrated with a chicken dance!

Apparently my cats think they need to come inside and sleep the minute the chickens go to bed now too.

 

[Gryphon]

There's another reason why motor oil is a horrible idea aside from it being toxic on the skin, what if they peck at it? Now you have motor oil inside your chicken. I'm pretty sure that something you cook with (vegetable oil) is infinitely better than using something that will kill all plant life if you dump on the ground. The motor oil thing is a hold over from when people would turn to all sorts of things in desperation or ignorance, ANY vet would be horrified by the notion of using motor oil on your animal.

 

[dawg53]

There's another reason why motor oil is a horrible idea aside from it being toxic on the skin, what if they peck at it? Now you have motor oil inside your chicken. I'm pretty sure that something you cook with (vegetable oil) is infinitely better than using something that will kill all plant life if you dump on the ground. The motor oil thing is a hold over from when people would turn to all sorts of things in desperation or ignorance, ANY vet would be horrified by the notion of using motor oil on your animal.

Ignorance about motor oil? Who can afford a vet, I think it's ingenuity. I've used it and it works great on hogs and dogs. Alot of folks use WD-40 for scaley leg mites. My birds never had scaley leg mites. Vegetable oil will kill plant life as well. It blocks sunlight on the leaves and will smother the root system once soaked in the ground. It's known to block arteries in humans over time. And just like motor oil, it contaminates ground water. Now they're using used vegetable oil in vehicles. If you really need to use something natural for scaly legs mites, use Nu-Stock, it'll kill the scaly leg mites much quicker.

 

[Pancholoco]

Ignorance about motor oil? Who can afford a vet, I think it's ingenuity. I've used it and it works great on hogs and dogs. Alot of folks use WD-40 for scaley leg mites. My birds never had scaley leg mites. Vegetable oil will kill plant life as well. It blocks sunlight on the leaves and will smother the root system once soaked in the ground. It's known to block arteries in humans over time. And just like motor oil, it contaminates ground water. Now they're using used vegetable oil in vehicles. If you really need to use something natural for scaly legs mites, use Nu-Stock, it'll kill the scaly leg mites much quicker.

Even Nu-Stock contains mineral and pine oils.

http://www.nustock.com/msds.pdf

 

[dawg53]

Quote: Check this out...scroll down to "Veterinary Uses:"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_oil
We already know where pine oil and sulpher comes from and how it's used.
So, I guess we could say where unrefined black oil comes from as well. Sounds natural to me.

 

[Gryphon]

Not everything "natural" is good (poison ivy comes to mind) but let's talk amounts here. Will the same amount of vegetable oil and motor oil kill a plant? No. If you swallow a cup of motor oil vs. a cup of vegetable oil, which one do you think will make you sicker? Seriously, there is all sorts of horrible things in motor oil, and when left on the skin it will be absorbed by the body. Just because you don't drop dead the instant it touches you or your animal doesn't mean it isn't causing harm.

 

[Michael Apple]

I've used Sulfur ointment for a long time for scaly leg mites. I've used Nu-Stock too, but hate the smell of that yellow, paint-like substance, and used it more sparingly on the legs and feet. Linseed oil and diesel oil mixed together is an old method. When I was younger, I remember my Dad using nicotine sulfate which was called Blackleaf 40 on the roosts. Now that was natural! Problem is some people never followed directions, some kid probably ate some, got sick, and the nanny state mentality banned it. You can still get Malathion, but I guess not enough people have taste tested it to get it banned. I've used them all and prefer Rooster Booster Sulfur Ointment for regular treatment. Most people don't seem to understand you have to treat the coops/roosts as well. Emulsified concentrates like Ravap have a month long residual, and have found it to be the most effective.

 

[StephieSky]

I've used Sulfur ointment for a long time for scaly leg mites. I've used Nu-Stock too, but hate the smell of that yellow, paint-like substance, and used it more sparingly on the legs and feet. Linseed oil and diesel oil mixed together is an old method. When I was younger, I remember my Dad using nicotine sulfate which was called Blackleaf 40 on the roosts. Now that was natural! Problem is some people never followed directions, some kid probably ate some, got sick, and the nanny state mentality banned it. You can still get Malathion, but I guess not enough people have taste tested it to get it banned. I've used them all and prefer Rooster Booster Sulfur Ointment for regular treatment. Most people don't seem to understand you have to treat the coops/roosts as well. Emulsified concentrates like Ravap have a month long residual, and have found it to be the most effective.

My dad used kerosene on my whole head when our school came down with lice! LOL
It worked I'm still alive too. I stunk like a barn lantern the next day. Until my mom soaked my whole head in tomato juice then followed that with sunflower oil! LOL
There are lots of things that sound criminal that are actually pretty nifty. Kerosene is what they have and it works. When you have 60 different kids from 10 different households you use what works or it just keeps coming back.

Something I don't want to see happen with Gracie and Liza.
I'll keep all of these ideas in mind if I need to switch tactics. After having just done their legs, feet and toes I'm pretty happy with what I'm seeing. Gracie is about 65% de-scaled. The inflamed look is gone for the most part. Her feet are getting a bunch of little feather starts growing in and sticking out I wish they'd wait! I've never seen her with fluffy feet but it looks like she's trying to grow some serious fluff down there.
The exposed leg and feet look healthy. The way she walks is hugely improved. She even seems like she stands up taller to me. Less of a shuffling clumsy footed gate and more like Liza. She is certainly more active and covers a lot more ground than she did when I first got her. No more doodling around here and there. She's busy, busy, busy when she's not laying in the shade.

Liza's feet look good. Her infestation being in the beginning stages in comparison to Gracie and her scales are attatched to healthy chicken leg. They might need more time to rotate off naturally as I'm seeing they are holding on longer than Gracies. I've been very careful to make sure i take my time and get their legs covered in, under and over every single crevice. So far no signs of infection or flesh decay anyplace I can probe or poke around.

The bumblefoot that was removed from Liza's little toe is healing nicely. No signs of anything but healing there. Its still the tiniest bit fatter than the same toe on her other foot but its not completely healed yet either. I'm still putting bacitracin on that too.

After the worming I've noticed Liza squats. When she goes poo - she goes and then squats like a female dog. (?) This is new. And she's got squirty poo and messy butt I'm making her some seed cake from crumble, quinoa, sesame seed, spinach, BOSS and honey that I'll soak in the vitamin and electrolyte water before giving it to them. And there goes my oven timer
Again, thank you for the help and sharing the information!