Mite Treatment Questions

[Chic_girl]

Okay, last year, I had trouble with mites. There wasn't mites over the winter, and my chickens seemed fine. Now that spring has come in full force, there are more feathers caked in mite droppings, and I see mites crawling around my birds vents. Last time I used some type of mite powder I found at TSC, but now, I couldn't that particular powder.
Instead, I found a type of spray at Petsmart, when I was picking up mealworms, and rabbit hay.

Now my question: has anyone ever used Scalex Mite and Lice spray for Birds? Is it for cage birds? Is it safe for chickens?
Spraying the chickens was easier than trying to powder them or 'shake-and-bake' them in a bag. It seems effective- I did a test on one of their mite-infested feathers, and I think most of the mites died. I'm still going to reapply in about 10 days, but I just wanted to know if anyone else had used it.

 

[LearninDeChooks]

I am going through my first bought of mites I think & 2 of my girls have scaly legs!! I am going to try Vaseline on their legs & Dichotomous Earth for them, the coop & run & then coke on the perches to kill eggs. Let me know how your spray goes & I'll let you know how I go lol

 

[Chic_girl]

Hmm, I'm lucky that mine don't get scaly-leg mites! That seems harder to treat, and I just feel that putting Vaseline on their legs would make their legs so much dirtier!

Well, my chickens were pretty miffed as I caught them and sprayed them down, but after a minute or so of each one getting soaked, they calmed down in my lap and gave up fighting- it was so much easier then powder! I sprayed mostly around their vents, bellies and tail feathers, but I did put some spray on my Polish crests- I didn't see any buggers there, but that didn't mean they weren't hiding! Today, I gave them a big treat of melon rind, but they still haven't forgiven me.

One thing that I did notice about the Scalex spray was that when it got on their skin around the vent, the skin turned bright red. The redness didn't last long, but I wonder if it stung the chickens or gave them some kind of rash. Anyone else notice this?

 

[LearninDeChooks]

Well doing the old dusting wasn't any fun for them or me! It seemed to take me hours to catch them, vasaline their legs & dust them. I think I got as much dust as they did in the end! Tho I didn't see any red bum reactions - just a lot of irritated clucking! lol. Bless them. I figure a little extra dirt on their legs is nothing compared to the mite not to mention they bathe in dirt lol. I need to do another "lube" up of their legs soon I guess. Yea :\

 

[LearninDeChooks]

Hey! How have you gone?

I've done my gir's legs a few times but the 2 I am really concerned about still seem very scaly. They are getting a new coop soon so I am hoping that will help. I've looked around under their feathers & don't see any sort of mites but, they have bad scaly legs.... so I am not sure if what I told you was a help or not or if it's helping me!

 

[CariLynn]

Just remember all, the DE is only effective in it's dry state, because that is when it is effective with the jagged edges. Get it wet or mix it with something and it looses its potency to "cut up" if you will the mites.

When we have mites on the body or shafts of hair, I have found that getting Frontline puppy and kitten flea and tick oil really really helps our hens. I put one drop on the back of the neck for the small hens and a drop on the back of the neck and tail on the large hens. Works up to 60 days and the mites die. If you do do this, ensure you get the stuff for puppy and kitten, the adult oil is way too potent.

good luck.

 

[Chic_girl]

That's an interesting idea, Cari Lynn! I would have never thought to use stuff for cats or dogs on my chickens, though I did consider giving everyone a bath with flea and tick shampoo- I would have had a lot of mad wet hens...

The Scalex Mite and Lice spray does work! I reapplied the first time, then a second time at 10 days, and I haven't seen any signs of mites since. I will try to stick to a schedule, and spray my birds perhaps every 6 weeks, just to be safe.

I don't know if this spray will work on scaley leg mites. The mites on my birds were Northern Fowl Mites, and the Scalex spray did kill them nicely. Tell me if you find a good treatment for your chickens legs though, so I can store it in my file of useful chicken information!

 

[Henway Park]

Regarding the Frontline, I want to try it on my hens, but I heard that you shouldn't eat the eggs for a while afterward. Does anyone know how long?

 

[Chic_girl]

Hmmmm, I don't know the answer to that!

My guess is at least 2 weeks, and maybe a month, for that seems to be the usual withdraw time for most livestock medications. I don't know for sure though. I'm glad you brought that up, for I would have forgotten about not eating eggs from medicated chickens!