Mites?

[FreeChicken!]

Yesterday I got Peanut, my Buff Rock hen, out of the pen to play with her. When I set her down on a low tree branch, I noticed her legs. I saw two teeny-tiny dark gray things crawling in and out of her scales. I hadn't noticed this until then and none of my other chickens have the same problem (which is a big relief). Are these scaly leg mites? Her legs look normal for now, but that could change fast if these are scaly leg mites.
So, does anyone know exactly what these are and how to get rid of them/prevent them in the future?
If it involves taking Peanut to the vet, well, my sister offered to take to the vet if I found out the problem and if it's serious.
I just added four Barred Rocks hens to the flock yesterday and I don't want Peanut passing whatever she has onto them.

 

[Judy]

If they were mine, I would treat all of them with Eprinex pour on, Sevin 5% dust, or a permethrin/pyrethrin spray or dust. I would also grease or Vaseline their legs daily for a while. And clean and treat the coop.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=472405

http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8162.pdf (good pics)

 

[littlecreekfarm]

well I'm not an expert and my hens haven't had a problem with mites so far but I would say those may be mites......get some poultry and garden dust and dust ALL of you hens....maybe try coating Peanut's legs with Vaseline. If you can keep Peanut seperated

Hope this helps and hope you can keep those little bugs off your hens

-LCF

 

[Jloeffler]

If it is scaly leg mite it can be treated with Vaseline. Coat the legs completely and let her go. Make sure you're wearing old clothes when you do this because the Vaseline gets everywhere!!

repeate again in two weeks to make sure you get any newly hatched larvae. Supposedly you can treat with Pam cooking spray same way, but I don't think my birds would like getting sprayed any better!! I've used the Vaseline before and it worked. If it isn't mites the Vaseline wouldn't hurt your bird at all.

De can also be used.

 

[Lollipop]

FreeChicken! :

Yesterday I got Peanut, my Buff Rock hen, out of the pen to play with her. When I set her down on a low tree branch, I noticed her legs. I saw two teeny-tiny dark gray things crawling in and out of her scales. I hadn't noticed this until then and none of my other chickens have the same problem (which is a big relief). Are these scaly leg mites? Her legs look normal for now, but that could change fast if these are scaly leg mites.
So, does anyone know exactly what these are and how to get rid of them/prevent them in the future?
If it involves taking Peanut to the vet, well, my sister offered to take to the vet if I found out the problem and if it's serious.
I just added four Barred Rocks hens to the flock yesterday and I don't want Peanut passing whatever she has onto them.

Scaly leg mites hide in the cracks of the roost in the daytime, or under the leg scales. In all my years, I have never seen them in daylight. If I saw such a thing, I would have to think body lice/mites. To treat them, dust ALL your birds with Sevin Dust. Easily done by picking them off the roost at night. Hold them upside down by their legs and dust away. Sevin is safe, even for hens with chicks, but probably isn`t something you would enjoy having in your eyes and lungs, so try to keep it out of the birds face as much as possible. Dust the nests and floor of the coop and spread the Sevin around in the run. Now, since you are doing all this, and we can`t be 100% certain that you didn`t see leg mites, you may as well treat for them, too. The idea for treating leg mites is to drown them. To do this, you use anykind of oil, from WD40 to veggie oil, to used motor oil, it doesn`t matter. Rub it into their legs and soak them real good. WD40 is easiest to use as it can be sprayed on and is a light oil. Any oil will drown the little vampires. Spray the roost, too. That should do it. If you see any more in 10 to 15 days, dust them again. Don`t waste your money on a vet.......Pop​

 

[welasharon]

Quote:
Scaly leg mites hide in the cracks of the roost in the daytime, or under the leg scales. In all my years, I have never seen them in daylight. If I saw such a thing, I would have to think body lice/mites. To treat them, dust ALL your birds with Sevin Dust. Easily done by picking them off the roost at night. Hold them upside down by their legs and dust away. Sevin is safe, even for hens with chicks, but probably isn`t something you would enjoy having in your eyes and lungs, so try to keep it out of the birds face as much as possible. Dust the nests and floor of the coop and spread the Sevin around in the run. Now, since you are doing all this, and we can`t be 100% certain that you didn`t see leg mites, you may as well treat for them, too. The idea for treating leg mites is to drown them. To do this, you use anykind of oil, from WD40 to veggie oil, to used motor oil, it doesn`t matter. Rub it into their legs and soak them real good. WD40 is easiest to use as it can be sprayed on and is a light oil. Any oil will drown the little vampires. Spray the roost, too. That should do it. If you see any more in 10 to 15 days, dust them again. Don`t waste your money on a vet.......Pop

Pop is right. Also you can't see the scaly leg mites. They are itsy bitsy but it would be a good plan to oil the legs as a preventative. I did some rescue work with chickens with scaly leg mite so bad their toes were dying and falling off. Two lost their legs and died. I oil my chickens legs every six months now just in case.
sharon

 

[FreeChicken!]

Thanks for all the help, guys!

It really helped! I'll try these things with Peanut and be sure to clean the coop asap!