Need to Treat Scaly Leg Mites & Lice

[Englewood]

I have a small flock of bantams and standard size chickens. Some of them have scaly leg mites, some of them have lice, some of them have both, and some of them have neither. I know that I need to treat all of the chickens though. Some of my bantams are feather footed, so treating the scaly leg mites externally doesn't work very well. Is there some sort of oral or topical medicine that will treat both the scaly leg mites and the lice?

 

[kkowa]

Bath them all in flee and tick shampoo and scrub legs with a toothbrush then put vetrx on legs then cover with vasaline repeat for a week and they should clear up with the mites clean out the whole coop get de and replace bedding with sand mix together there is a spray you can get at farm and fleet or other farm stores its in the cattle section its in a yellow and white can used on flys ect roughtly 20$ spray the whole coop with that every little crack I have used ot on my birds as well and have had very good results also can use flee and tick repellent usednon dogs just a drop behind the neck make sure to burn all the bedding also best of luck

 

[Yemimah]

Yep. It is important to clean the coop! Been there done That. The vaseline really works for the leg mites.I started to use diatomaceous in their litter as a preventative. Not aware of any side effects...

 

[casportpony]

I have a small flock of bantams and standard size chickens. Some of them have scaly leg mites, some of them have lice, some of them have both, and some of them have neither. I know that I need to treat all of the chickens though. Some of my bantams are feather footed, so treating the scaly leg mites externally doesn't work very well. Is there some sort of oral or topical medicine that will treat both the scaly leg mites and the lice?

You could try ivermectin, either the pour on for cattle, or the injectable for cattle. Neither are approved for use in poultry, so allow at least a two week withdrawal for eggs. You will also need to treat their coop, nesting boxes and perches with permethrin spray.

 

[Yemimah]

Another way to prevent mite outbreaks....an old North Carolina Herdsman and poultry farmer of 6000 chickens told me this one and he knows his stuff. He told me about making a dusting wallor for them with ashes and gardeners sulphur dust. They will love that dust bath ! And they will treat themselves for the mites! You will still need to treat your coop and every crack. I do not know if yours closes up tight or not but there are safe for poultry pesticides. I would do this on a sunny day when they can be relocated to a near pasture and maybe use a portable fence enclosure. I would start early on a day when I have time and do a blitz of their whole area. Fog the house, whitewash roosts ( an old standard in the old days for mite control ), THOROUGHLY remove all all old bedding straw and shavings. I have even used an old shop vac in the nest boxes. Then fog and keep all animals away for the time written out on the bottle. I can not remember the name of the product but I am sure you will find it if you search. If you can really remove them completely to another area far away from their current coop and I mean FAR till there coop is safe and clean. There are other ways to deal with them I am sure.Lots of BYC friends to get advice from. This is just my personal experience.

 

[casportpony]

Gordon's 10% permethrin spray is cheap. Mix 5 ml (one teaspoon) per quart and spray. Approved for use on poultry and poultry houses. No egg or meat withdrawal.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/gordons-permethrin-10-livestock-premise-spray-8-fl-oz

 

[Englewood]

Thanks everybody! All your suggestions are appreciated.