scaly leg mite

[lucy1313]

Hi I'm new here and maybe someone has had the experience I am having. I live in australia on a 10 acre plot amongst the trees.....perfect. I have chickens but they suffer scaly leg mite. YES I treat them with vaseline and that works but I have one old girl that developed like a huge black lump because of the mite. When I put on the vaseline it seemed to do the trick but when the crust fell off the fun began.......

........for 4 months I have been treating the open wound with bathing ( in salt water) betadine (antiseptic) and honey wound cream. I bandage the leg/foot and change the dressing every 2 days. I'm getting there slowly but it really is a long drawn out affair. i even took her to the vet but that did very little. Is it really the result of scaly leg mite....or is it something else. I wonder. Any suggestions would be welcome.
PS Have thought about putting her down (because she and other hens peck at the bad leg if not bandaged) but am now too attached to her. she stills lays the occasional egg. she's over 6 yrs old.

 

[Sjisty]

Hi Lucy -

Welcome to BYC!

It sounds like you are doing well by her. I would just keep bandaging the leg for as long as it takes to heal. Try leaving off the honey wound cream and see if it drys up and heals faster. Also, make sure you are diluting the betadine to the color of weak tea. Do you have access to a product called Vetericyn? It's good for all kinds of wounds and might be better than the betadine for her.

Good luck!

 

[Snozzle]

Do you get the vaseline into the wound? Maybe it is hindering it from healing. You can probably spray them with diluted neem/tea tree oil, that should get rid of remaining mites, discourage new ones and also aid in healing. Usually what I put on any infections, stings and slow healing injuries is black salve. You can find a recipe online. I will put it on animals and people and it draws toxins out of the skin. It's great stuff, healed up a recluse bite in a week that I had been treating with antibiotics for 2 months and wouldn't heal. Also maybe give internal antibiotics to just for an additional boost. I'm not sure if this applies to chickens since I'm still rather new to poultry, but if it was any other animal I would check for diabetes, that would keep it from healing properly.

 

[lucy1313]

Thanks for suggestions. I will try the tea tree oil solution and can't think why i haven't tried that yet. also the black salve is another i will look into. the wound today is not open but the skin, as it heals, seems to be "hiding"/sealing over the lump. When some of the crust came off today it reminds me of dried honeycomb....this has happened before . i guess it's that crusty build up that the mites create........oh well i will persevere.

Taking her on holidays to beach house for Xmas so i can beat the problem. One lucky "chook". (aussie term)

 

[FrenchToast]

I wouldn't use the tea tree oil. I've read that it is toxic to chickens. If you can isolate her and keep her from pecking at the wound I think letting it get some air would be a good idea. Try using triple antibioti ointment but do not use anything with caine in the name, such as lidocaine etc. or any antibiotic ointment that has pain relievers in it which would be the caine drugs.

You might also want to apply a ivermectin pour on dewormer on her. In the US it is sold as a cattle dewormer. This will help get rid of the leg mites in addition to any lice/mites and worms.

Good Luck. Feel free to post some pictures so we can get a better idea of what you are dealing with.

 

[misschick3]

Hi Lucy1313, I,m on acres near the coast in Australia, and yes scale can get be a problem. I inherited 4 hens with scaly legs,so that bad they limped and it affected their egg laying. I mixed some Nucidol (available from produce stores and used for numerous reasons in agriculture). I put a few drops in a jar with some vaseline. I applied it pretty heavy to their legs. It took one application and 6 months later their legs are still scale free.
The chick that came with one hen turned out a rooster and now his legs are covered in scale.I,m working up to catching him one night and applying more of my mix. I did try using just vaseline with no results. Happy Christmas with your chooky, watch out for ticks if you are in a tick area

 

[BamaSilkies]

Quote:
You might want to check into that a little more befor you do it. I think I read that it maybe poison to birds. Not sure but just to be sure I would double check.

 

[BamaSilkies]

Quote:
You might want to check into that a little more befor you do it. I think I read that it maybe poison to birds. Not sure but just to be sure I would double check.

The tea tree oil I mean.

 

[Snozzle]

Ohhh glad you mentioned that about tee tree, I was always told it's safe to use on any animal by my old vet. I probably wouldn't usr neem then either. What about cedar chips? It repells parasites, but causes respatory damage in some animals.