Scaly Leg Mites - Best tried and true treatment..?

[Hummer]

Help! Was looking at other threads about scaly leg mites! There are so many ways to treat! I am looking for the best solution! I have sprayed with WD40 - works but worry about toxicity. I've dipped legs in cooking oil and that was a big mess,

but it worked.. I am now trying canola cooking spray because of recurring mite problem.

Not as bad, but still have a few mites showing up on the chicken's legs. Didn't read this anywhere just decided to try spraying the perches with a home defense bug spray about 4 or 5 months ago

hoping it would be okay and not harm chickens - didn't seem to bother the chickens and is suppose to last several months... I was just recently told by someone that spraying listerine on chicken's legs works.. Does anyone know about treating with listerine and whether or not you have to keep reapplying or will one or two applications work? Does it burn???

Now I am reading about treating with ivomec - I give my dogs 0.1cc's per 10 pounds orally, but chickens??

I will not lie, I am looking for the safest and most efficient way to treat, but also the one that is the least amount of trouble!!!

Any expert advice? Thanks!!!

 

[jak2002003]

My easy to do way - that has ALWAYS worked for me..........

Rub Vaseline quite thickly over feet and legs up to where the feathers start.

That's it.

TIPS:

If the legs are very bad or dirty you can stand the chicken in a bowl of warm soapy water (I used water with my dog tick and flea shampoo in it).
Then use an old tooth brush to gently brush the dirt off. Dry off the legs and then add and Vaseline.

I put the Vaseline on just before the hens go to roost - so they have in on the legs all night and won't rub it off on the grass.

I put fresh Vaseline on every 3 or 4 days for a couple of weeks.

The Vaseline works by suffocating the mites. It will take quite a long time for the legs to go back to normal even through the mites are dead because the scales on the legs take time to grown back good.

If I notice one bird has it, I do all the chickens just in case. My chickens used to get the scaly leg mites (AND OTHER DISEASES) when I introduced new birds - something I don't do now!

 

[Hummer]

Thank you! I have feather legged chickens and thought the vaseline would make the feathers sticky and make dirt stick to them. May give it a try on some of my large bare legged hens!

 

[jak2002003]

Oh, feather leg breed are more tricky!

I would get the 'spot on' or whatever make, liquid drops for birds. These thinks kill all insects living on the bird and also many internal parasites. If you part the feathers on the back of the birds neck or thigh, then squeeze on the liquid I think its got ivermectin in it.

You can get it at the pet shop in little tubes. Make sure its the one for large birds - like parrots. Or you can ask you vet if you can't get that one.