Scaly leg mites.. contagious, and if so, how quickly? Help!

[lamNervousNellie]

Ok, so the other day I bought some layers from a woman who owns a very reputable farm in my area. The whole thing ended up being a nightmare. The next morning after bringing them home I went down to the barn to check on them and one of the Isa Browns was lethargic, wouldn't drink, could barely stand.. you get the gist. Needless to say, she died a few hours later

It wasn't until I was there checking on her that I realized something was seriously wrong with her feet, as well as the other hens:

This is a picture of the barred rock and the other isa brown's feet.. It might be hard to see, but the barred has some of the most extreme scaly leg mites

I called the woman and told her what was going on, and that I would do some research and get back to her. I decided the treatment was going to require more time, money, and energy than I was going to be able to provide, and took the chickens back.

Anyway, here's my dilemma: I kept these hens locked in the coop, seperate from my birds (which have free range of the barn minus the coop area) the whole time I had them, and they were here for approx. 48 hours.. Do I need to totally sterilize my entire coop, and if so, what should I use? I stopped at TSC earlier and their selection of chicken related stuff is totally crappy. Any input would help, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. Also, I always hear people talking about some product, DE i think, but I have no clue what that is!

Could somebody fill me in?

Thanks.

 

[welasharon]

The treatment really doesn't take much time, money nor effort really. You simply dip their legs in mineral or vegetable oil to smother the mites. They would probably have required a couple more dips as they are fairly bad. I would dust with seven to kill any that may have fallen off to prevent infestation of your flock. I would be more concerned about the one who died leaving behind something to infect the others. I would give the coop a good cleaning because of that though. I hope the person who has them treats them. Eventually the toes and feet get infected, fall off and can kill the bird. You may want to mention this to them.
sharon

 

[M@M@2four]

Quote:
Agreed! You can also lather their legs(up legs and in between toes) in vaseline--and I would also dust them in Sevin dust(you can get this at walmart in lawn and garden).

 

[lamNervousNellie]

Can the birds themselves be dusted with Sevin? My chickens haven't been anywhere near the coop so should I just dust down the coop? Gah I hate being such a nervous nellie! Dealing with sick/injured birds gives me major stress and anxiety, which is why I'm a freakin' slave to my chickens' health!!.. Which is also why I returned the birds. I've got too much other crap going on & will have an emotional breakdown any minute if I have to deal with one more ounce of stress

It sucks too, because the birds were good layers for their age!