Scaly Leg Mites - Need Best / Easiest / Quickest Solution - Scaley

[LaLa Chickie]

My birds always look like at me when I mess with their bodies! I never touch them except at night, pick them up, turn them on their backs and cover their faces with a towel they are lying upon and proceed to look them over, or massage oil into their feet. When back on the roost they always shake their feathers and look at me like , "WHY?" with this look like they have been thoroughly assaulted and have lost all trust in me.

The next day they are walking about on their soft and supple legs like models on a runway.....

In my head I can hear, "I'M too sexy for my feet, too sexy for my feet,....."

hahahaha, exactly that!

 

[LaLa Chickie]

Today will be day 2 of the oil treatment on Betty. Yesterday, I could see it is working. I hope to see more fading and then I will try again in a day or two another treatment. I thought she had just been doing a lot of mud and so it was mud, but I think it's for sure more leg mites than dirt. Glad I did the treatment ....

 

[Summer98]

I have another thread with these pictures, so sorry to repeat, but I've been trying everything. Warm bath, Manna Pro Scaly Leg Mite spray, iodine (1 day), castor oil applied with a toothbrush to rub it in good (several days) and now penicillin injections x 4 days. What to do? I'm continuing with the penicillin and castor oil. I'm getting frustrated because nothing looks different. How soon would it "look" better? Maybe I'll do vaseline next? I don't know?

 

[Beekissed]

I'd leave off the penicillin...it's not doing anything at all because the legs are not infected, merely inflamed. I'd soak it in warm epsom salts a few times a week(no scrubbing..a gentle, massaging type soak and wash, gentle patting dry), reapply the castor oil each time...not with a toothbrush, as the brushing merely irritates the tissues. Just a goodly amount massaged gently into the feet and then leave it alone. When it's been let get that bad, it takes some recovery time. Just be patient and monitor progress...but too much fooling with the feet, scrubbing, washing, etc. will only deplete the natural oils, cause irritation to the already compromised tissue underneath and around the scales, and wash off the castor oil...and that needs to stay in place.

Meanwhile, if the birds are walking around on wet, muddy, barren run soils or even dusty, dry, barren run soils, I'd change that to a soft, absorbent deep litter system that will promote good bacterial cultures in the run. This will keep the feet cleaner, less prone to staying wet and muddy, and will help the overall bird health.

 

[Summer98]

The coop litter is clean because I just cleaned it this weekend. I can continue with the castor oil, I was just hoping for some sign of improvement. Maybe it will take a long time.

 

[Beekissed]

I would say it will take a little while due to the severity of the damage. The castor oil will soothe the tissue and seal off the raw areas so they won't get dirt packed into them.

 

[Summer98]

After reading this entire thread, what is mineral oil? Is it baby oil? And where do you get the tea tree oil? I wonder if that does anything or is it likely the mineral oil itself? I tried the vaseline tonight for something different, but I didn't like it. I felt like it didn't stay on well and took a lot of it to thoroughly coat. I don't mind the castor oil, actually, but the problem is I want to treat the entire flock to be safe and it is too time consuming to catch and brush every chicken every night for a month. I'm thinking about filling a container with oil and dipping the birds legs into the container. This would be quicker (catch the bird and dip). If I do this, could I re-use the same oil or would I have to change the oil out each night? If so, that would get expensive.

 

[Beekissed]

After reading this entire thread, what is mineral oil? Is it baby oil? And where do you get the tea tree oil? I wonder if that does anything or is it likely the mineral oil itself? I tried the vaseline tonight for something different, but I didn't like it. I felt like it didn't stay on well and took a lot of it to thoroughly coat. I don't mind the castor oil, actually, but the problem is I want to treat the entire flock to be safe and it is too time consuming to catch and brush every chicken every night for a month. I'm thinking about filling a container with oil and dipping the birds legs into the container. This would be quicker (catch the bird and dip). If I do this, could I re-use the same oil or would I have to change the oil out each night? If so, that would get expensive.

Why in the world would you apply castor oil every night for a month? It's a one time treatment that last about 3 mo.

I'm thinking you've misread something along the way.

Mineral oil is just what it says..mineral oil. You can find it in the pharmacy under laxatives. Tea tree oil is an essential oil, very astringent and could possibly cause some burning and discomfort to inflamed flesh.

It's fairly simple to catch the bird and massage some castor oil into the legs and leave it alone to work...one time, each bird. Dipping their legs in oil is going to be one big, flippin' mess of oil being flung everywhere and dripping down your body. I've treated a flock of 30 with Nustock before and it takes all of 15-30 min. if you have a helper, a little longer if you don't. Both the Nustock and castor oil are a once only treatment..or should be. In more severe cases you might have to treat them again in a month of so.

 

[Summer98]

I feel like the oil doesn't last too long. It remains on their feathers, but I feel like I should be re-applying it to the legs and feet so it doesn't wear off. They don't look oily the next day. Well, if I can get away with not having to apply it every night, that would sure help. My helper is not too excited about helping me, lol. I'm concerned about hatching of new mites later, so I want to break the cycle of adult mites and their offspring and get rid of them for good! I'm not familiar with the mites' reproductive cycle, but it must end!!

 

[Beekissed]

Have you ever handled castor oil? If you had, you'd not have any fears of that oil coming off the next day...it is very sticky and of thick viscosity. It's very difficult to even wash off your hands without good, hot water and a lot of soap and scrubbing. It is a natural insecticide, so it's not like simple mineral oil or cooking oil..it's an actual treatment that is toxic to the mites. It is still working 2 wks later unless you've washed it off their legs.