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

[dawg53]

Not to mention, chickens soaked in gas make for a lovely fire hazard in the coop.

I'm sure it would work but I'm thinking I'd try just about anything else but dipping the birds in gas.

Mmmmmmm, BBQ chicken!

 

[Beekissed]

Mmmm-mmmmm, good!

 

[chicknmania]

I'm sorry, but that one is just too, too much...

Not laughing at you but at whatever source that would offer that up as a treatment for scale mites when there are so many other, less toxic solutions for this very simple thing.

For one, that would sting like the dickens if there were any raw places under those scales and for another, I don't know that I'd want what is in gasoline absorbing into a chicken from whom I eat the eggs. Things absorb topically and enter the bloodstream, then wherever the blood goes after that.

Here's just the short list of what is in gasoline...there are over 150 chemicals added to gasoline: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gasoline_additives

Not to mention, chickens soaked in gas make for a lovely fire hazard in the coop.

I'm sure it would work but I'm thinking I'd try just about anything else but dipping the birds in gas.

Oh, my! X2!

 

[chicknmania]

I did the Ivermectin treatment a few years back. The vet gave me specific doses for each hen based on weight and you put drops on the back of their necks. You do it several times so you get the eggs that hatch. I felt it worked. But their scales never went back to being smooth. Probably because the mites just came right back. That why I'm wanting to really clean out the coop and treat the roosts.

And I like the Castor oil method. With Ivermectin, I believe I had to toss eggs. But I did it in the winter when I was getting very few eggs so it wasn't a big deal. My hens are just all coming back into lay after the winter and I'm loving my eggs again.

I'll keep up with this for a few weeks and keep an eye on her. I caught the hen nibbling on her feet again today so she's still bothered. But I think I need to give it more time. If no improvement in a few weeks, I'll take her to the vet.

Well, it's a treatment for all parasites, so you have to watch it too, if you've recently dewormed your birds with something else. Someone told me there's Ivermectin gel...seems like that would work well, but I can't find it locally.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Well, it's been just over a week doing the Castor Oil thing on their legs and I do see an improvement.

The one hen who was nibbling on her legs to the point of making them bleed, is no longer doing that. And the scales look much softer and like they are going down.

The other two hens didn't have it as bad and their legs look MUCH better too.

My old gal, her scales are still a bit raised but look better. So I'm really please w/ the Castor Oil technique for treatment.

 

[sunflower4you]

I treated my two hens with castor oil for the first time on Sunday since it actually warmed up above zero. It has been a few days and their dry, cracked, bleeding legs now look soft with no bleeding. I am very happy to alleviate their suffering. Winter has been really hard on my poor girls. I will put more castor oil on this weekend since it is frigid cold today, but will warm up by Saturday. Hopefully I will see healthy scales come spring!

 

[chicknmania]

Valiant is much better too! He says he's ready to go, and this time, he really is going, as soon as it warms up this weekend. I like the castor oil best, also.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

LOVE BYC. You guys are great. I've learned so much here. I really can't believe how much better their feet look and I'm glad they must be feeling better too.

I'll cut back to twice a week for a month or two and then back to maybe twice a month just to maintain.

 

[silkiecuddles]

I don't have time to read all 58 pages on this forum, so my question might have been answered somewhere in there.
My brahma rooster's feet have what looks like scaly leg mites, looking at the first pic on this forum, they look identical to his. None of my chickens have ever had really serious problems (except early on, they had a disease that killed a few) and I would like to get rid of it ASAP.
I'll post a pic later. (my wifi stinks). WOuld soaking his feet in apple cider vinegar get rid of it? What's the cause of it, and will it spread to my others?

Also, he's been fighting with my Speckled Sussex rooster. Both their heads are pretty bloody, and the Sussex can't open his left eye. What would be the best thing for them?

 

[silkiecuddles]

I put him in about 1/2 inch of apple cider vinegar with a few drops of melaleuca(tea tree oil), then poured the remainder on his feet. I'll try to do this a couple times a day. Would that be good?