Scaly Leg Mites

[tri1sam]

Being a first time chicken owner I posted once before in this category to help diagnose some problems with the flock I rescued. It was brought to my attention that one of my roosters had bad scaly leg mites and to dip his feet in gasoline or olive oil. Easier said than done. He's at least 3 yrs old and has only lived in a bad animal hoarding situation prior to his rescue. His pen was literally filled with feces at least 2-4 in deep. I highly doubt he's had much human interaction other than refilling his food dispenser once a month. I wouldn't say he's aggressive by any means, but he certainly is not willing to allow me to get close to him or pick him up and I'm pretty sure my attempts have destroyed any progress I had made to build our relationship. I want to help him out, it kills me knowing his feet hurt him and the whole point in rescuing him was to ensure he had a better life. The best I've been able to do is spray Poultry Protector on his feet as well as olive oil. I'm afraid to spray gasoline because I live in California, in the middle of a national forest and we are having an extremely bad drought....somehow that just seems like a bad idea..........Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do to eradicate the mites if he won't let me grab him?

 

[sourland]

First I would STAY AWAY from the gasoline. Get some help in treating him. Have someone hold him - using a pair of gloves if necessary. Coat his legs with Vaseline, oil and put a couple of drops of Ivermectin on the back of his neck. With a bird that you are unable to handle, spraying his feet was not a bad idea, but you are right it may be scaring him more than helping him.