Scarlett leg mites - big run

[Tinabuglaw]

So my poops are 4x4 and 6x8. The runs surrounding the two coupes is 12x75. We have been struggling on and off with scaly leg mites for a year and a half now! I don't know how to get rid of them! It seems as though as soon as we get control and the legs start to look smooth again, these things come back! With a vengeance! I've got 13 chickens in that run. Does anybody have any idea how to clean this out for good! We've tried the gasoline and Vaseline method! I'll never try that again! I dropped a few drops ended up having to excavate 8 ft in diameter and 4 ft down!

We've tried Vaseline and then we tried electric USC or whatever it's called. All of those methods worked but Nothing works permanently.

I feel really overwhelmed trying to clean the coops and the run well enough to get rid of these darn things! Any insight will help. I plan on breaking today and cleaning out the coops and spring with electric again. Then doing the chickens with the elector Plus Vaseline. The only way I seem to be able to keep these things away is to keep putting Vaseline on their feet! Oh did I mention I have another six in a chicken tractor? I just don't want them to get infected so far they're doing well but they're ready to be integrated into this flock. I digress

 

[dawg53]

Put Nu-Stock on the feet/legs. Shake the tube well and wear disposable gloves when applying it. Put a light coat of Nu-Stock on all roosts. It will stop the mites from crawling from bird to another. It'll be in the equine section at a feed store.

 

[Shadrach]

So my poops are 4x4 and 6x8. The runs surrounding the two coupes is 12x75. We have been struggling on and off with scaly leg mites for a year and a half now! I don't know how to get rid of them! It seems as though as soon as we get control and the legs start to look smooth again, these things come back! With a vengeance! I've got 13 chickens in that run. Does anybody have any idea how to clean this out for good! We've tried the gasoline and Vaseline method! I'll never try that again! I dropped a few drops ended up having to excavate 8 ft in diameter and 4 ft down!

We've tried Vaseline and then we tried electric USC or whatever it's called. All of those methods worked but Nothing works permanently.

I feel really overwhelmed trying to clean the coops and the run well enough to get rid of these darn things! Any insight will help. I plan on breaking today and cleaning out the coops and spring with electric again. Then doing the chickens with the elector Plus Vaseline. The only way I seem to be able to keep these things away is to keep putting Vaseline on their feet! Oh did I mention I have another six in a chicken tractor? I just don't want them to get infected so far they're doing well but they're ready to be integrated into this flock. I digress

Much as I hate to make with those negative vibes and all that....
Mites. They are an ongoing problem and as such require ongoing treament once they've arrived.
Most of the treatments work but they don't kill the eggs. What it seems to me happens to most people new to mite problems and/or new to chickens is they treat once or twice and think they've got the problem sorted. It can take weeks, maybe months to fully eradicate a serious mite infestation in a coop and in the case of Scaly Leg Mite (SLM), on the birds. Once one has understood the problem of the mite eggs then it's not difficult to see why treatment is ongoing.

It is very difficult with (SLM) to tell if the mites are gone because the chickens leg scales do not return to normal (don't lie back down) until the chicken sheds the scales and regrows new ones and this throws a lot of people. What one can do is check to see if the mite poop is reducing. The mite poop is a componant of the crusty stuff one sees under the scales.

Once one has realised that this isn't a fast fix problem one needs to consider things like cost. Vaseline is cheap compared to the various anti mite products one can by and propery applied it works just as well as any other treament.

Buy a half inch paint brush and cut of about two thirds of the bristles. Do the same to the handle. Learn to love this brush, you're going to be spending a lot of time with it.

Buy some Iodine if you can. Nothing stronger then 5%.
Find a pot with a lid, preferably unbreakable. Mix the Iodine liquid at 25% to 75% Vaseline. Paint the chickens legs at night is easiest. You may not even have to lift them off the roost bar if they will stand. Smother the legs in the mixture, right up to where the feathers start.
Do their legs every three days for nine days. Then do once every week for a month.
You might get to like these quiet nights in with the chickens. They'll no doubt complain, poop on your hand, fidget and even give you a few warning pecks but if you manage to make a long term habit of doing your chickens legs it's a wonderful excuse to get out of some illfounded prior engagements.

 

[Tinabuglaw]

Much as I hate to make with those negative vibes and all that....
Mites. They are an ongoing problem and as such require ongoing treament once they've arrived.
Most of the treatments work but they don't kill the eggs. What it seems to me happens to most people new to mite problems and/or new to chickens is they treat once or twice and think they've got the problem sorted. It can take weeks, maybe months to fully eradicate a serious mite infestation in a coop and in the case of Scaly Leg Mite (SLM), on the birds. Once one has understood the problem of the mite eggs then it's not difficult to see why treatment is ongoing.

It is very difficult with (SLM) to tell if the mites are gone because the chickens leg scales do not return to normal (don't lie back down) until the chicken sheds the scales and regrows new ones and this throws a lot of people. What one can do is check to see if the mite poop is reducing. The mite poop is a componant of the crusty stuff one sees under the scales.

Once one has realised that this isn't a fast fix problem one needs to consider things like cost. Vaseline is cheap compared to the various anti mite products one can by and propery applied it works just as well as any other treament.

Buy a half inch paint brush and cut of about two thirds of the bristles. Do the same to the handle. Learn to love this brush, you're going to be spending a lot of time with it.
View attachment 3271692

Buy some Iodine if you can. Nothing stronger then 5%.
Find a pot with a lid, preferably unbreakable. Mix the Iodine liquid at 25% to 75% Vaseline. Paint the chickens legs at night is easiest. You may not even have to lift them off the roost bar if they will stand. Smother the legs in the mixture, right up to where the feathers start.
Do their legs every three days for nine days. Then do once every week for a month.
You might get to like these quiet nights in with the chickens. They'll no doubt complain, poop on your hand, fidget and even give you a few warning pecks but if you manage to make a long term habit of doing your chickens legs it's a wonderful excuse to get out of some illfounded prior engagements.

Yeah I'm always trying to find those one and done or two and done remedies. I guess you're saying that I don't need to empty the coop and spray it down every 3 days or even every month for that matter. I just have to make sure I take care of the legs every 3 days for 9 days and then once a month. That's doable. What happened was we purchased the chickens from someone in the area. They all had scaly leg mites but I had no idea. It was my first flock about a year and a half ago. Ever since, we've never been able to get rid of them for any amount of time. As soon as their legs started to look better it seemed, they started to get infected again. Then we had a whole new flock 7 come and join this flock along with a rooster to keep order. The seven newbies and the rooster had perfect legs. Now they don't! So it's definitely an ongoing problem and I don't want to pass it on to the chicks that are about ready to integrate. I'll never buy chickens from other people again, and if I do, I'll definitely check them before taking them.