Treating Scaly Leg Mites

[mypicklebird]

Quote:
that will not work. mites are neither ticks nor fleas. frontline is a good product, but is not very useful for the feathered folk.

 

[SproutGirl]

When our Ameraucana, Penguin, had scaly mites on her foot, we cured her by rubbing petroleum jelly by hand all over her feet and legs. We did it each evening when she had settled in to sleep. She hated it, and it took 2 people: one to hold her and keep her from flapping, and one to rub in the petroleum jelly. It's very messy, and she got the stuff in her feathers, and got straw stuck to her feet. But, it cured her scaly mites! It just takes time and persistence, and you can watch them disappear. We also treated our other birds every other night while Penguin was being treated, just to be safe (we only had 6 birds at the time, so it was easy). And since petroleum jelly is not a medicine, and is very inexpensive, there is nothing to worry about--just a mess.

Oh, and you might want to use poultry dust in your birds' dusting and perching areas. We do that every 3 or 4 months at the recommendation of some local egg farmers, and it keeps the mites away.

Good luck to you and your hen!