Sooo much pooping

[Raina]

Hi all,

 

I got my chooks back today

 

While me & one of my nephews were putting leg rings on my girls i noticed the the scales on their legs were sticking up!I remember reading that if the scales are sticking up it's scaly leg mite!

 

I put a good thick layer of Vaseline on both of their legs,did i do right to use Vaseline? and how often do i apply a new layer of the stuff?

 

Thanks.

 

Oh and i think they might of had a little frost bite on their combs so put some Vaseline on them too

[Egghead68]

Hi - yes, you basically want to smother the mites so a layer of vaseline or vegetable oil will do. I have recently had this problem and have been reapplying the vaseline every day, to be on the safe side. You can also use Johnson's scaly leg mite lotion or anti-mite spray, both available in pet shops or some garden centres (sold for parrots and budgies).

[Raina]

Thanks,

 

How will i know when they're dead?

 

Thanks again,

 

Raina

[The Dogmother]

Raised scales on their legs don't necessarily mean that they have leg mites - older hens (1 year +) usually have more raised leg scales. What you are looking for is a crust or exude under the scales.

 

If they have them, then treatment with *Johnsons Anti-Mite Spray will sort them out. You will need to do 2 treatments a week apart to break the mites' breeding cycle. It will take some time for their legs to return to anything near normal though, and please don't be tempted to pick off any raised scales.

 

This is quite common and even more so when the hens are kept on damp ground as the scales soften and part more easily. One helpful preventative is to dose your hens regularly with a preventative from the vet, either *Xeno 200 or *Ivomec Eprinex will do this.

 

*not licensed for use on poultry in the UK

[Raina]

Thanks Clare

 

Their legs don't look crusty just raised and they are about a year old

[The Dogmother]

I doubt that it is then, but I'd emabrk on preventative measures just to be sure.

[sjp]

Claret thats helped me my 2 hybrids both have one leg that I 've been treating for scaly leg but i didn't think it was clearing up been using this which is abit hit and miss at the moment due to the weather http://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cat=Chicken%20Keeping&sub=Health&product_id=4365&sort=popularity&start=10 if it's scaly leg would just one leg have it?

[Raina]

Claret thats helped me my 2 hybrids both have one leg that I 've been treating for scaly leg but i didn't think it was clearing up been using this which is abit hit and miss at the moment due to the weather http://www.omlet.co.uk/shop/shop.php?cat=Chicken%20Keeping&sub=Health&product_id=4365&sort=popularity&start=10 if it's scaly leg would just one leg have it?

 

 

One of my chooks have it on just one leg and the other on both

[The Dogmother]

Generally speaking it usually affects both legs as the mites infest the bird, that's not always the case though.

 

If you really want to clear it then use summat with Permethrin in it (like the Johnsons spray) it's not licensed for use on chooks in the UK, but most vets will recommend it if you ask.

 

I haven't used that NetTex one yet, so can't say whether it works or not, but they also do an anti-mite spray for the housing that contains permethrin. As above, not licensed for use on poultry, but it'd work the same as the Johnsons one.

 

As their legs will never really look pristine agaim after having these mites, the best thing is to have a good preventative programme. One of my girls had it last summer and her legs still look rough and k"Ooops, word censored!"bly, but the mites have gone.

[Valkyrie]

I do the lot - I have so many scaley leg potions I look like a mini chemist. Sioux is still the main problem and we constantly put vaseline on plus the Johnson's spray. Surgical spirit we decided was too harsh because it was obviously painful. Sioux's just had another dosing of vaseline, but it is a constant headache. We do the others at the same time and the little ones seem to be fine, Patch had a little but it seems to be only slight. Lewis suggested a dunking in vegetable oil - which I may very well do once this blooming cold weather goes. At the local pet shop one of the assistants told me that her dad uses paraffin on his birds if they get scaley mite. I take that with a pinch of salt seeing as she also told me my birds were unusual because chickens do not moult.

[The Dogmother]

Some of the old remedies were pretty brutal Koojie

 

Paraffin was just one, used diesel oil and cresote were others dread to think what it did when it was absorbed into their systems..... I wouldn't want to eat eggs tainted with that

[Valkyrie]

Creosote smells nice. We used to walk round the hockey pitch sniffing it when we were at school. I doubt they use it any more!

[The Dogmother]

I remember that, I caught a whiff recently on a walk and stopped to take it all in... nostalgia!

[Valkyrie]

Sioux now has it under her feet - so vaseline everywhere on wattles, combs, legs, knees, feet, underfoot, all over the roosting bars, me, the cube . . .

[The Dogmother]

She'll end up with all sorts stuck to her!

[Valkyrie]

I come in with feathers stuck all over my fingers - then try and wash the stuff off! Even washing up liquid and washing soda doesn't shift it. But my hands do end up nice and soft even if I can't pick anything up for a while.

[Jools]

I've heard of success with the cooking oil method, but prefer vaseline myself. You need to reapply it weekly for 4-6 weeks and it works by suffocating any mites. And if they don't have scaly leg mite, well they'll have wonderfully conditioned legs!

 

I have some Camrosa ointment which I've used on my FCB Marans cockerel (Gorgeous George) as he had sore looking legs and toes this summer. Not only are his legs lovely now, but my hands had never been softer after treating him!!!

 

Also don't forget that the look of the leg scales won't change one little bit until they've been through their next moult and shed the old scales.

[Egluntyne]

Benzyl Benzoate * not licenced for use on poultry in UK is another good old fashioned remedy for scaly leg mite. Apply with a toothbrush.

 

Available at chemists and in some equestrian type shops. Used for treating scabies in the humans so you might get some sideways glances.