katie20171 Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 Hi all, I've just joined the forum as I'm having an issue with one of my chickens feet-she is my oldest chicken at nearly 6 years old. After I realised she had scaly leg mites I started treatment which consisted of vaseline, then scaly leg removed (went through 2 bottles of that) then vegetable oil. I am now back using just vaseline. The vegetable oil whilst it seemed to help the scaly legs, has resulted in her legs being caked in dirt. The pen is dirty in places and I guess the veg oil has made it stick to her legs really bad. I have scrubbed her feet with a toothbrush and scrubbing brush as hard as possible (without hurting her) on at least 3 different occasions using soap and shampoo-I cannot however get this mud off! It is not like normal mud it is just absolutely stuck on, it looks like someone just took a brush and painted her feet dark brown. I am at a loss what to do since I'm worried the mites will breed under the mud (I'm not sure how it works) and i can't see how bad her legs are due to the mud. She seems fine with her feet (although sometimes holds one up?) but I need to take her to the vet for another issue and I would really like to get them cleaned up before he sees her! Can anyone recommend something to use to s"Ooops, word censored!"e the mud off without causing her any injury and/or a solution that will best get the mud off as a scrubbing brush and shampoo is just not shifting it at all. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie20171 Posted October 11, 2017 Author Share Posted October 11, 2017 Sorry that should say "scaly leg remover" which didn't seem to do much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 Hi Katie are you sure it is mud? She obviously has no problem being handled so if you have soaked her feet in warm water with baby shampoo I would have thought mud would have dissolved off. Sorry to be of no more help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackrocksrock Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 I may be wrong but I had one with Scaly Leg Mite once before and the legs did not go back to normal colour etc until the hen had had a moult and the scales came off and left clean ones underneath - I think you can scrub and scrub and it wont help - in fact I think you should just leave them as it may hinder the healing process. I dont think its mud! The vet can give you Ivermectin drops on her neck if its really bad and not going away but you will have the withdrawal eggs bit to deal with. Someone in the know will probably come along and tell you if this is correct or if I am wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 Hi Katie are you sure it is mud? She obviously has no problem being handled so if you have soaked her feet in warm water with baby shampoo I would have thought mud would have dissolved off. Sorry to be of no more help. ... unless it's mixed with Vaseline try a detergent in the water, or some surgical spirit to break down the grease that's holding it on. Treating scaly leg mites is relatively easy... you can use a branded spray (some are more effective than others) and apply it by spraying onto a soft child's toothbrush and brushing it up under the scales. Coating with Sudocrem is also a good one as it not only suffocates the mites, but the Benzyl Benzoate in it seems to kill them too. By far the best method in my book is a preventative treatment - these aren't yet licensed for use on poultry in the UK, but most chicken-savvy vets will prescribe an Ivermectin based spot-on treatment to be used quarterly; my farm vet recommends a cattle pour-on call Ivomec Eprinex - dosing instructions are 0.25ml/5.5lb of chicken (more instructions here). The vet would also recommend a spray containing permethrin to spray on the legs. This will get rid of the mites, but the scales will remain a bit rough and raised until the next moult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie20171 Posted October 12, 2017 Author Share Posted October 12, 2017 > Hi Katie are you sure it is mud? She obviously has no problem being handled so if> you have soaked her feet in warm water with baby shampoo I would have thought mud > would have dissolved off. Sorry to be of no more help. It must be mud I think yeh. I've never seen anything like it-it's just a thin layer, but it's well stuck! > I may be wrong but I had one with Scaly Leg Mite once before and the legs did not > go back to normal colour etc until the hen had had a moult and the scales came off > and left clean ones underneath - I think you can scrub and scrub and it wont help > - in fact I think you should just leave them as it may hinder the healing process. > I dont think its mud! The vet can give you Ivermectin drops on her neck if its really > bad and not going away but you will have the withdrawal eggs bit to deal with. > > Someone in the know will probably come along and tell you if this is correct or if > I am wrong. That's interesting, I didn't really know the scales on the feet had anything to do with moulting. She's not laying right now and hasn't laid an egg in quiet a few months (due to age I would guess), I thought she was moulting but I'm not sure-maybe she's about to come into one. None of my birds are laying right now since it's gotten colder and darker so no egg withdrawal to worry about anyway. Hmm maybe I should leave them then I'm just a bit embarrassed for the vet to see! > Hi Katie are you sure it is mud? She obviously has no problem> being handled so if you have soaked her feet in warm water with baby shampoo I would > have thought mud would have dissolved off. Sorry to be of no more help. > > ... unless it's mixed with Vaseline try a detergent in the water, or some > surgical spirit to break down the grease that's holding it on. > > Treating scaly leg mites is relatively easy... you can use a branded spray (some > are more effective than others) and apply it by spraying onto a soft child's toothbrush > and brushing it up under the scales. Coating with Sudocrem is also a good one as > it not only suffocates the mites, but the Benzyl Benzoate in it seems to kill them > too. By far the best method in my book is a preventative treatment - these aren't > yet licensed for use on poultry in the UK, but most chicken-savvy vets will > prescribe an Ivermectin based spot-on treatment to be used quarterly; my farm vet > recommends a cattle pour-on call Ivomec Eprinex - dosing instructions are 0.25ml/5.5lb > of chicken (more instructions here). > The vet would also recommend a spray containing permethrin to spray on the legs. > This will get rid of the mites, but the scales will remain a bit rough and raised > until the next moult. Ooh thanks for the sudocrem tip! I had used nivea, not sure if it did anything. Never heard of trying sudocrem before but one to try thanks. Great I will get some detergent or surgical spirit, do you have one in mind I could use, is it safe? I ask because I just found out that the chickens absorb the stuff through their feet and even too much veg oil is a bad thing and could get absorbed and cause the bird harm (hope I didn't use too much when i was treating her with the veg oil before!) Just another thing I was wondering-how do you know if the mites have gone if the scales remain rough and raised? Is there anything to tell they are gone or do you just have to assume they are based on the treatment and play the waiting game until the new scales come through? Sorry I can't seem to get the quotes to work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 After the mites have gone, the scabs or exude under the scales will gradually dropout, but the scales will remain raised. It's this scabbing or crusts that will indicate ongoing mite activity. Please don't be embarrassed to go to the vet - they've seen it all before juts check before you book that they are chicken-savvy. Personally, I'd get them on a regular preventative regime with a spot-on; that way you won't get problems with lice or mites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie20171 Posted October 12, 2017 Author Share Posted October 12, 2017 After the mites have gone, the scabs or exude under the scales will gradually dropout, but the scales will remain raised. It's this scabbing or crusts that will indicate ongoing mite activity. Please don't be embarrassed to go to the vet - they've seen it all before juts check before you book that they are chicken-savvy. Personally, I'd get them on a regular preventative regime with a spot-on; that way you won't get problems with lice or mites Thanks, I already have an avian vet who is very good-been to him a fair few times! Yes the preventative regime is probably the best idea. More worried now about my hens other symptoms which is why she is off to the vet tomorrow, have a feeling I won't be bringing her back anyway I have 2 others who also have the mites but not as bad so need to treat them too.Thanks so much for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 If they all have scaly leg mites, then i would also check them all over for lice and northern fowl mites, and check the housing for red mites. The preventative treatment will knock that on the head, but you may also need to use the permethrin spray if there's a bad infestation.... that is dosed 2 treatments 5 days apart, on the skin around the vent area and anywhere else that you find critters. Be prepared to repeat it again if they haven't gone, but that should sort it. Roughly where are you located? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie20171 Posted October 12, 2017 Author Share Posted October 12, 2017 Yikes, i had no idea that chickens could get all these things before I got them The vet will give her a good check up tomorrow-he's the one that first noticed the scaly legs when I took my last chicken to the vet (she had egg yolk peritonitis and we lost her). Only 3 chickens left now and my other two are younger and had lovely clear legs until just recently. I won't be getting any more chickens after these 3 are gone. I do have a red mite powder that I put all over them and in the house a few weeks ago so hopefully they dont have that. Honestly I think having 3 dogs was less complicated?! I'm from the East Midlands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 Ahh, so not near me - I would have been happy to help if you were in the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie20171 Posted October 12, 2017 Author Share Posted October 12, 2017 Aw shame, but thank you anyway, I'll let you know how the vet goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 Yes, do keep us informed. If you are over near North Oxfordshire/South Warks, then i am happy to help. It's just like dogs and cats really.... you need to treat them for worms and fleas/lice too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie20171 Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 Update-I used surgical spirit to clean her legs and wow it worked so well! Was able to get most of the mud off that nothing else would shift-thank you so much would never have thought of using that otherwise! She has a bump on each foot from the scaly legs but the vet said the mites are gone and they are recovering so that's great! I was worried he was going to say they looked terrible, but they are all cured and no need for any more treatment Just the old scales need to come off in the 2 places. As far as the main reason I took her to the vets-he's not sure exactly what is wrong but has given us some antibiotics so hopefully she responds to them, if not we have to take her back probably to get put to sleep He doesn't know what it is without investigating (x-rays etc) so we are just hoping the antibiotics work but he said she is very thin and in bad condition-they have food available at all times and she still comes for treats so not sure why she is so thin must be the illness she has. At least I've managed to do one thing right and get her legs sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
