Scaly Leg Mites? Eww! What Are They?

I've been busy. No, not doing anything exciting or fun, or even remotely glamorous. It's a tough subject, and those who don't have chickens, may want to skip this blog. However, if you're itching to know what we've been up to, well, read on. You've been warned.

This hen is being treated for scaly leg mites.

We've seen our fair share of ice this winter, followed by warmer days that give way to mud, and more mud. It seems, we could all use a break and even a day at the spa. Such conditions are inviting for the tiniest of creatures or mites, to move in and make themselves comfortable in the coops and to wreak havoc with our feathered friends. During warmer and drier weather, hens can bathe in dirt, and toss about while the dust helps clean their feathers and rid themselves of pests.

On most evenings, just before dusk, we give our ladies an opportunity to run about the yard. It was on one of those evenings that I noticed a change to the once smooth scales of the legs of some of our hens. Beneath the crusts of mud, some of the scales on their legs were pushed up, dry and crusty. Among them was our Red Sexlink, Nutmeg, who no longer had lovely smooth scaled legs. Poor girl!

Diagnosis

 Unlike other chicken maladies, scaly leg mites are easy to diagnose, but not as easy to get rid of. Leg mites are ectoparasites that are common with backyard chickens, pheasants and turkeys. They are not visible to the naked eye but will spend their life, which is 10-14 days, burrowing beneath the cornified epidermis of the chicken's skin. The tunneling action of these creatures damages the chicken's tissue, and results in lesions that appear as thickened, scaly skin. The presence of the mites is painful for the birds. If left untreated, chickens can lose their toes, become lame, or end up with deformed legs and feet. Chickens that are left untreated may also develop secondary bacterial infections, and can even die. And, yes, it can spread between birds. 

The hen pictured above has healthy legs and feet with smooth flat scales.

Fortunately, we're not headed, I don't believe, for a worst case scenario. However, we can't leave the hens untreated. 

Treatment

 Imagine trying to chase after just one bird to catch it, and then wash its legs, dry them, and then slather them with ointment or spray. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Recruiting assistance isn't easy either!

Depending upon who you speak with, you may be told to soak the legs of your hens in gasoline or in baby oil.  The idea of putting something like gasoline or WD-40, despite their supposed quick success rates, isn't an option I'm comfortable with.  We also learned that a good soaking of the legs in coconut or olive oil may also be effective. Cooking spray was another option. The idea behind all of these remedies is that the application will suffocate the mites. If needed, Ivermectin has also shown to be successful when applied topically.

Since the freezing temperatures made it impossible to do spa treatments involving a leg soak in sudsy water, followed by towel drying and then the application of oil, we skipped right to the application of petroleum jelly. 

Armed with disposable plastic gloves and petroleum jelly, my dear husband and I headed out for the first treatment. Nearly two dozen hens running around in snow, mud and ice as we set out to catch a hen, treat her, and then release. What a mess!  We did this for a week, treating every three days. Meanwhile, I emptied the coops, and sprayed the roosting bars with a natural pesticide.

I'm convinced that treatment may come in several forms and even using different strategies. I wait for hens to roost at night and then enter the coop, and spray their legs while they are on the perch. Mornings are a bit more challenging because they are eager to get outside. So far, I feel like I've barely made a difference.

Before today's snow, we had a wonderfully sunny springlike day which was a perfect opportunity to do a quick clean of the run and coops, and lay some new wood chips.  Chickens are curious and grateful creatures and within minutes, they were  sunning themselves and taking turns in the renewed dust bath of soil, wood ash and food-grade diatomaceous earth.

This morning, I'm shoveling the snow from the wood chips and clearing heavy snow and ice from the tarps. Our flock still needs to be treated but it will have to wait a bit longer. Spring is right around the corner, right?