# Leg mites



## Maureen (Jan 17, 2013)

Early winter I asked about how to get rid of leg mites. 
We caught it early and slathered all 12 hens legs with Vaseline every few days for 2 weeks or more. Cleaned the coop, vacuumed and the works, twice. Didn't notice a difference but I did read that it takes up to a year for the scales to lay back down, so I guess I wont know if they are REALLY gone? But I had a gut feeling that they weren't so since they were not laying much anyway I did Ivermectrin them. 

It was unseasonably cold after that and I felt like that should have taken care of the problem so I didn't really see bird legs again until two weeks ago! I noticed that they must still have mites and many are noticeably worse than when I first treated them. We've cleaned the pen and slathered them up with oil twice since. 

Is there anything else that I can do? Also, seems easier, I read WD40 is OK, could we actually use that and spray them every couple of days? Or coconut oil? Probably not worth trying Ivermectrin again, is it? Id rather not if it isn't going to work since it give the girls diarrhea the last time and failed to rid them of mites


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## ChickenFarmerAdam (Jun 24, 2014)

I would do the Wd40 because the lubricant is a medicine that can help heal poultry... Just a thought.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You need to repeat the Ivermectin. There are eggs present that hatch which keeps the cycle going 

Another very effective way is injected Ivermectin. Don't know how you feel about injecting birds and a vet might be a tad expensive.


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## Maureen (Jan 17, 2013)

How often? 

I would have to go back on my calendar to see exactly what we did but I did repeat. They were given Ivermec 3 times. Might have been once a week for three weeks? Cannot remember.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That should have gotten them. Its actually repeat in ten days. 

Is your Ivermectin expired or kept in a controlled temp?

We might be seeing what Europe has already experienced, the bugs have become resistant.


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## Maureen (Jan 17, 2013)

That was probably it. I just remember 3 doses, a drop on each bird. It was pour on Ivermec right off the shelf, date is fine. 

Does the oil actually work on its own ever? I could try slathering them nightly for a week. Is WD40 actually useful?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I have serious concerns about using WD40. What chemicals in the WD are absorbed through the skin and then in to the body? What are the long term effects of those chemicals on the body? Yes, this was an old farmers cure but that doesn't make it the right thing to do. They also used kerosene to cure worms. We've come a long way in understanding the health of our birds since then. 

Not saying you were going to blindly use it, but posing questions to ask yourself before trying it. 

I've always had feather leg birds so using vaseline was never a viable option for me. I used the pour on Ivermectin. But I noticed you said a drop. If you're treating LF it should be a minimum of 1/2 cc. It might be that you didn't use enough to be effective.

My vet injected my oldest roo with Ivermectin when I had him in once. The difference in his feet and legs was amazing. And I had been fighting his issues for quite a while.

On edit: the pour on worked for the rest of my birds but for some reason King just never got with the program.


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## Maureen (Jan 17, 2013)

Oh no I understand that, which is why I keep asking. Seems like a fantastic way to get oil up under the scales. A few people have told me that its a safe product, being that its fish oil, but I wonder what else is in there. 
How often should I oil up their legs? I keep reading once a week but that doesn't seem like it would be enough. 
I could buy a different Ivermec pour on but, I did what I was supposed to. 1/2cc was the dose I just said drop because that's literally about what it is.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The idea behind using oil or preferably Vaseline, is that it suffocates the bugs. It has to be worked up under the scales to make contact and seal them in. 

You could try soaking their legs in a permerthrin solution. But depending on the number of birds you have that could be a long drawn out task, especially since it needs to be repeated in ten days.


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