Post by lew92 on Aug 9, 2021 11:25:12 GMT -5
Okay, I have to freely admit that I have been negligent with my chickens. Other things have captured my attention and I have to be very careful of where I "spend" my energy and time working. Of course, that has been in the garden for the past 4 months.
Two weeks ago, I noticed one of my older hens was limping badly. Her legs and feet are very scaly, from leg mites, and I knew there was an easy solution to it, so I scattered what permethrin powder I had over the roosts and in the nesting boxes and came to the house to do some research.
Applying Vaseline is the most recommended treatment, working it in against the grain of the scales on the chicken's legs and feet. the more it gets into those crevices, the better it works because it suffocates the mites. So the next day, I took a shaker can of Ivermectin powder (works on lice and mites for poultry as well as other animals), and dusted the roosts and nesting boxes again, as there wasn't much of the permethrin.
Then I gave my attention to the hen and slathered her legs and feet with "nursery jelly". While I had my hands on her, I tipped her over and checked her vent and saw lice eggs clinging to the nearby feathers, so I dusted her bottom with the powder, too.
The next day, more than half of the growths on her legs and feet had fallen off and there was clean, healthy skin underneath. I put more of the jelly on and over the next few days even more fell off.
She still has some clinging to her toes, but she's made amazing progress. Even more noteworthy, she has started laying eggs again! The first one was misshapen, thin shelled, and bumpy but each egg since then looks better and better and are now normal.
It is time to treat the coop and the hen for lice again, so I will also put another coating of Vaseline on her feet and try to get rid of the last remaining growths.
Two weeks ago, I noticed one of my older hens was limping badly. Her legs and feet are very scaly, from leg mites, and I knew there was an easy solution to it, so I scattered what permethrin powder I had over the roosts and in the nesting boxes and came to the house to do some research.
Applying Vaseline is the most recommended treatment, working it in against the grain of the scales on the chicken's legs and feet. the more it gets into those crevices, the better it works because it suffocates the mites. So the next day, I took a shaker can of Ivermectin powder (works on lice and mites for poultry as well as other animals), and dusted the roosts and nesting boxes again, as there wasn't much of the permethrin.
Then I gave my attention to the hen and slathered her legs and feet with "nursery jelly". While I had my hands on her, I tipped her over and checked her vent and saw lice eggs clinging to the nearby feathers, so I dusted her bottom with the powder, too.
The next day, more than half of the growths on her legs and feet had fallen off and there was clean, healthy skin underneath. I put more of the jelly on and over the next few days even more fell off.
She still has some clinging to her toes, but she's made amazing progress. Even more noteworthy, she has started laying eggs again! The first one was misshapen, thin shelled, and bumpy but each egg since then looks better and better and are now normal.
It is time to treat the coop and the hen for lice again, so I will also put another coating of Vaseline on her feet and try to get rid of the last remaining growths.