Brahma leg redness

[murphrandir]

Hello all, thank you for having you here. This April will be my one-year mark of becoming a chicken owner, and I have reached my first roadblock that I cannot seem to overcome. I have two buff Brahma among my clean legged birds. Mid January I noticed that one of them had lost considerable amount of feathering on the legs. A couple weeks later, I noticed she was pretty red in those spots, so I applied castor oil (thinking SLM) and blue kote. A couple weeks after that we had a pretty heavy rain, and I noticed both Brahmas were a little red around the follicles, so I did another oil treatment and some Veterycin. This last week I noticed they were still pretty red, so I did one final oil treatment, and have done hydrocortisone cream. I know it’s too soon to see feather regrowth, but I am concerned about the redness. A local chicken group member told me that feather legged breeds can get red around molting time, but these girls aren’t even a year old. These pictures look really bad because of the blue kote, but any ideas? They act totally fine, and I have since removed all bedding and treated several times with permethrin dust and spray inside the coop.

 

[Iluveggers]

@azygous is great with diagnosing

@Shadrach is great with feather leg problems/mites

 

[nuthatched]

I don't see anything concerning, feather legged breeds have their feet snagged on things and the follicles get irritated.

 

[azygous]

The feathers on the legs have all the earmarks of depluming mites. They are too small to see with the naked eye, but they mine the feathers into sheer stripped versions of healthy feathers and they irritate the heck out of the surrounding tissue.

The treatment is Ivermectin 1%. A drop on the back of the neck on exposed skin, followed by another treatment in two weeks. I would treat the entire flock as the older chickens likely have them, as well. Look on their necks and see if their feathers also have the stripped and mined appearance.

 

[murphrandir]

The feathers on the legs have all the earmarks of depluming mites. They are too small to see with the naked eye, but they mine the feathers into sheer stripped versions of healthy feathers and they irritate the heck out of the surrounding tissue.

The treatment is Ivermectin 1%. A drop on the back of the neck on exposed skin, followed by another treatment in two weeks. I would treat the entire flock as the older chickens likely have them, as well. Look on their necks and see if their feathers also have the stripped and mined appearance.

OK, where might I get the ivermectin at that dosage?

When I was looking at potentially scaly leg mites, I saw references to a withdrawal period of the medication in the eggs. Does this apply to topical treatment as well?

 

[azygous]

Ivermectin can be bought online of from most feed stores. The dose is one to two drops on the neck skin for small chickens, three drops for average size birds, and four to five drops for larger heavy chickens. You extract the med from a vial with a needle syringe, but do not inject it.

Yes, there is a recommended two week egg withdrawal if you choose to observe it. Some of us don't bother. Worming meds are not antibiotics.

 

[murphrandir]

Ok- I have two brahma, a barred rock, two EE's, and two Wyandotte. Those would all be large birds right? Thank you so much for your help. The meds are on the way. Hopefully I can get them some relief. Is there anything else I need to do for them? How (or is there a way) can I prevent this?

 

[azygous]

These feather mites are like fleas on dogs and cats. They are simply in the environment, not a reflection on your housekeeping. You would keep an eye on the feathers for that tell tale thin stripped appearance and treat again. It possible they may not ever return. Play it by ear.

A one or two pound bird gets two drops. A baby chick would get one. An average chicken weighing five pounds would get three to four drops. A six to ten pound chicken would get five drops. Is that clear?

 

[murphrandir]

These feather mites are like fleas on dogs and cats. They are simply in the environment, not a reflection on your housekeeping. You would keep an eye on the feathers for that tell tale thin stripped appearance and treat again. It possible they may not ever return. Play it by ear.

A one or two pound bird gets two drops. A baby chick would get one. An average chicken weighing five pounds would get three to four drops. A six to ten pound chicken would get five drops. Is that clear?

Yep! Thank you so much!

 

[murphrandir]

These feather mites are like fleas on dogs and cats. They are simply in the environment, not a reflection on your housekeeping. You would keep an eye on the feathers for that tell tale thin stripped appearance and treat again. It possible they may not ever return. Play it by ear.

A one or two pound bird gets two drops. A baby chick would get one. An average chicken weighing five pounds would get three to four drops. A six to ten pound chicken would get five drops. Is that clear?

Just dosed them all- do I need to repeat the dose or should we be good to go?