Mary Allen
It nests under the scales on the chicken legs and causes severe itching. We are talking about foot mange mites. How to recognize and treat the parasite?
The chicken pecks at its legs with its beak. Tries to scratch. Walks up and down the spout. It seems restless, nervous, or even stressed. These are all signs that something is wrong with the animal. As a breeder, it is now important to clarify where the shoe pinches. For a detailed examination, take the animal in your hand and examine the itchy area. Most of the symptoms described above are an infestation by mange mite.
These parasites are also called calcified leg mites. The name comes from the fact that the legs look calcified. Because of the excretions of the mites from gray-white, scaly, and brittle bark on the legs of the chickens. The skin mites themselves are so small that they can only be seen with a microscope. The male representatives have a spherical body about 0.25 millimeters in size. The females are twice as big. Mites can be recognized by the fact that adult animals do not have a jointed body like insects. Only the larvae have three pairs of legs, while nymphs and sexually mature mites, like all arachnids, have a total of eight legs.
Transmission Occurs from Animal to Animal
The tiny animals dig tunnels under the scales of the legs. This causes severe skin inflammation that can lead to bleeding. Larvae, nymphs, and adult mites can be found in the tunnels. Constant movement triggers the itching. In addition, the legs swell. If the infestation is not noticed and treated for a long time, the horny scales of the legs splay off, and an ever-growing greyish mass forms in between. In older animals, the tissue growths often reach a thickness of more than one centimeter. As the disease progresses, the chicken can hardly move. The result is emaciation and reduced performance, for example when laying eggs.
Limebone mites, with the scientific name Knemidokoptes mutants, are transmitted from animal to animal. Most often this happens when a new animal is added to the stock. In contrast to the red mite, there is no danger to humans with the calcified mite.
For treatment, it is recommended to soften the affected legs and toes. Fruit tree carbolic, green soap, or glycerine have proven their worth here. After that, the crusts must be scrubbed with lukewarm water and a soft brush. If the legs were not softened, slight to severe bleeding would occur when scrubbing. Now the affected area is creamed with Vaseline, which leads to the mites dying of suffocation. The treatment should be repeated approximately after 14 days. To prevent reinfestation, the barn must be thoroughly cleaned with a disinfectant.