How to Combat Scaly Leg Mites in Chickens

This week I have been dealing with scaly leg mites.  Scaly leg mites are teeny, tiny creatures that live under the scales of chickens' feet/legs.  They pass their days happily protected in this safe environment.   As the waste these little Nasties produce accumulates, it causes the scales on the chickens' legs to lift up and sometimes fall off.  This is a common problem in chickens that free range or spend a portion of their time outside because they catch these pests from wild birds.
About 3 weeks ago I noticed my Barred Rock, Jennifer, limping slightly.  I thought that she had injured her leg but about a week after I noticed that a few of her scales on her leg were lifting up.  Poor girl.
So....how to get rid of these mites?, you ask.

Step 1:  Remove all the old bedding (pine shavings in my case) and burn it (I'm not sure if the burning part is necessary but it makes me feel better).
 Step 2:  Clean every nook and cranny of the hen house with warm water that has a few capfuls of bleach and a squirt of dawn dish detergent.  Pay special attention to the roosting pole.  (My husband made another roosting pole entirely--my old roost was a tree branch and we switched to a 2x4 with the longer end up and rounded off the edges--I thought that the mites would have more places to hide in the nooks and crannies of the tree branch over the smooth surface of the 2x4)
Step 3:  Sprinkle the coop with  a generous dusting of diatomaceous earth (DE).  DE  helps control ticks and mites by getting in between the feathers and grinding ticks and mites.   Bwaaa...ha...ha...ha!!!!!!  The DE should be food grade because the chickens will undoubtedly be eating some of it.  I purchased the DE at Tractor Supply Company for $8.99.
Step 4:   Try to catch your chickens by chasing them.
Step 5:  Try to bribe your chickens to come near you with treats so you can catch them.
Step 6:  Get a friend to help you catch your chickens so you can spray their legs with Scaly Mite Protector from Manna Pro and then massage it in.  The whole foot and let and pads of feet too.  This product is all natural.  You can use vaseline or another oil as well--the idea is to smother the mites to death.   
Step 7:  Repeat steps 4-6 EVERY DAY for 10 days or until all signs of mites are gone.
Step 8:  Reclean coop on day 10.  It takes 10 days to break the lifecycle of the mites.
I am on day two of the regimen and I will let you know the results in eight more days.

Garden...FAIL.

So this year I decided to plant a garden.  

I planted sugar snap peas (all eaten down ground hogs--I got three peas--not three pea plants--three peas). 

I planted potatoes (eaten by something else).  

I planted peppers (they just didn't grow--I don't have any idea why).  

I planted onions (didn't grow).  

I notice from my blog post that I also planted basil from seed...I have no idea what became of that haha!  

I also had the seed and desire to plant corn, watermelon, zucchini, and butternut squash that I never got into the ground.  

I planted two varieties of tomatoes.  

Above is a picture of my Martino's Roma organic, heirloom tomatoes.  My babies that I grew from seed.  Seedlings  

However....dun, dun, duuuun--below is another view.  This is blossom end rot.  This is a physiological disease not an infectious one.  It has to do with the plant not being able to uptake enough calcium.  It was quite alarming--I'd never seen that one before.    

Welp, I hope that this might make you feel a little bit better about any garden troubles you experienced this year!!!  Can't be this bad :-)

Job 1:21

Cuckoo Marans????? OHhhh...I hope...I hope...I hope!

Miss Pasty the chicken in question

Miss Pasty pondering the color of her legs (compare to chicken to her left)

Barred Rock I think Jennifer but maybe Clarissa anyway not important!

Please don't let my intense longing for this chicken to be a Cuckoo Marans sway your opinion!  Here is the back story for anyone interested in my chicken drama.    I had ordered 6 chicks: 1 Barred Plymouth Rock, 1 Buff Orptington, 2 Easter eggers, 1 Golden Campine, and 1 Welsummer.  The night that they were going to ship I got an email from the hatchery around 9:14 PM that not enough Welsummer chick's had hatched.  (Now when I ordered several months before I had clicked the box "accept no hatch day substitutions").  I immediately emailed back that I would, indeed, not only accept hatch day substitutions, I would, in fact, accept any number or type of chicken they would send me.  I then called and left a message on their phone (after hours) detailing again my wishes.  Thankfully, a few minutes later I received an email from them thanking me for my "prompt response" and letting me know they had also gotten my voice mail.  I guess they are used to "hatch day crazies" like me.  Two days after the email,  my sweet chicks finally arrived after a long agonizing wait and a perilous journey.  My peeping package contained seven chicks, some bedding material, a heating pack, and a packing slip.  On the packing slip only 6 of the chicks were accounted for.  1 buff orp, 1 campine, 2 barred rocks, and 2 easter eggers.  The seventh chicken was not mentioned on the slip but looked a lot like the barred rocks...so I've always assumed we had three.  The third barred rock was always a little smaller, slower to feather and just looked a little different.  We've always wondered if maybe "she" was a rooster.  But last night it dawned on me, "what if she's a different kind of chicken?"  What I came up with is that she is a Cuckoo Marans.  She is black and white but the barring is definitely not as crisp as the other two Rocks .  Overall, her plumage is more black esp. in near her tail.  Her neck is longer and her tail feathers are definitely a different shape (hers swoops up and theirs does not go up at all really).  Her legs are a different color (hers are flesh colored while the rocks are yellow).  She also is the noisiest chicken.  She screams a lot (I have no idea if Marans are noisier or not).  I have tried to take pictures and I would love to hear anyone's opinion .  I also posted a pic of one of my Barred Rocks for comparison.

Best Songs for Running

Here are the top 4 songs to upload to your mp3 players when heading out for a jog.    The #3 pick seriously made me cut my run short once and go home because I thought I was going to get struck by lightning (listen and you'll understand)
#4  Rebel Intro by Lecrae

#3 On Distant Shores by Five Iron Frenzy

#2 Awake O Sleeper

  


#1 These Frail Hands by Brave Saint Saturn

Things I like to compost

1.  fruit and veggie scraps
2.  leaves
3.  dryer lint
4.  hair/fur (human/cat)
5.  egg shells
6.  dried out lawn clippings
7.  weeds from garden
8.  coffee grinds and filters
9.  used tea bags
10.  napkins/paper towels
11. old cotton socks
12.  wool yarn ends

Stuck Inside.

It is a beautiful day and I'm stuck inside with a nose dripping like a faucet.  Seriously, it's a little scary--I'm sure I'm inches away from severe dehydration at this point.  I always thought people were sort of wimpy when they didn't go out because of allergies but I take it all back. I understand now.
On an unrelated note, my cat who is locked in the basement (so he eats more slowly and doesn't throw up) is trying to get out of the cat door right now with the force of a full grown man, make that two grown men.  What in the world!?!  I wish I had a video.  Really, it's only been like a half hour, kitty!

GROWING AND GROWING!

Chicken Coop Nearly Finished

Whew!  Coop nearly finished.  All that is needed are 2 latches, 1 roosting pole, and flowers for the window box.  Coop constructed from damaged lumber pack from Lowe's (plywood, all the framing wood and we have LOTS leftover), free pallet wood, leftover shingles and tar paper, $10 window from thrift store, and $10 roll of discounted fencing!  What a fun, thrifty project (prob cost around $150 total) and I love how it turned out.  The chicks went out for about 20 minutes into the run and they seemed to love it!  They are really trying out their wings and vying for the spot at the top of the pecking order.  I got my sneaker pooped on too.  Big day out for the girls!

Crazy Mom/Not Dead Chicks

As a newbie to raising chickens, I have observed a few things about my chicks that I wasn't prepared for by reading the care manuals.   Chick behavior can tend to be alarming to a new chicken mom, for sure!  For the first week I was constantly "pretty sure" that my chicks were knocking at death's door--but in the end they were only doing what chicks do.

   The first thing I noticed that concerned me and I wasn't prepared for is that chicks fall asleep and look really dead.  They might just wobble drunkenly and then drop over--or worse, you might find them sprawled all out with their little, teeny heads lulled to the side (very dead looking).  Luckily, just before I finished planning the  poor chicken's memorial service I checked to see if she was still breathing.  Whew! just sleeping--no need for alarm.  Cancel the bagpipe player!

     The second thing I learned is that just because a tiny piece of a bird poo gets stuck to their hiney does not mean that they are pasted up.  I think my poor chicks endured a lot of unnecessary butt cleanings because I was convinced they were pasted up and near death.  Just keep checking to make sure that they are not building up droppings--a lot of times the other birds will take care of this poo for you or else the droppings are, in fact, not covering their vent at all.  Cancel the flower arrangements!

     Also, some chicks are just naturally smaller and some days a chick will sleep more than the others (for the time that you are watching them).    Every once and a while a chick just does something weird--like list to the side.  It's probably not an avian stroke--they might just be scratching their wing on the the  pole they are roosting on.  (Sheepish grin, my husband was absolutely right when he said "You're a little crazy--the chicks are fine")

     In the end, I must admit I'm not in control of whether they live or die.  I can care for them the best I know how and must leave the rest up to the one who made them.  He knows better than me, that's for sure!   He decides how long they will be with me.  I'm so thankful for the fact that they are healthy and happy (I'm pretty sure they're happy--I know I'm happy)! 

First Chicks Arrive!

The post office called at 1:00 on Wednesday afternoon and I nearly fainted because I knew what would be waiting for me!  I had been planning, dreaming, waiting for this day for months.  The brooder light was on and warming up my brooder (storage container) to a toasty 95 degrees.  We hopped in the truck and were on on way!  Opening the door to the post office we were greeted by the sound of chirps.  I shakily signed for my peeping package and walked back to the truck.  I had to take a peek!  They were so cute.  When we brought them home I dipped each little beak into the water to "teach" them how to drink.  They tilt their little heads back and drink the much needed water.  I count my chicks...1,2,3,4,5,6.......7.  SEVEN!  They sent an extra chick.  I try not to dwell long about why the company did this--they just wanted to send me an extra, right!?!  All chicks seem happy and healthy.   What a blessing!

Basement Garden

Tomato Seedlings

 A few weeks ago I decided to try starting some seeds indoors.  I've only tried this once before with no luck.  This time I read up a little and think I learned a bit to help me through the process and so far I'm happy with the results!  I started two types of tomatoes: Red Velvet (a cherry type tomato) and Martino's Roma.  I plan to can the Roma tomatoes for sauce (AKA gravy) and the cherry ones for eating off the vine. 

L to R:  Basil babies, transplanted tomato seedlings, peppers, butternut squash

I also started peppers, basil, and butternut squash.  The squash seeds were saved from an heirloom variety squash that was given to me by a friend last season.  The squash was yummy and I was too excited to sow in the ground to see if the seed would germinate.  It did!!!  In only a few days.  I started all the seed covered in plastic bags on my radiator.  As soon as they sprouted I put them under a light in the basement for 16 hours a day.  I also water them with a spray bottle--I try to spray them a tiny, little bit rough to toughen up their stems (I don't know if this will work but I feel like the stems are getting thick instead of really long and weak--which is what happened last time I tried from seed)  I also have potatoes growing outside (ones from the grocery store I just cut up--making sure a piece had an eye on it), onion seed, and peas--that I just saw the sprouts today!!!!!!!  I have two types sugar snap peas and dwarf gray which are a bush type.  I am usually Gung-ho in the in beginning and then by the end of the season kind of forget to water so  I thought if I blog a little it will remind me of all the work I've already put in so I won't give up.  It will seem like no time before the tomatoes are red and bursting and ready to can!

Butternut Squash!