Oh, the joys of having chickens! How hard can it be to keep a few chooks? That’s what I thought before having my own little flock. After all, I grew up with my parents, who kept lots of them when I was little, and it always looked so easy. I certainly had never seen any of our chickens with scaly leg mites or any other problems, for that matter… Fast forward 40 years, and here I am, realising it is far from a walk in the park. Having said that, it is definitely worth it, and after a while, you get used to spotting problems early enough to fix them immediately.

Scaly leg mites are a pest that targets chicken legs. They burrow inside the scales on their feet and legs and feed on keratin. They create little tunnels underneath their skin, irritating it, which then makes it get thicker and lift away from the leg. It is unsightly and painful for the chicken and can spread to other chickens. You can find more info here.

When I first saw our lovely TTV (Teeny Tiny Victoria) infested with it, I had no idea what I was looking at. I thought she had muddy feet as the weather had been so terrible for such a long time, so I just ignored it. In my defence, I had bigger problems to think about. After a few months, when everything else had been resolved and the weather had also settled, I realised that her funny-looking feet had nothing to do with being muddy.

After researching it online, I realised the issue was these pesky scaly legs mites. I wanted to use something natural to eliminate them, so I researched the subject and decided to give neem oil a go. And it worked!
The first week, I checked and treated TTV every other day, then about twice a week and, at the very end, when there was hardly anything left, just once a week. I smothered her feet in the oil and, at the same time, got rid of any loose scale, and that’s it. I saw a significant improvement in just a week, and within a few weeks, she was completely healed. I must admit it is not very pleasant to clean the feet. In fact, it is gross, but it goes quickly. And TTV had a very severe case of it.
I hope your flock is as healthy as can be, but if you have problems with scaly leg mites, try neem oil. I hope it helps your chooks like it has helped my little hen.

Disclaimer: Please note, I am not a veterinarian, and none of the information above should be construed as veterinary advice. The post above is just my personal experience. If your animal is acting unwell or you have concerns for your animal’s well being, please contact your veterinarian.