Feather mites

Loveslayla

Loveslayla

Member
Dec 30, 2019
40
15
8
44
My boy has been stomping his front and back legs For 2 days... and chewing on his feathers.
He is a cob with beautiful thick feathers. What’s the best way to treat...
I think he may have mites ?

I was thinking of a hibiscub wash and deosect initially and if that didn’t help vets for the injection.

Any other advise
 
With mine I keep them brushed, do a one off wash with a shampoo to treat bugs and crawlies, and then every two weeks with Nettex powder.
She gets itchy but it could also be midges and warm weather.
Generally I start before the stomp, so early April all through the summer. She doesn't chew and only itches the back.

This year could be interesting as I am not around.

The vet will want to do a skin scraping initially to see if your horse had them and currently they only dealing with emergencies.
 
newforest said:
With mine I keep them brushed, do a one off wash with a shampoo to treat bugs and crawlies, and then every two weeks with Nettex powder.
She gets itchy but it could also be midges and warm weather.
Generally I start before the stomp, so early April all through the summer. She doesn't chew and only itches the back.

This year could be interesting as I am not around.

The vet will want to do a skin scraping initially to see if your horse had them and currently they only dealing with emergencies.
Click to expand...
 

What shampoo do you use? I can’t see any mites but wanna nip it in the bud... was going to local farming store today to get treatments... I don’t wanna chip his feathers off
 
I use pig oil and suplhur powder. You can get a little bottle ready mixed. I think its down by lincoln. Ive never used it myself. I buy a 5 litre container of pig oil and a i think its 5 litre bucket of sulphur powder both done by battles, then i just mix it together in a separate container as and when i need to. It keeps mixed up in a container to, so if you have a little bucket with a lid its fab. I just paint on to the underside of the feather with a paintbrush. You want to get it as close to the skin as possible to treat mites. I always say dont paint the top of the feather as thats just wasting, pull the hair upwards and dab at the roots underneath.
Some people report that there horses have had skin irritations using it. So maybe try on only one leg, patch first. Personally i dont paint the whole of the leg when i do it anyway. But i will use it on a weekly basis and just dab here and there. Also great for mud fever and keeping mud from sticking to feather over winter months.

Is he trying to bit behind the back of the front legs. Which is where its most common. Have a look behind the knees, just below for some scabby flakyness.

You could also try the frontline pippettes that you use for dogs. I think its one per leg. Not tried this myself. I think some have used detomax injections too.
 
Good luck shifting the buggers!
I've tried just about everything from dectomax jabs administered by the vet to Deosect. Nothing really works all you can do is keep a lid on it. The best thing we have found is to shave the feather off completely. Then you can get to the heart of the problem. Otherwise most of what you apply sits on the hair and doesn't get right in there.
Pig oil and sulphur will work to a point as it creates and unpleasant environment for the mites but it's not a cure. Deosect is smelly and dangerous and I don't like the idea of applying to already broken / damaged skin.
Atm we are using a combo of Barrier itch shampoo, followed by Gold Label itchgone cream. In between this I apply the itchgone as and when necessary. Another good product is Pestaway, I like that because you don't need to rinse it off and it's quite effective.
 
I've tried pig oil and sulphur - for Hogan's massive feathers it didn't work so well, nor did deosect. What worked for me was the lime plus dip, and the pest away shampoo, as recommended by trewsers - I'm going to use that all over, once a month from now on, as we had lice. I love that the pestaway doesn't need rinsed too! (Thanks again trewsers!)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Trewsers
I’ve washed his feathers in an insecticide shampoo... towel dried them and sprayed deosect in to damp feathers so hoping it’s fit into the feathers to the skin.. I’ll repeat it in 2 weeks. Will see how he goes..

If not I’ll try something else.. I have pig oil so may add that tomorrow after the farrier has trimmed his toes

Frontline was suggested... not that I’m going to or thinking of doing, but I have advocate flea treatment for my dogs... would that work?
 
  • Like
Reactions: lauren123 and Huggy
For mites you need the sulpur powder. Pig oil on its own wont do anything other than condition the feathers. Its just the carrier that helps coat better. The sulphur is what coats the shell of the mite to suffocate the things. You could also try diamacious earth mixed into the pig oil.

My understanding of mites is for dome they are able to cure it. Others never cure it but just control it. They live under the skin and if conditions are right they break out. Things like stress or climate conditions on the body can do it. I read your other thread, your recent changes could have been enough to trigger it.
 
I've used frontline as prescribed by my vet for my mare. I can't say if it worked as I never believed she had mites (a stubborn case of summer mud fever and not itchy) but the vet wanted to try it in case.
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back