Scaly leg mite infestation in an Aseel chicken and its successful treatment with neem oil: A case report

Abstract

A two year old Aseel chicken was found to have thickening of the skin in the shank, exfoliation and restlessness. Clinical examination revealed no pain on palpation and no abnormal gait. The bird was also off feed with pale comb and wattles. On examination of a deep skin scraping, Cnemidocoptes mutans mites were identified and the condition was confirmed as a scaly leg. The bird was treated topically with a 50:50 mixture of kerosene and neem oil, for a period of 5 days continuously. Gradual healing was observed. The crusts slowly got removed and the scales became normal. As a preventive measure, neem oil was also applied to the litter material. The present findings indicate the miticidal property of neem oil against Cnemidocoptes mutans mites in chicken and its potential use as an ethnoveterinary medicine for treatment of scaly leg mites avoiding the use of chemical acaricides.