Honestly, who was the bright spark who thought using waste engine oil on a chicken’s legs was a good idea??
Sump oil is often recommended as a treatment for scaly leg mite. So what is it, why did people use it, and why do we strongly recommend against its use these days?
Short version
Sump oil is waste engine oil.
It contains a range of chemicals including lead, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic.
These chemicals are have known impact on living things, including long-term debilitation and death.
It has been widely used in the past to manage pests and parasites, particular in wood products and on the legs to treat scaly leg mite.
However, it is incredibly toxic, and plenty of cheap, effective, less-harmful alternatives exist, such as plain cooking oil and ivermectin-based topical (ie on the skin) products (“drenches”).
Therefore, please do not use sump oil on any living thing, or where any living thing can get access to it.
In particular, please do not use sump oil in food-producing animals, as the risk of the contaminants getting into the food chain is incredibly high.
Table of contents
What is sump oil?
What’s in sump oil?
Why are these components bad?
Why do people use sump oil?
Does it work?
Where do I get some?
But it sounds perfect! You’re finding an alternative use for an otherwise-wasted product!
But my father/grandfather/sister/auntie/cousin/friend have used it for generations without a problem!
So, what’s all that mean?
So what do I use instead to treat my scaly leg mite?
Further reading
What is sump oil?
Sump oil is what nice clean engine oil becomes after it’s done the rounds of a car engine for a while. It’s the waste oil that is no longer effective as a lubricant any more.
It’s anywhere from a medium/dark brown colour through to a black, tarry, sticky substance.
Sump oil is often the source of the black stain you find under cars. It’s notoriously difficult to remove from surfaces.
When a car blows smoke out of its exhaust this is, again, often sump oil being burnt. It smells horrible and tends to make everyone cough. You can, in fact, be fined by the Environmental Protection Authority in your state if your car blows too much smoke out of its exhaust (speaking from experience here!!).
When your car is serviced, the waste sump oil is removed from the car and replaced with clean new oil.
What’s in sump oil?
All the same components as clean engine oil (find link), plus some interesting extras picked up as a result of it circulating through the engine.
This directly from the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water website. Bolding is mine.
Motor oil picks up a variety of hazardous contaminants when used in engines and transmissions. These contaminants include lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, dioxins, benzene and polycyclic aromatics. If used motor oil and the contaminants it contains are disposed of inappropriately and released into the environment, they can harm humans, plants, animals, fish and shellfish.
In water, oil is a visible pollutant, floating as a scum on the surface. This oil scum can stop sunlight and oxygen from getting into the water, affecting fish and water plants. It can kill fish, frogs and other animals that breathe from the water's surface.
Why are these components bad?
Lead
Lead contamination is a significant and ongoing issue in livestock. Old batteries are often the main source of lead contamination, but sump oil is also listed as a significant source.
Information from the NSW Local Land Services website.
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Lead will accumulate in the liver and kidneys and can remain elevated for months. This makes the animals unable to enter the food chain until the lead has reduced to a safe level, which can take a minimum of one year and potentially longer. Cases of lead toxicity are followed up by district vets in NSW, usually resulting in the testing of all the stock with possible exposure.
Symptoms of lead toxicity in poultry include:
Neurological problems (head-shaking, tremors)
Anemia (very pale skin)
Gastrointestinal signs (loose droppings, lack of appetite)
Lethargy (being sleepy all the time)
However, the clinical signs seen in the chickens are generally non-specific. Very few have all typical neurological or gastrointestinal signs. The results suggest that any chicken presented to a veterinarian with non-specific signs of illness that is kept in urban areas developed prior to 1940 may have some form of lead poisoning, whether or not it is the primary cause of the illness for which the chicken is presented for.
From “Lead in Backyard Chickens” by the Melbourne Bird Vet.
There is at least one discussion in the Backyard Poultry Facebook groups about a person whose chooks were diagnosed with lead poisoning.
See also: lead
Cadmium
This is a very toxic heavy metal. It accumulates in soil, water, plants and animals, and becomes concentrated when other animals eat or drink cadmium-affected resources.
Excessive levels of cadmium will cause health problems for humans and animals.
In livestock, the ability to metabolise copper is reduced.
In humans, cadmium increases the risk of kidney and bone disease.
In poultry, it accumulates in kidneys, liver, bones and other organs and causes irreversible damage to these organs. This can affect feed intake, body weight, bone mineral density, egg production and eggshell quality.
Chromium
Chromium is heavy metal that, in trace amounts, forms an essential mineral in living plant and animal diets. It does have a role in poultry nutrition.
It is naturally present in a wide variety of foods, though only in small amounts, and is also available as a supplement.
In larger concentrations, and in different formats, it is highly toxic, causing reduced appetite and organ damage.
Arsenic
Arsenic (As) is highly toxic element, even at very low concentrations in feed and drinking water. Even though it is a teratogenic and carcinogenic element, it does have a well-established role in poultry feed, as it is essential for the synthesis of methionine metabolites including cysteine.
However, only minuscule quantities are required for this purpose, and it’s a source of much contention, as it can risk arsenic becoming concentrated in the human body.
Too much arsenic will cause symptoms such as “intense abdominal pain; diarrhea, or bloody or mucoid diarrhea; a staggering gait; an irregular or thready, weak pulse; and dehydration”. (Merck’s Vet Manual).
Dioxins
This is a term referring to a group of chemical compounds that are persistent organic pollutants in the environment. They can cause problems with reproduction, development, and the immune system. They can also disrupt hormones and lead to cancer.
Dioxins in the food chain are a significant cause for concern.
Benzene
Benzene is a chemical that’s widely used in the petrochemical industry. Petrol, in particular, contains about 1% benzene.
It can accumulate in the body, particularly in the bone marrow, and long-term exposure (12 months or more) increases the risks of issues like cancers and anemia.
Polycyclic aromatics
This is a group term referring to a range of organic compounds formed by combustion. Most have no known use.
Like benzene, they can accumulate in the body, and eventually increase the risk of forming a range of cancers.
Why do people use sump oil?
Humans are (often) thrifty. They like to use everything possible before throwing it out, particularly in areas where materials may be expensive or difficult to obtain.
We’ve grown used to finding alternative uses for stuff that would otherwise be thrown away.
Various waste oils are a particular case in point. Since the widespread introduction of the car to society, people have worked to find uses for parts of the car that are no longer suitable for use in the car itself. The waste oils have found multiple uses, particularly in treating wood materials to slow down rotting and insect damage, and to manage or prevent parasite issues on live animals.
Does it work?
Apparently so. The oil contains a broad range of chemicals which could render it toxic to insects and parasites, while the smothering action of the oil itself could slow down rotting (in wood products) and parasite presence (in animals and other products).
So where can I get some?
If you’re really set on sloshing around a toxic waste product … you need to service your own vehicles.
Your local automobile mechanic does collect the sump oil from their everyday work, and should then dispose of it appropriately - ideally by recycling.
It is not available for sale or supply.
If you have to go looking for it, there are plenty of better, safer, more readily-available options - including plain cooking oil already in your kitchen.
It’s also worth considering that the Bush Mechanics tend to use Vegemite as axle grease. That’s probably safer …
But it sounds perfect! You’re finding an alternative use for an otherwise-wasted product!
“Alternative use for a product” is not the same as “alternative medicine”, if that’s the sort of thing you’re in to. Used motor oil can be recycled into new motor oil, without risking it getting into the environment.
Remember: sump oil contains an enormous range of synthesised chemicals, many of which are incredibly toxic. It is not a “natural” product by any stretch of the imagination.
But my father / grandfather / sister / auntie / cousin / friend have used it for generations without a problem!
Do you know the symptoms of lead/arsenic/cadmium/etc poisoning? How would you know if they had a problem? “Not immediately dropping dead” is not the same as “perfectly healthy after using a proven safe product”.
Just because something was used in the past doesn’t mean it’s appropriate to use it now.
DDT and asbestos were used for years too ...
So, what’s all that mean?
Please do not use sump oil on any living thing, or where any living thing can get access to it.
In particular, please do not use sump oil in food-producing animals, as the risk of the contaminants getting into the food chain is incredibly high.
So what do I use instead to treat my scaly leg mite?
Cheap cooking oil. It’s just the smothering action you want, anyway.
An external mectin-based topical drench.
Any product specifically designed for treating scaly leg mite in poultry.