Once again treating my roo's legs for ????

My roo Thor has a leg condition that no one has been able to come up with a diagnosis on. A few other BYCers have roos that have the same malady and all of them are feather legged. Myself and the other BYCers have tried various remedies with no improvement.
This is what Thor's feet looked about a year ago, when I first noticed the problem:



Up until the last couple of days it has never seemed to bother Thor, but tonight I noticed that he can't settle down on his feet at night and he continously stomps them. Tonight I slathered his feet down with vaseline in an attempt to bring him some relief.

So far I've treated for:

Mites, (even though the scales are not raised - just red and swollen) and even though none of the hens share the problem and I can find no evidence of mites on him, the hens or the coop. I've tried three different mite products anyhow.

Fungal infection - three weeks treatment with no improvement.

Bacterial infection - same thing as the fungal, in addition to a shot of penicillin, which was no help.

I'm hoping that with alot of new members since I've last posted about this problem that someone might be able to offer some fresh insight.

My vet can't see poultry in her office, but has offered telephone help. I'm thinking of getting a microscope slide from her at our next visit with the dogs, do a scraping and see if she can identify the problem (assuming that she can have poultry scrapings in her office).

Any ideas?

is there a poultry form of mange?

what have you used for the leg mite treatment?

what about an allergy to something?

poison Ivy near by?

(I am just shootin from the hip here)

I don't know, but in cat and dog medicine...if it's not bacterial, fungal or parasitic....only 1 thing left...cancer. or maybe auto-immune too, but treated the same way. Any veterinary colleges around you? Sometimes they can help diagnose +/- treat the chicken. I wish the best for your roo.

O.K. I'm just throwing this out here... what about trying Bag Balm (it seems to work for lots and lots of things)?

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For mites I've treated with permethrin, ivermectin and "smothering" the mites with vaseline.
It's just weird that three of us that lived in very different parts of the country, have feather-legged roos all with the same problem.
If it was poison ivy, oak, sumac, I would expect to see hens with the same problem because they all forage together.
Doubt it's a cancer because it hasn't spread to other parts of his body. It's only on the feet. Overall he's a very healthy booger.
For now, I'm back to slathering his legs in vaseline every night (with a treat of a handful of cat food afterwards of course ) , but I can't keep that up forever.

Just a suggestion .... maybe send a PM to Pine Grove and see if he could help.

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I don't recall whether I've ever spoken with Pine Grove about the problem, but it's worth a shot.
Two of us did consult Dr. Peter Brown (The Chicken Doctor) and he was clueless, except to suggest mite treatment.

when i treated for LM i used the human cream for scabies... 1 treatment and it was done!

I forgot to mention that I have considered culling Thor, because of my inability to bring him relief. I really don't want to resort to that, because he is a beautiful, good-natured roo that is a good protector and provider for the hens.

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What is the active ingredient of that treatment, do you know?