Rooster swollen red legs - limping

[MoffatChicken]

Hi, I have a two-year-old rooster with red blisters (lumps) on his legs, and I hope someone can help me diagnose. His right leg is more swollen/red than the left, and he limps when he walks, and is a little unstable when he does walk, but these days he sits a fair bit. The joint is squishy, so there is some water/mass under the skin. A week back I shaved a few feather up his leg so I could better see the issue. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[AidKD]

Have you checked his feet for bumblefoot, or cuts? How high up is the roost bar? And what do you feed?

 

[MoffatChicken]

Have you checked his feet for bumblefoot, or cuts? How high up is the roost bar? And what do you feed?

I have checked for bumblefoot and I don't see any issue. The roosting bar is less than 2 feet high. He is eating the layer feed same as the hens which I know isn't ideal but I wouldn't expect this problem from feed.

 

[LaFleche]

His straight inward growing spurs need to be trimmed ASAP as with evry step he takes they scrape along the joint of the other leg leaving it bruised and inflamed.

Use a Dremel to do it quickly and without any bleeding.

And maybe check for red poultry mites as well.

 

[MoffatChicken]

His straight inward growing spurs need to be trimmed ASAP as with evry step he takes they scrape along the joint of the other leg leaving it bruised and inflamed.

Use a Dremel to do it quickly and without any bleeding.

And maybe check for red poultry mites as well.

There are no mites on him now, there were LOTS when this started so I wondered if mites infected his legs somehow?

Thanks for the advice on trimming his spurs, I didn't even know that was something that could be done. Ill be trying it for the first time later today. His spurs are much lower then the joint, and the joint is red all the way around do you think spurs is the cause of this issue?

 

[LaFleche]

so I wondered if mites infected his legs somehow?

They might have contributed, as they carry all kinds of bacteria and weaken the bird.

His spurs are much lower then the joint, and the joint is red all the way around do you think spurs is the cause of this issue?

When walking, the rooster lifts his legs and long spurs that do not grow backwards as they should but point to the middle/the other leg, will scrape the joints and cause swelling, inflammation and infection of the joint affected.

Take some time to watch him walk and you will notice it.

The other leg/joint is not as bad because he already lost part of his spur on the oposite leg.

 

[PineyGrove]

They might have contributed, as they carry all kinds of bacteria and weaken the bird.

When walking, the rooster lifts his legs and long spurs that do not grow backwards as they should but point to the middle/the other leg, will scrape the joints and cause swelling, inflammation and infection of the joint affected.

Take some time to watch him walk and you will notice it.

The other leg/joint is not as bad because he already lost part of his spur on the oposite leg.

I didn't know that about roosters' spurs! Thanks so much for the information! I've got one limping now so I'm on my way out the door to check.