Barred Rock With Swollen Leg-Wont Put Wait On It

[Yanna]

Hiya,

Just wanted to see how your roo's doing.

I was looking at the pics again and I'm thinking that bump does look like an infection. Even though it's not his foot per se, you could follow pretty much the same protocol used for bumblefoot (staph infection of the pads of the feet).

There is a lot of information about treatment here on the boards.

Here's another bumblefoot treatment method . It's kind of yucky draining an infected sore but when you have critters, that's just how it goes.

 

[purplepoen]

I'll look into trying that. He seems to be stable, not getting worse, not getting better. He still looks like he did in those pics. It worries me that he's not improving by now, but if it's bumble foot he wouldn't be. Now he's sharing his box with a 2 and a half month old black austrolorp since she got a 2x2 patch of skin pecked off. Poor thing, she's doing great and healing up really well though. It's weird having two chicken medical problems going on at once, usually my flock is 100% happy and healthy. I'll get 'em all healed up eventually I hope. I think that we'll know for sure if it's bumble foot once we open him up and see if it's puss inside. We can deffinantly handle icky things, my pony ripped her eyelid off and the vet sewed it back on and we had to take care of it. Not a pretty sight. Luckily she didn't lose her eye or eyelid and today she's only got a scar as proof!

 

[purplepoen]

Well, we checked on Ranger tonight and his foot has swollen even more and his (excuse my precise termanology) leg scales are falling off. Tomarow we are picking up the supplies and he's getting his surgery/treatment for bumble foot. Nothing else is working so it's worth a try. And now I've seen pictures of other chickens with it I'm a little more confident that that is indeed what my roo has got. Poor thing, I wish there was another way besides cutting his leg open, but it will make him feel better in the long run. He really is missing being out free ranging with his flock. He crowed his head off non stop today. His favorite thing is to range around the yard with his hens. (thus the name Ranger) Wish me luck and hope for the best!

 

[Jenski]

One of my chicken vet books mentions red spots and flaking legs as a symptom of severe scaly leg mite infestation. Treatments include completely covering legs with oil or petroleum product to suffocate the mites. It requires several treatments to make all the mites die.

I know some old timey remedies that are pretty harsh, but a neutral oil probably won't hurt no matter what your diagnosis. Yanna's castor oil poultice sounds like it might be just the ticket. Antibiotic cream might help too, and it too will suffocate the nasty mites. I use vaseline or mineral oil on my girls' legs every week or two as a preventive for scaly leg mites; I rub it in well, being sure to get between the toes.

Sounds like he might need an antibiotic, too. Maybe there are some experienced folks who can suggest one.

Hope that helps. Good luck with your guy!


Jen in TN

 

[mtnhomechick]

Quote:
OMG.......I feed my chicks cabbage often......can you tell me what's wrong with cabbage for chickens? I had heard potato peels were bad but is there anything else I need to know NOT to feed them. Thanks

 

[purplepoen]

Well, we did it. We treated him for bumble foot and that's definantly what he had. There was normal puss, but in the middle of the bump was a cheese like substance. We got it out and now he is resting quite happily in his box. He was a very good boy for the whole thing, when we squeezed he would tremble and close his eyes, but I kept talking to him and he did great. He didn't fight at all. I think his favorite part was soaking in epsoms salt before we cut open the bump. He just laid in the sink full of water and made happy chicken sounds. He's on teramycin now. And oddly enough he still seems to be my best buddy, not mad at me at all about the whole thing. He couldn't seem to feel when we made the cut, but he felt the squeezing. I felt really bad to have to do that to him, but I know he'll feel tons better soon. Thanks for your help everyone. I'll put up more updates as he heals. I'd love to hear how other people's chickens healed up after bumble foot.


Ranger with my helper after he got bandaged up

A close up of his bandages

 

[purplepoen]

Today the swelling in his foot apears to be going down and he is standing around on his other leg instead of laying around all the time. He is still crowing back and forth with our other rooster, so it looks like he's doing well from the surgery.