- Jul 4, 2009
- 27
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This is in the same chicken that I posted about a few days ago (see here ). It is now healing up very nicely, and it appears to be a scab with healthy new skin forming underneath it
However, whilst treating her for the above, I saw what I thought was a layer of mud on her foot. So I sponged it off, and thought that the black stuff in the pics below was also mud. However, it refused to come off and I came to the conclusion that it wasn't really mud, but dead / dying skin. It it semi-attached to the flesh beneath it, and before I realised it wasn't really mud I tried to pick it off (with limited success) and caused it to bleed slightly. I stopped, and applied disinfectant. She is currently in isolation on a concrete floor covered with newspaper with about a square metre to walk about in.
The area has a funny smell to it, and whilst she doesn't usually object if I press on it, she has a tendency to wriggle if it is pressed from the side. She is walking normally and doesn't appear to be in any pain, but I am well aware that chickens can hide pain extremely well!
I have a suspicion that this is going to mean a trip to the vet, if only to get antibiotics
However, I would like to get some form of diagnosis before I go as I have generally found vets to be a bit useless in the treatment of chickens (I am going to go to a farm vet this time that has been recommended to me by a colleague).
Sorry for the slightly dodgy pictures - they were taken on a phone whilst trying to hold a wriggling hen!
Healthy foot (for comparison)
Here you can see how the pad is raised:
View from the top (yes, she does have a spur!)
As I'm sure you will have noticed from the pictures, she does have scaly leg. However, it has been treated, and a hen that we bought last summer has not shown any symptoms, so we assume that the mites have been eradicated. However, we continue to spray on some preventative stuff every few weeks, and hope that the scales will 'moult out' as the textbooks say they will!
The answers to the questions from terrielacy's sticky:
1) What type of bird , age and weight.
3yo large Orpington hen, doesn't feel over or underweight.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
n/a
3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
See above
4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
We don't know of anything in the coop that could have caused this, and they don't free range.
5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She has been eating layers pellets with a little poultry spice mixed in, as well as a little porridge oats mixed with bio-live yoghurt.
6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Normal
7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Sponged away dirt and applied antiseptic (the type used for grazed knees in humans!)
8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I usually prefer to treat myself, but it looks as if she will need the vet. As such, I need help stabilising and diagnosing.
9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
See above
10) Describe the housing/bedding in use
A wooden coop & run with two levels. The bedding is woodshavings, and the perch is around 4 inches from the ground. The run has a dirt flooring, and the area under the coop is always dry for dustbathing. She is sometimes to be seen jumping about a foot and a half from the coop to the ground, even though there are ramps available! Could this have caused it?
Thanks very much everyone for all your help!
However, whilst treating her for the above, I saw what I thought was a layer of mud on her foot. So I sponged it off, and thought that the black stuff in the pics below was also mud. However, it refused to come off and I came to the conclusion that it wasn't really mud, but dead / dying skin. It it semi-attached to the flesh beneath it, and before I realised it wasn't really mud I tried to pick it off (with limited success) and caused it to bleed slightly. I stopped, and applied disinfectant. She is currently in isolation on a concrete floor covered with newspaper with about a square metre to walk about in.
The area has a funny smell to it, and whilst she doesn't usually object if I press on it, she has a tendency to wriggle if it is pressed from the side. She is walking normally and doesn't appear to be in any pain, but I am well aware that chickens can hide pain extremely well!
I have a suspicion that this is going to mean a trip to the vet, if only to get antibiotics
Sorry for the slightly dodgy pictures - they were taken on a phone whilst trying to hold a wriggling hen!
Healthy foot (for comparison)
Here you can see how the pad is raised:
View from the top (yes, she does have a spur!)
As I'm sure you will have noticed from the pictures, she does have scaly leg. However, it has been treated, and a hen that we bought last summer has not shown any symptoms, so we assume that the mites have been eradicated. However, we continue to spray on some preventative stuff every few weeks, and hope that the scales will 'moult out' as the textbooks say they will!
The answers to the questions from terrielacy's sticky:
1) What type of bird , age and weight.
3yo large Orpington hen, doesn't feel over or underweight.
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
n/a
3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
See above
4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
We don't know of anything in the coop that could have caused this, and they don't free range.
5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
She has been eating layers pellets with a little poultry spice mixed in, as well as a little porridge oats mixed with bio-live yoghurt.
6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Normal
7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Sponged away dirt and applied antiseptic (the type used for grazed knees in humans!)
8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I usually prefer to treat myself, but it looks as if she will need the vet. As such, I need help stabilising and diagnosing.
9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
See above
10) Describe the housing/bedding in use
A wooden coop & run with two levels. The bedding is woodshavings, and the perch is around 4 inches from the ground. The run has a dirt flooring, and the area under the coop is always dry for dustbathing. She is sometimes to be seen jumping about a foot and a half from the coop to the ground, even though there are ramps available! Could this have caused it?
Thanks very much everyone for all your help!
