Check up reveals hole in beak and possible leg mites?

[Lovedbymychickens]

I've been using vaseline for scaly leg mites it seems to be working. Good luck

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I've been using vaseline for scaly leg mites it seems to be working. Good luck

I dipped the legs in gasoline for about 45 seconds, air dried them, then slathered with a petroleum based cream (which was what I had on hand). I'll put more cream on tonight and do another gasoline dip tomorrow, followed by more cream. From my understanding, that usually does the trick. I'll keep you up to date with the results if I can. How long have you been treating?

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not familiar with that product of ivermectin to give dosage. Does it have directions? I have bought ivomec or other generic ivermectin pour on at TSC like the one below:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/durvet-ivermectin-pour-on-250-ml . Just make sure it is 5 mg per ml. You can use oral ivermectin orally, or the pour-on topically, but just make sure of the correct dosage.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I am not familiar with that product of ivermectin to give dosage. Does it have directions? I have bought ivomec or other generic ivermectin pour on at TSC like the one below:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/durvet-ivermectin-pour-on-250-ml . Just make sure it is 5 mg per ml. You can use oral ivermectin orally, or the pour-on topically, but just make sure of the correct dosage.

Yes there were directions on the website but for oral applications only. They indicated it was effective for SLM. I would have thought for external parasites that topical applications would make the most sense. I'll wait to see if the package indicates anything else.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can use IV, oral, or topical for leg mites. So I would say to go for it. But I bought some topical ivomec for cattle and the bottle has lasted forever.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

You can use IV, oral, or topical for leg mites. So I would say to go for it. But I bought some topical ivomec for cattle and the bottle has lasted forever.

Thanks for the advice! I'll try to respond to this thread with updates about the weird hole in her beak. I just hope it's nothing serious. As far as broody hens go, she's a real gem and I'd hate to lose her.

 

[LaFleche]

Instead of gasoline (it burns!) you could just spray her legs every other day with Ballistol Spray for 10 consecutive days (= 5 times spraying). https://ballistol.com/buy-ballistol/
This will kill all the mites and their eggs and leave her legs like new.

Regarding the beak issue: I go with Eggcessive. This is often the result of chickens scraping their beaks in wire/hardware cloth when confined, trying to get out or in.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Update: the image quality is low but I looked back at a photo of her from March 17th and the hole wasn't there, but there was a dark spot at the base of her comb where it meets the beak that is not normal for her.

Here is the next most recent image I have from Sept 2020. As you can see, her comb looks healthy and normal.

I am beginning to think that there could have indeed been trauma, but it is highly unlikely that it is due to chicken wire as they don't really come into contact with it regularly. Their new coop is enormous and they free range. I believe she had enough trauma to cause either tissue death, or the comb tissue to detach from the beak.

I received the (unexpected) response from a veterinarian and associate professor at the University of Cali. It seems he is inclined to think trauma is the most likely cause and suggest waiting and observing:

"This is interesting, I would evaluate a couple of things before continuing>

1. Is it full of any material, if so does it stink or makes you think is infected. To me looks non infected, but I cannot assess it at distance
2. Is this the only chicken in the flock with that lesion? Any other lesions in other chickens or the same chicken
3. Is it your backyard clean? Do you have standing water, too many mosquitoes?
4. Have you seen crusty lesions on your chickens? Any loss of feathers, discoloration, dandruff on the chickens on the flock

Again, this is difficult to assess at distance but I would think about something mechanic causing trauma (look at the feeders and drinkers, maybe places where they clean their beak_

Food related, but in that case the lesions will be inside the mouth, fungal infection, Pox virus.

Hopefully this makes sense. If none of the above rings a bell I would suggest to keep it like it is and check periodically to prevent infections"



Here was my response:

"To answer your questions:

1. Is it full of any material, if so does it stink or makes you think is infected. To me looks non infected, but I cannot assess it at distance
   • There is no smell, no signs of inflammation, and no signs of pus. There appeared to be a small amount of debris, but I believed it to be dirt.
2. Is this the only chicken in the flock with that lesion? Any other lesions in other chickens or the same chicken
   • I examined the flock last night as there is a small scaly leg mite infestation. Other than the mites, all combs and beaks were normal and healthy.
3. Is it your backyard clean? Do you have standing water, too many mosquitoes?
   • Other than chicken poop, the yard is very clean. They actually have range over a couple of acres. The yard is clear and large, but is surrounded by woods, and they tend to spend the day along the edge of the woods. There is no standing water close to them, although a couple hundred feet into the woods is a small stagnant pond. We have seen a small handful of mosquitos as the weather has warmed up over the past week, but no swarms.
4. Have you seen crusty lesions on your chickens? Any loss of feathers, discoloration, dandruff on the chickens on the flock
   • I have not observed any crusty lesions, but I have not looked under their feathers either. I have two hens, including this hen, that have missing saddle feathers due to overmating, but no skin lesions. I checked her over more thoroughly than the others last night, including the areas where there are missing feathers. She has some pin feathers growing. No unusual signs of dandruff. Typically during fall molt, chicken dandruff is visible everywhere.

Unfortunately I do not have a lot of photos of this hen, but I went through past images and found a low-quality photo from March 17th, and it almost appears like there is a dark spot or maybe even a scab at the base of her comb where it meets the beak.

I went back further to see if the dark spot is normal, and again I couldn't find any good quality photos, but the most recent image prior to March was from September 3, 2020. The tissue appears completely healthy. "

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Instead of gasoline (it burns!) you could just spray her legs every other day with Ballistol Spray for 10 consecutive days (= 5 times spraying). https://ballistol.com/buy-ballistol/
This will kill all the mites and their eggs and leave her legs like new.

Regarding the beak issue: I go with Eggcessive. This is often the result of chickens scraping their beaks in wire/hardware cloth when confined, trying to get out or in.

I'd never heard of trying Ballistol. Unfortunately it appears the nearest dealer is a good little ways from me, but if by a week I see no improvement, I'll consier options. I've already paid for the Ivermectin solution, so I'll probably try that if there are instructions for topical treatment. I'd rather try topical treatments than oral. If it is oral use only, I'll order some Ballistol. None of the hens had negative reactions to the gasoline dip. I inspected their feet for lesions prior to dipping. In a pinch, gas was what I had available. I was more concerned about fumes since I put them all back in the coop after dipping and slathering in ointment, but other than the mentholated salve, l, the coop smelled okay. I put in an exhaust fan to be safe!

 

[humblehillsfarm]

The vet's response:
"Pox virus infection has 7 stages from a pustule to a crusty lesion. It might be that this specific hen dealt with it and as a consequence there is a hole where the lesion was. If you start with Pox you can use the Fowl pox vaccine which is applied in the wing web. I would suggest barreling two applicator to apply two doses (there is a lot of mosquitoes here in CA especially in backyard flocks)"

I'm not sure I feel it's fowl pox. I still think I'm going to observe at least for a few days and see how this progresses. I'm not even sure where to get a pox vaccine....