Help! My guinea has a bum leg.

[buteo51]

So I noticed late this afternoon that one of my guineas (I have three, all male) was walking with a noticeable limp and holding one foot up off the ground a bit. After a bit of a fight, I managed to get a hold of him while he was roosting tonight and took this picture. Does anybody recognize what this is and have any advice about what I can do for my little man?

 

[Sydney65]

Hi, Bute- i've not seen it like that, but my guess is mites. I'd suggest waiting to hear from @R2elk or @Mixed flock enthusiast opinion, but in the meantime, coat legs with Vaseline or VetRx. That way if I'm right, you're on the path to killing them, & if I'm wrong, it will atleast be soothing.

 

[Birdie mom]

View attachment 2459325
So I noticed late this afternoon that one of my guineas (I have three, all male) was walking with a noticeable limp and holding one foot up off the ground a bit. After a bit of a fight, I managed to get a hold of him while he was roosting tonight and took this picture. Does anybody recognize what this is and have any advice about what I can do for my little man?

!!! I have never, in all my days, seen anything like that... Maybe mites, but I have never seen mites do something like that... Tumor possibly? Maybe an allergic reaction??? Really IDK...

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

View attachment 2459325
So I noticed late this afternoon that one of my guineas (I have three, all male) was walking with a noticeable limp and holding one foot up off the ground a bit. After a bit of a fight, I managed to get a hold of him while he was roosting tonight and took this picture. Does anybody recognize what this is and have any advice about what I can do for my little man?

Ugh. Sorry that your guy is ill! Very strange looking - I doubt that it’s one of our typical poultry diseases like scaly leg mites... It would still be worth posting on the Diseases forum in case someone has seen this before. To me, it kind of looks like a burn or infection. I’d put infection high on my list. Infection could be of the skin and soft tissues, or of the underlying bone. Is a vet possible? They could take an X-ray and see if the bone is infected.

Treatment is going to be a challenge if he’s on the wild side... You need a way to catch him daily, like a sick cage. I think daily Epsom salts soaks, maybe with a little added betadine, wouldn’t hurt and might help draw out infection. Maybe you could put the warm Epsom salt soak in a 5 gal bucket, with the level just above the height of the injury. You will probably need something over the bucket to keep him inside. If a vet was involved, they could send home antibiotics.

 

[buteo51]

Ugh. Sorry that your guy is ill! Very strange looking - I doubt that it’s one of our typical poultry diseases like scaly leg mites... It would still be worth posting on the Diseases forum in case someone has seen this before. To me, it kind of looks like a burn or infection. I’d put infection high on my list. Infection could be of the skin and soft tissues, or of the underlying bone. Is a vet possible? They could take an X-ray and see if the bone is infected.

Treatment is going to be a challenge if he’s on the wild side... You need a way to catch him daily, like a sick cage. I think daily Epsom salts soaks, maybe with a little added betadine, wouldn’t hurt and might help draw out infection. Maybe you could put the warm Epsom salt soak in a 5 gal bucket, with the level just above the height of the injury. You will probably need something over the bucket to keep him inside. If a vet was involved, they could send home antibiotics.

Thank you for your advice! I caught him again tonight and soaked the leg for about 10 minutes in just warm water and another 10 in an epsom salt bath. At the end it looked much cleaner and less red and swollen, and he seemed more relaxed. He's going to spend the night in a box in the garage because he got both of us soaking wet, and I didn't want to put him back out into the cold. I'll keep an eye on him tomorrow and keep you guys posted. My local vet doesn't do anything besides common household pets and this bird is very, very ornery when being handled, so I don't think that's an option.

 

[Sydney65]

My vet told me he didn't have experience w/birds as a specialty, but if it was a need of wound or infection, he could provide care.
As for handling ornery,hold him swaddled in a large towel like a baby &with his head covered. He may fuss a few minutes but will become and stay docile as long as his head is covered.
You can apply medi-honey or Neosporin WITHOUT PAIN RELIEF or for infection.

 

[R2elk]

My vet told me he didn't have experience w/birds as a specialty, but if it was a need of wound or infection, he could provide care.
As for handling ornery,hold him swaddled in a large towel like a baby &with his head covered. He may fuss a few minutes but will become and stay docile as long as his head is covered.
You can apply medi-honey or Neosporin WITHOUT PAIN RELIEF or for infection.

To the best of my knowledge, the often repeated claim that Neosporin with pain relief is harmful is fiction.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fact-or-fiction-caine-and-poultry.1130757/

 

[ShrekDawg]

To the best of my knowledge, the often repeated claim that Neosporin with pain relief is harmful is fiction.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fact-or-fiction-caine-and-poultry.1130757/

Hmm that is very interesting and good to know for future reference!! Thanks!! that said though, the pain relief one is more expensive anyway, right? So may as well stick with regular go that reason alone but if it was all someone had on hand or something, good to know it won’t kill their animals!

 

[Sydney65]

To the best of my knowledge, the often repeated claim that Neosporin with pain relief is harmful is fiction.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/fact-or-fiction-caine-and-poultry.1130757/

*in regard to Neosporin, you are correct-as usual. I'm only seeing pictures of advanced cases, but info suggests fowl pox begins as red blisters?

• Exception: Neosporin with Painkiller products usually only use Pramoxine HCl as the painkiller ingredient, and that is alright for chickens. Never use pain killer that ends with "caine".

 

[Birdie mom]

*in regard to Neosporin, you are correct-as usual. I'm only seeing pictures of advanced cases, but info suggests fowl pox begins as red blisters?

• Exception: Neosporin with Painkiller products usually only use Pramoxine HCl as the painkiller ingredient, and that is alright for chickens. Never use pain killer that ends with "caine".

I just looked up some pics of fowl pox on chicken legs and that might be what your dealing with. The first article didn't mention pox on feet, but the second one does.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/fowl-pox-prevention-treatmen/

https://www.northeastwildlife.org/d...pox develops slowly in,dry” form of avian pox.

Hope this helps.