Help! My hens toes are black and breaking off!

[elizabethq]

My hen became lame and after calling around to everywhere I could think of and searching the internet, I determined it was scaley mites (her scales were lifting on the lame leg). I couldn't find a vet in my area who would see a chicken. I treated her for mites with flea and tick spray on the leg ( I didn't want to use the powder) only 1 1/2 times because I didn't like the idea of it and vaseline for about a week. Instead of getting better it got worse. The toes started to get black and now they are falling off. I know it sounds like frost bite but it had warmed up above freezing already when this happened. The worse thing is now my rooster is limping. There is nothing visibly wrong with his leg. Someone PLEASE HELP. I have been on the phone all day and nobody has any answers.

I will post to the emergency section. THANKS!

 

[4-H chicken mom]

and

from Ohio. So sorry about your hen. Please post this in the emergency section, you will have a better chance of getting help there. Not everyone looks at the new member section.

 

[ChIck3n]

Quote:
If it is mites, just coat the leg up with mineral oil or vasaline several times per day. If the scales are lifting a lot, try to avoid using a lot of mite poison (may harm the bird as well). Oil will smother the mites and kill them quickly, you just have to wait for the bird to heal after this. Post in the emergency section with pics if possible.

 

[chicknmania]

The same thing happened to our silkie roo, he has a terrible case of leg mites, and we have two other roos who have them also. The mites are causing anemia and weakened bones in the feet and legs, which is what is causing that problem. Our Silkie roo somehow broke his toe, it was turned backward and bleeding, we washed it and I gently dried the foot, it looks normal now and he seems to walk oK, but our old barred cochin roo has lost the tips to a couple of toes, and that is probably why.. What you need to do is get the chickens on high potency avian vitamins like Aviacharge or Vitapro-B. You can also give a baby aspirin crushed up twice a day, to help with pain, if they are in pain. Mix it in their food and give them some yogurt, cottage cheese, cooked egg and eggshell, to help with calcium supplement. Try to make sure they get some sunshine everyday, too. For the feet wash gently in warm soapy water at least three times a week, and coat with vaseline, cooking oil, or tea tree oil, every day. They are extremely hard to get rid of and obviously bad things happen if you don't. There are many places you can get avian vitamins but two are Murray Hatchery or www.firststatevetsupply.com.

 

[chicknmania]

Also, when you wash the feet, use a soft toothbrush to gently scrub the legs and feet, to try and get some of the scale off. If you are too rough the legs will bleed. Patience is the key, I guess. They will eventually get better but certainly will be a little deformed. They do seem to enjoy the foot bath and application of vaseline; our little silkie closes his eyes when we are rubbing it over his feet and legs. Also, the mites are frequently carried by rodents; you can spray the living quarters with an insecticide mix approved for poultry, too, though I kinda worry about eating the eggs after that.

 

[b.hromada]

I'm so sorry about your hen and roo.

Sounds like you got some good advice from some of the members. Like they all have said, please post under the emergency section in the index for more answers. Best of luck. Welcome to BYC