Help! Scabs, lice, foot injuries... Oh my

[Bgshore]

Hello everyone,



I have had chickens for about 3 years, no issues and within a week I've got 3 chickens who are not doing so well. One has bumblefoot, which I am treating, but the other two in kind of lost on how are the best ways to help them.



The first is Franny, she injured her right leg some how. The first day she was limping only a bit, the second day it was much more pronounced. She will stand just fine, the problem is when she goes to walk. She keeps stepping on her foot with her good legs, some time her toes are under her foot when she steps down, almost like they're numb? No swelling that I can see, she lets me palpate and move her leg just fine, but her use of that foot/leg seems to be getting worse. Any ideas? Things I should look for? Right now she is inside, in a kennel where she can move around if she wants to. She is eating, drinking, pooping, just fine, she's just got a bum leg



The second is my inigma...Little Greta. She's about 20 weeks but has not grown much, has some shredder feathers going on. I've always kept a close eye on her because she's the only one who hasn't thrived so she gets extra meal worms and is on a higher protein feed.
About three weeks go I noticed she was breathing through her mouth, even when she was eating, like she was trying to catch her breath. It is not heat related, no rasps or crackles, it just reminds me of someone who has a cold and their nose is stuffy. Treated her with some VetRX for a few days and she seemed to be better. Then yesterday, she was back to breathing the way she had before and I noticed clear, watery, poo....that had tiny squares....that were moving. To the dewormer we go, with another dose of VetRX. This morning after a quiet night's rest, I did a full check on her and found a giant scab on her wing, and then a bug that ran across the scab and then between the scab and her skin. Which was made even worse by the fact that I started to see them on my black shirt. Sprayed her with some poultry protect (I don't want to overload her with meds and supplements while she's not feeling well). I removed the scab because it was bigger than the width of her wing and because I had seen what I'm assuming is lice go under it.

So my question is, what the heck it going on?! They both look so sad, but Greta is struggling and I don't know what else to do. Help!

The first photos and video are Franny

The second are the bugs and Greta

 

[BigBlueHen53]

bug that ran across the scab and then between the scab and her skin. W

These bugs on Greta. Do they have legs? Or are they just white flat things like grains of rice? Do you notice an odor about her, particularly that wound where you removed the scab?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

noticed clear, watery, poo....that had tiny squares....that were moving.

This is re Franny's poo. What color are the tiny squares? Can you post a good picture of this poo?

 

[Bgshore]

Franny's poo is fine. It's Greta...who has the gross poo. The little squares were solid white, I'm assuming tapeworm segments? I'll try and get a picture asap

 

[Lillith37]

If you saw moving bits in a fresh poo, it’s probably tapeworm and you need to treat with a wormer that contains praziquantel. Chickens get tapeworm by eating bugs that have eaten tapeworm egg. The tapeworm grows in the chicken, segments containing eggs are excreted, bugs and worms eat those segments/eggs and the whole cycle starts again.

Those bugs are lice. They live on the chickens but you need to treat all your flock and their coop. You may need to retreat at intervals to make sure they are all gone. Check birds by parting feathers under the wings and around the vent, that’s where the lice like to congregate.

As for the leg, I’m not too sure, but you can supplement with 1/4-1/2 a tablet of human b complex daily and see if that helps. Give it at least a week. Nutritional deficiency can cause leg issues in young birds. Not sure if it would affect just one leg, but the vitamins won’t do any harm. People sometimes make slings for their chickens when they have leg troubles to make it easier for them to rest while still having access to food, water, etc.

For the wound, I would focus on keeping it clean, flushing with saline twice daily and spraying with vetericyn or the neosporin stuff if you have access to that. It could be a peck wound or other injury that got infected, kind of like bumblefoot but on the wing. A good idea to remove the scab. You’ll know if infection returns if there is redness, heat, discolouration and more of the typical bumble style caseous stuff that the chicken’s body produces as an inflammatory response to wall off infections. You’ll know it’s healing as the flesh starts to granulate from the outside in.

For her breathing, not sure, but if she improved with the VetRX it could be a respiratory thing. I would keep it up and watch her nostrils and eyes for discharge, redness or swelling. And have a look inside her beak to make sure there are no lesions or issues in there. Keep her warm and hydrated. Gapeworm is a possibility but apparently quite rare.

 

[Bgshore]

These bugs on Greta. Do they have legs? Or are they just white flat things like grains of rice? Do you notice an odor about her, particularly that wound where you removed the scab?

No odor from the scab, and yes, they move pretty quick too. The bugs on her, I'm assuming are lice are much different than what was in her poo

 

[Bgshore]

No odor from the scab, and yes, they move pretty quick too. The bugs on her, I'm assuming are lice are much different than what was in her poo

She is the only pullet with them. No signs of any lice on the 23 other chickens, put I have sprayed them down too just in case along with cleaning the coop and roost. They are all free range.

 

[Lillith37]

She is the only pullet with them. No signs of any lice on the 23 other chickens, put I have sprayed them down too just in case along with cleaning the coop and roost. They are all free range.

Chickens who are unwell dust bath else, preen less and tend to stay still in one place, which makes it easier for ectoparasites to establish on them—so that makes sense.

 

[Bgshore]

If you saw moving bits in a fresh poo, it’s probably tapeworm and you need to treat with a wormer that contains praziquantel. Chickens get tapeworm by eating bugs that have eaten tapeworm egg. The tapeworm grows in the chicken, segments containing eggs are excreted, bugs and worms eat those segments/eggs and the whole cycle starts again.

Those bugs are lice. They live on the chickens but you need to treat all your flock and their coop. You may need to retreat at intervals to make sure they are all gone. Check birds by parting feathers under the wings and around the vent, that’s where the lice like to congregate.

As for the leg, I’m not too sure, but you can supplement with 1/4-1/2 a tablet of human b complex daily and see if that helps. Give it at least a week. Nutritional deficiency can cause leg issues in young birds. Not sure if it would affect just one leg, but the vitamins won’t do any harm. People sometimes make slings for their chickens when they have leg troubles to make it easier for them to rest while still having access to food, water, etc.

For the wound, I would focus on keeping it clean, flushing with saline twice daily and spraying with vetericyn or the neosporin stuff if you have access to that. It could be a peck wound or other injury that got infected, kind of like bumblefoot but on the wing. A good idea to remove the scab. You’ll know if infection returns if there is redness, heat, discolouration and more of the typical bumble style caseous stuff that the chicken’s body produces as an inflammatory response to wall off infections. You’ll know it’s healing as the flesh starts to granulate from the outside in.

For her breathing, not sure, but if she improved with the VetRX it could be a respiratory thing. I would keep it up and watch her nostrils and eyes for discharge, redness or swelling. And have a look inside her beak to make sure there are no lesions or issues in there. Keep her warm and hydrated. Gapeworm is a possibility but apparently quite rare.

First time I've experienced lice, but everyone is being treated, coop and roost cleaned and treated as well. She is inside for now, rotating puppy pads every hour or two to make sure she's staying clean. Once she gets some more rest and I have a second set of hands to help I'll give her a dust bath too. The lice don't seem too be too numerous, and I check them pretty regularly so this is a fairly new issue thank goodness

 

[Lillith37]

First time I've experienced lice, but everyone is being treated, coop and roost cleaned and treated as well. She is inside for now, rotating puppy pads every hour or two to make sure she's staying clean. Once she gets some more rest and I have a second set of hands to help I'll give her a dust bath too. The lice don't seem too be too numerous, and I check them pretty regularly so this is a fairly new issue thank goodness

If you’ve treated her for lice no need to help her have a dust bath. Probably best not to stress her out while she’s poorly. You could let her outside for a bit to see if she decides to do it herself.