HELP, silkie hen with dire leg problems!

[crazysilkychick]

I have a silkie hen that has been developing a growth on the tops of her feet for a while, I have noticed some of the others have caught it but only mildly, she has walking problem and now rarely leaves the house, I have added pics to see if any1 recognises it.

Also on her left foot a toe nail is curling inward, would it help her if it was filed down?

Any help is appreciated

 

[tiki244]

I cannot say for sure, but I think you have a bad case of scaly leg mites there. It can be very painful, and can cripple them if not treated.
.

What you can do is soak her feet and legs in some epsom salts bath, or salt bath, or even dish soap. Soaking for 20 minutes is a good time frame. If you could, use a soft toothbrush to try and clean under the scales as much as possible. After you are done and her feet are rinsed and dried, an application of a small amount of ivermectin eprinex on the legs would be good to get rid of the mites. I would try and give her baths every third day for a while (or as often as you can) until the legs look better. Rubbing olive oil on the legs would help to soften the scales up too and could smother the mites. ( I am not sure of the proper dose of ivermectin and I know you wouldnt want to give too much of that) It is a broad spectrum med for parasites though and works well.

All birds with signs need to be treated. And the coop would probably need to be treated also. Good luck.

 

[tiki244]

You can clip her toenails but not too far. See where the white part is? You can clip that but dont get the quik or it will bleed really bad and be a source for infection to enter her body. You can kinda tell how far to go. If not sure just do a little at a time and stop before you think it is far enough. Then in a week you can clip a little again and maybe go back a little farther.

Also,I think if you got a can of cat flea and tick powder you could apply that to your birds, only a small amt. 1 shake under the tail and a shake under each wing. Then try applying some in the corners of your coop, also. Then do all this stuff for a couple of weeks(oh yeah only apply cat powder twice at the most) and take new pictures and let us know how things are going. I think it will take probably 2 months or more to completely clear up. (not so sure on time frame, but it is a stickler to get rid of these)

 

[poulet]

I used to use paraffin but recently tried vicks mixed with vaseline,( that I read was effective from someone on BYC ) I had a chicken with feet exactly like that and after the first application all that crusty stuff went brown and came off. She is still not completly cured though so I am going to do it again.I think it does work well though!

 

[dlhunicorn]

That is a bad case of scaley legmite.
For legs in that state IMHO go to your vet and ask for ivermectin 0.02% (this is what they use for mange on guineapigs) and spray that directly onto the legs after cleaning with a chlorhexidine solution (hibiclens). Reapply in five days after repeating the hibiclens scrub with a soft toothbrush IF necessary to the affected areas (I have often treated pigeons with legs exactly like yours and this is quite effective whereas the oil etc was not > this spray is OTC here but I suspect you will need to get this from a vet in the USA).

ETA: Separate the bird from the coop until the legs are healed and clean the coop THOROUGHLY with the appropriate antiparaceticide and replace the bedding (if you are using straw then I suggest you not use what you may have in stock and switch to shavings... )

 

[crazysilkychick]

Thanks for all the replys, can you tell me how to apply the vicks and vasiline soloution should be aplied?

 

[Wynette]

You should take dlhunicorn's advice - she is a VERY WISE person on matters of chicken health!! And, I'd do it IMMEDIATELY! good luck!

 

[crazysilkychick]

Can the ivermectin be used on less severe infections aswell?

 

[tiki244]

Yes.....I use it to worm my chickens......a different kind, but ivermectin all the same. And I had used Vicks for scaly leg mites and ran into troubles irritating the birds skin,,,,,,,,,later taking Diana's (dlhunicorn) advice instead and used ivermectin.