HELP! What is this????

[Caitlinleigh620]

Hello!

I am a new chicken mama, and also have a rescue heritage turkey.

We rescued Tommy because he has a strange deformity on his foot. we took him to the vet and they did not know what this issue is with him.

i just discovered that he has a bad case of poultry lice or mites. I have been treating him with poultry powder. In reasearching the bugs I saw on him, I came across some pictures of scaly leg mites in chickens And I thought maybe this is what could be wrong with his feet, possibly untreated for years before we rescued him.

I’ve attached a picture of his feet. Has anyone seen anything like this before? What treatments work best? He is friendly, but he doesn’t like when we get too close to his feet or hind end to treat the lice. Any suggestions?

 

[Gallinarium]

It won't let me view the pictures, but you should smother his legs in petroleum jelly/green goo/something similar. It will suffocate the mites, and if he doesn't have any, no harm done. You'll want a helper to hold him.

 

[Eggcessive]

Try again to get the pictures to post. Soaking the legs in warm Epsom salts or soapy water, and trying to scrub off any crusty material can be helpful. An old toothbrush can be used and the scales can be gently rubbed to allow an oil of choice to be rubbed under the scales a couple of days a week. Castor oil or mineral oil, vaseline, shortening or vegetable oil work well. Castor oil may last longer. Nustock cream in horse aisles is also good, and has sulfur which helps kepill insects.

 

[Caitlinleigh620]

I think the picture posted this time, sorry new to the site. Does this look like it could be scaly leg mites?

 

[Mylied]

I've never seen such a thing. It does not look like scaly mites. It looks like he got bubblefoot and his feet rotted off with infection. Does he walk ok? That looks very painful.

 

[LaFleche]

Has anyone seen anything like this before? What treatments work best? He is friendly, but he doesn’t like when we get too close to his feet or hind end to treat the lice. Any suggestions?

That is extreme for sure, he even seems to have lost his toes on the left foot, poor Tommy!

As he does not want you to touch his sensitive areas, you might just spray his feet and legs with Ballistol Animal Spray for 10 consecutive days every other day. This will smother the scaly leg mites as well as their eggs. https://ballistol.de/shop/en/products/animals/

This spray can also be used to kill mites and lice crawling on him. Spray around the vent, under his wings, on his back and neck. Repeat after three and then again after 10 days.

On the right footpad there seems to be what is called bumblefoot which needs attention as well.

 

[Caitlinleigh620]

I've never seen such a thing. It does not look like scaly mites. It looks like he got bubblefoot and his feet rotted off with infection. Does he walk ok? That looks very painful.

He limps. We have a pretty big yard and seems to get around ok, it doesn't seem to stop him from patrolling the yard. We call him the yard supervisor because he has to be where ever the action is ... if the chickens are moving around, he sticks with them. If we are doing yard work, he always stays nearby. He is the sweetest boy.

We took him to the vet when we got him a couple months ago, but they said they had never seen anything like it either and didn't know what it could be. i just happened across some pictures of scaly leg mites the other day and thought it looks similar, but obviously his one foot is horrible and so far gone. when he walks across concrete it almost sounds like hollow wood hitting the ground.

I wanted to treat him with ivermectin for the lice/mites, and start putting the oil/jelly on his feet to see if it helps loosen off some of the built up 'gunk' on his feet. Whatever it is is on his good foot too, so I was hoping we could figure out what it is and prevent the good foot from getting worse

 

[Kiki]

Oh my goodness.
How long have you had this bird?

 

[Kiki]

Also...where, about, in the world do you live?

 

[Yep I Talk To Chickens]

Good luck