- Oct 22, 2013
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Near on a year ago I adopted a little hen from a lady who was moving. I think she's a golden Wyandotte cross - she's not very big. What I didn't realise at the time was that she'd had problems with scaly leg mite. Call me naive, but at a glance her legs looked okay, and it wasn't until after we had her home that I realised her legs are completely descaled.
There are no signs of mites now, but her scales haven't grown back. What that has seemed to mean is that her legs and feet are tender and susceptible to injury, and she has a couple of persistent lesions on one hock that we've tried several times to treat with surgery, soaking, iodine and Puracyn, but they keep coming back. I don't think we're getting the whole abscess as it's frightening cutting into a skinny little leg - I'm scared I'll sever something vital. Making it worse, she's been a loner since I got her and refuses to roost with the others (who free range) but gets high into a tree despite being wing-clipped, which I think is scratching her hock and making things worse. If I end up keeping her I think I'm going to rehouse her by herself on soft grass where she can't damage her feet.
Anyway, this morning she was limping and her foot (on the same leg as we've treated before) was swollen up and warm to the touch and she has the classic bumble scabs on both sides of one toe. This is the worst I've seen her.
I feel sad as she's a sweet little hen and a reliable layer. She's laying me an egg a day despite this horrid condition
Is there much hope for her and her quality of life? I feel like we torture her with every treatment and my husband thinks it would be kinder to have her put to sleep. I read in a poultry magazine that once the scales on the legs are gone they never come back, but that doesn't sound right. Her feet feel as soft as my hands. She's in the foot spa right now having a soak.
There are no signs of mites now, but her scales haven't grown back. What that has seemed to mean is that her legs and feet are tender and susceptible to injury, and she has a couple of persistent lesions on one hock that we've tried several times to treat with surgery, soaking, iodine and Puracyn, but they keep coming back. I don't think we're getting the whole abscess as it's frightening cutting into a skinny little leg - I'm scared I'll sever something vital. Making it worse, she's been a loner since I got her and refuses to roost with the others (who free range) but gets high into a tree despite being wing-clipped, which I think is scratching her hock and making things worse. If I end up keeping her I think I'm going to rehouse her by herself on soft grass where she can't damage her feet.
Anyway, this morning she was limping and her foot (on the same leg as we've treated before) was swollen up and warm to the touch and she has the classic bumble scabs on both sides of one toe. This is the worst I've seen her.
I feel sad as she's a sweet little hen and a reliable layer. She's laying me an egg a day despite this horrid condition