How to treat an Injured Chicken Toe (scaly leg mite product)

[jodybrook]

Hello all! I'm new to having a flock and have a hen who had a pretty bad case of scaly leg mite after being broody for around a month and a half and hatching a clutch. I have treated her and she is improving SO MUCH.She has one toe that has not improved and is dry and cracked and when it is bent it cracks and bleeds pretty easily. She favors that leg and I can tell it has to be so painful. It looks black so I'm fearful it might break off, but blood is flowing to that area. Any suggestions on how to treat her? She has chicks so I'm afraid pulling her away from them would cause a ton of stress.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor dear. It looks like she may have injured it somehow as well, maybe hung it up in a crack or the door, something like that(?)

You can soak her feet in a warm epsom salts bath to help reduce swelling and promote healing. I don't know what you are using for the SLM, but you can apply some Vetericyn, triple antibiotic ointment to the toe. Since she is with chicks, it would be hard to cage her, I'm hesitant to even recommend wrapping the foot, but it might be worth a try. I did tape one of my girl's toes when she broke it - she still patrolled the run and got it dirty, but it worked pretty well.

Let us know how she is doing.

 

[litthenhouse]

If you think there might still be mites in that toe, I would try neem oil mixed into an ointment base after that epsom salts bath recommended by Wyrop. Neem is highly toxic to mites, and is safe for your hen and her chicks. The ointment will help keep the skin moistened so it can heal. Try wrapping the toe with vet wrap or even duct tape to keep the ointment on. Good luck!

 

[jodybrook]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I have been treating with A &D ointment. She was so bad off when I got her that I went ahead and went the gas treatment way. I cannot tell you the miracle it was overnight. I had tried the oil dip the week before with little change and felt I needed to get it under control, she was limping so badly. I don't think that mites could still be there but I think that ointment and wrapping it would be helpful. I'll give y'all an update tomorrow!

 

[jodybrook]

I have tried to get something on her toe the past two nights to hold in the oilment and prevent her from pecking at it to no avail. It looks worse today (because there is dried blood all over it) but she is walking more on it and limping less. If I were to wrap the whole foot (like if she had bumblefoot) would that be ok? I am so afraid to get (duct tape) tight that I don't ever get it tight enough and it pulls off like a sleeve . I need to grab some medical tape today and then maybe put duck tape over that? Thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I think wrapping the whole foot would be fine

Hehe, those feisty chickens hate to have something on their feet, they do tend to pick it off.

Do the best you can. If wrapping doesn't work (she gets out of that). Consider placing her in a cage or kennel inside the run for several hours a day. This way she can still see the others, but can be on clean dry bedding for at least a few hours to hopefully let the ointment take hold.

It can be frustrating. When one of my hens broke her toe, I resorted to waterproof medical tape and taped her toes somewhat together. It held really well, but would not be practical to use in your situation since your are needing to re-apply ointment and do soakings. I actually had to wait for the tape to "wear out" to remove it.

 

[litthenhouse]

I have tried to get something on her toe the past two nights to hold in the oilment and prevent her from pecking at it to no avail. It looks worse today (because there is dried blood all over it) but she is walking more on it and limping less. If I were to wrap the whole foot (like if she had bumblefoot) would that be ok? I am so afraid to get (duct tape) tight that I don't ever get it tight enough and it pulls off like a sleeve . I need to grab some medical tape today and then maybe put duck tape over that? Thoughts?

I agree. Wrap the whole foot. You can tear the tap into narrower strips, which might be easier to manage. If you wrap her in a towel, she will be a lot calmer and more still.