Infected Leg / Weird Growth

[willjeannie]

Hi, I have a silky bantam female, aged about 5 who has a bad case of scaly leg, to the point that it became lame in one leg. Two other silky bantams were affected but mildly. We looked up advice on the british hen welfare trust website and applied swarfega. This hen's leg was I think toodelicate and although we were as gentle as we could, it later bled and we didn't repeat the exercise. We then gave all 3 hens ivermectin drops once a week for 3 weeks according to the instructions. The mildly affected hens seem fine and are acting normally. The badly affected hen is smelling and I think has got an infection in the leg, though the smelling has improved so it might be over the worst now. Is it possible for us to get hold of antibiotics for it ?

I am really sorry that we did not notice this earlier and for any distress we have put the chicken through!

 

[HollyWoozle]

Oh my, that doesn’t look good! But I appreciate you are trying. It’s very hard to see what’s happening here as there appears to be a lot of blood/mess/dirt. I can’t advise well on antibiotics or treatment but I strongly suggest this hen’s legs get a good soak and clean - until they are cleaned up it’s quite hard to see what’s what. It looks like there are one or two abscesses perhaps?

 

[ryneaeiel]

Oh my, that doesn’t look good! But I appreciate you are trying. It’s very hard to see what’s happening here as there appears to be a lot of blood/mess/dirt. I can’t advise well on antibiotics or treatment but I strongly suggest this hen’s legs get a good soak and clean - until they are cleaned up it’s quite hard to see what’s what. It looks like there are one or two abscesses perhaps?

I agree. The claws are also overgrown, so I'd recommend trimming them while you've got her in the bath and the claws are a little softer. Avoid the faint reddish color in the claw -- that's the quick, and nicking it will make her bleed.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi, I have a silky bantam female, aged about 5 who has a bad case of scaly leg, to the point that it became lame in one leg. Two other silky bantams were affected but mildly. We looked up advice on the british hen welfare trust website and applied swarfega. This hen's leg was I think toodelicate and although we were as gentle as we could, it later bled and we didn't repeat the exercise. We then gave all 3 hens ivermectin drops once a week for 3 weeks according to the instructions. The mildly affected hens seem fine and are acting normally. The badly affected hen is smelling and I think has got an infection in the leg, though the smelling has improved so it might be over the worst now. Is it possible for us to get hold of antibiotics for it ?

I am really sorry that we did not notice this earlier and for any distress we have put the chicken through!
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Is vet care an option?

I assume you are not in the US according to your post. If you need antibiotics I believe you need a script.

Not to be harsh, but she needs either be separated out to a clean cage, tended and treated a couple of times a day or put her out of her misery.
The growths on the legs are likely debris/buildup from the SLM. Repeated soakings will be needed to get the poop off her that's stuck and this will also help get those crusts loosened up. If possible, get some Chlorhexidine (Hibiclens) to add to the soaking water. Apply vaseline to those legs and crusts once she's dried after the soakings.
Having a bad odor is concerning, but it may be that she's needing a good cleaning up and the odor will improve once you get going.

Ivermectin is good at killing SLM, but it does nothing to help heal raised scales on legs. I suggest that you inspect your other birds to see if they would benefit from an oil or vaseline application to their legs once a week too.

Antibiotics may help with infection in addition to her being treated daily. See what your vet suggests.

 

[willjeannie]

A big thank you to everyone who replied and I apologise for not replying earlier.

An update on the hen....

We had another look at the leg and the growth on the leg was not there anymore and it looked very clean. Not blood or dirt or any sign of infection.

I don't know if the Ivermectin helped or not. Or if we broke the skin on the growth which caused it to drain and consequently fall off?

However it looked like there was no skin either now and that we could possibly see the bone. Which was a bit worrying

We also sat the hen in a diluted solution of Dettol (anticeptic wash) taking care not to touch the leg for 5 mins. which we will repeat every couple of days.

We have decided to do a course of Doxycycline antibiotics which we obtained from a friend who has chickens.

The hen is looking much happier and can put some weight on the leg. It will also go and get food and water.

I realise that we should take the hen to a vet but we cannot afford to and whilst the hen looks reasonably happy we will persevere.

Any other tips are gratefully appreciated.

Will

 

[Wyorp Rock]

However it looked like there was no skin either now and that we could possibly see the bone. Which was a bit worrying

Sounds like the debris eventually fell off.
How often do you check on her?

If you can please get some updated photos of the hen's legs that would be good - I'm trying to visualize what you mean that there's no skin now and you are possibly seeing bone.