Is this something to be concerned about?

[MissChick@dee]

I’m thinking mites. Take a look at the thread...chickens with leg problems. Pictures looked similar. The webbings are softer than the scales of the legs. There are some mites that start there. Worth a look see.

 

[Isaiah53]

If you are planning to cull the birds, I would not remove the impaction. It will leave a hole which needs treating with antiseptic daily to prevent reinfection, and if the birds are going to be culled then it will just cause them upset for nothing.

I am sorry that you have suffered illness in your flock, and I hope that the main flock remain healthy.

@Chickens4Life101 It is best to remove the plug; think of it as a boil that needs squeezing. Try the method I suggest above. It is easier if you have one person to hold the bird and one to treat.

Thank you, Sneebsey, I appreciate your kind words. I have no idea if it is Marek's I would have thought by now more, especially my younger ones, would have died or showed some symptoms. The first two were siblings from the same parents and were 3 years old. They died without symptoms within 2 hours of each other and so I had the vet do a necropsy . He said they were riddled with tumours. I am thinking it may have been oviduct cancer.,rather than Marek's. But the vet disposed of the carcasses so I couldn't send tissue samples out to confirm it. Since then, (4 weeks ago) no more have died or shown symptoms. It's frustrating, actually. I wish I knew what to do. We're going away next summer for quite a while and then again next winter. I was told by my vet to cull my birds, the provincial animal health care lab said not to. But maybe now is a good time to downsize. Sigh

 

[Sneebsey]

I have no experience to speak of with regard to infectious disease, fortunately. I have been incredibly lucky. I run a closed flock to try to prevent my birds coming into contact with infected birds, though as my birds are true free-range, wild birds are still a risk-factor.

My biggest concern for my flock is that ring-neck pheasants are released locally for shooting. We do not support shooting, nor allow the use of our land for shooting or retrieval, therefore they must see it as a safe-space and we are overrun yearly. A hen made her nest underneath the water-butt we keep for the garden this year.

As the two birds were siblings, is there a chance that it could be a genetic predisposition as opposed to an infectious diease? I wonder that @Wyorp Rock may know more about tumours and what can cause them than I.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Since the OP had a necropsy performed by a vet, that's all that she can go by for the 2 that died.

These 2 that have lumps on their feet, if there is a hard plug of dirt, that needs to be removed, then the foot examined. Photos of the bottoms of the feet after the dirt is removed would be helpful.
Looks like the rooster has evidence of Scaly Leg Mites. If you plan on keeping him, then wash the legs and apply an oil to the legs at least once a week.

I did check their feet and yes there's a hard plug of dirt. I'll remove it from their feet

 

[Isaiah53]

Since the OP had a necropsy performed by a vet, that's all that she can go by for the 2 that died.

These 2 that have lumps on their feet, if there is a hard plug of dirt, that needs to be removed, then the foot examined. Photos of the bottoms of the feet after the dirt is removed would be helpful.
Looks like the rooster has evidence of Scaly Leg Mites. If you plan on keeping him, then wash the legs and apply an oil to the legs at least once a week.

Thank you for your input Wyorp Rock. I will keep that in mind for the rest of my flock. I will be euthanizing them this week after discussing it with my husband again. But I appreciate everyone's input on the scaly leg mites. I will know what to look for with the others for future reference.

Thank you all for your help and concern.

 

[TennesseeFarm]

If there is no plug, a sterile razor would be ideal to create a small incision, however I would definitely stick to fine tweezers for the actual work of removing the plug, to avoid cutting anymore flesh than is absolutely necessary. Wrapping the wound is best, I agree, though very tricky to do whilst allowing for the bird's mobility. In the birds above, I do not think wrapping the area would be advisable due to its flexibility.

Yeah I worded that bad, I meant razor was used to cut an incisionthen once open it popped out with putting a little pressure from our fingers, we might have used tweezers it was 4ish years ago. Kept her in a small cage for a week or two so walking around wasnt an issue. But like I said our bumblefoot was twice or 3 times as large as this case

 

[Isaiah53]

I have no experience to speak of with regard to infectious disease, fortunately. I have been incredibly lucky. I run a closed flock to try to prevent my birds coming into contact with infected birds, though as my birds are true free-range, wild birds are still a risk-factor.

My biggest concern for my flock is that ring-neck pheasants are released locally for shooting. We do not support shooting, nor allow the use of our land for shooting or retrieval, therefore they must see it as a safe-space and we are overrun yearly. A hen made her nest underneath the water-butt we keep for the garden this year.

As the two birds were siblings, is there a chance that it could be a genetic predisposition as opposed to an infectious diease? I wonder that @Wyorp Rock may know more about tumours and what can cause them than I.

The BC provincial animal health care lab actually suggested the same thing maybe genetic. But, since I don't have tissue to sample, nothing I can do. I wish I'd have thought of that when the vet told me. I am waiting for another one to die sadly to send it off. In the meantime I did cull 20 of the younger ones and not one of them had any tumours, completely healthy.

 

[TennesseeFarm]

If there is no plug, a sterile razor would be ideal to create a small incision, however I would definitely stick to fine tweezers for the actual work of removing the plug, to avoid cutting anymore flesh than is absolutely necessary. Wrapping the wound is best, I agree, though very tricky to do whilst allowing for the bird's mobility. In the birds above, I do not think wrapping the area would be advisable due to its flexibility.

Made an edit to my reply, I misread your post a bit. I realized I worded my post wrong, the razor was for incision only. Yeah using a razor blade to get it out would have been bad haha.