Limping rooster

[flockgirl]

Hi, I have a 4 year old barred rock rooster who has not been acting like himself lately. He is walking with a limp and I have just noticed his right foot looking swollen. I grabbed him to check him out further and his legs(where the feathers start) are very red and hot. He does not roost in the coop anymore, mate, dust bathe, or crow. He is still eating and drinking normally though. I think everything else is just too painful. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

[Eggcessive]

A picture might help. Have you looked at the bottom of his foot to check for bumblefoot? There might be a dark dot on the bottom of the foot pad. Gout is another issue that causes swelling in the legs and feet. It is a symptom of kidney disease. Does he have scaly leg mites, or are the scales on the leg raised?

 

[flockgirl]

I think it may be bumblefoot. There is a spot the bottom of one of his toes but it is not dark like bumblefoot. And yes he does have raised scales, his leg is also very warm to the touch. Are those symptoms of bumblefoot?

 

[Eggcessive]

Raised scales are a symptom of scaly leg mites. Spreading castor oil on them is a good thing. Some like vaseline or cooking oil. Here is a good picture of bumblefoot: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/236649/bumblefoot-surgery-with-pics-and-how-to
Here is a good picture of scaly leg mites: https://www.backyardchickens.com/image/id/5535779

 

[flockgirl]

I am going to post a pic. I do not think he has bumblefoot. On his right leg he is limping, not both. The small toe on the right foot is like 3x bigger than the toe on his left and the nail looks to be either broken off or sunk in because there is barely on there. Can they get ingrown toe nails or like an abcess? Also does scaly leg mites cause them to limp?

 

[Eggcessive]

They can break their nails--I have one girl that tore hers off by jumping over a chainlink fence repeatedly. It has been off for months now. Yours may have injured the foot if the limping foot is the one with the nail problem. Gout should affect both legs, not just one. Here is another good site for leg mites: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/03/scaly-leg-mites-in-chickens.html

 

[flockgirl]

Okay I am almost positive my roo has scaly leg, but it is weird that it hasnt spread to the other leg. The right foots scales are raised and the entire foot/leg is swollen. Also the toes seem to be crooked so I think it has affected his joints. I have been doing a liquid of scaly leg protecter I got from tsc along with coating it with DE for the past few weeks with no results My question is, once it has affected the bones is there anything i can do or will he loose his leg?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I am pretty sure he has bumble foot because the warm to the touch feel of your rooster's foot sounds like an infection to me. There could well be a foreign object in the pad of his foot, an abscess or else he has injured himself by flying down from his roost and landing on a hard surface. The red coloration sounds like the start of blood poisoning.

With the rooster held firmly press on the fleshy part of his foot were the 4 toes converge. The roo should give you a pain response when you do this if he has bumble foot. A four year old roo is also a prime candidate for bumble foot.

Vick's Vapor Rub is a good cure for scaly legg and so is petroleum jelly with a little sulfur added. So is a little Permeation insecticide added to the petroleum jelly. Neither of these treatments should require you to discard eggs for a period of time.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Okay I am almost positive my roo has scaly leg, but it is weird that it hasnt spread to the other leg. The right foots scales are raised and the entire foot/leg is swollen. Also the toes seem to be crooked so I think it has affected his joints. I have been doing a liquid of scaly leg protecter I got from tsc along with coating it with DE for the past few weeks with no results

My question is, once it has affected the bones is there anything i can do or will he loose his leg?

Do not be overly concerned for you roosters leg. Your bigger concern should likely be for his life.

DE is in mho the next thing to a witch doctor curing cancer with magic crystals. Since most scaly leg mites spend their entire lifetime inside the chickens foot were DE is unable to reach, I have yet to figure out how DE is able to kill, cure, or prevent scaly leg mites without you having to strap an intravenous bag of DE on each of your chickens' backs and starting a DE drip.

 

[flockgirl]

I have cleaned his foot well, and I do not see the black spot of infection

I just slathered his leg with the jelly and will continue to see if it helps. Also the heat to it is gone. His scales are definatly raised so thats why I am leaning toward scaly leg. Can that cause infection and fatality?