My chicks are sick, have frost bite and scaly leg mites?

[Kitty2631]

Hello everyone i have teen chicks a hen and 2 roosters. It's been pretty cold lately and my babies arent handling it the best. I cant tell if they have a dieses if they are sick or if its the cold. I noticed one of my roosters wattle or comb was purple so i thought frost bite. My chicks seem to have black toes and what appears to be frostbite. But tonight i went to check on them and close their coop only to now discover 2 chicks eyes are all crusty and shut closed. Their nails were bleeding and ones got really stiff legs now she still eats walks drinks but it just seems like her legs are just really stiff i watch my other chicks walk and they seem to curl their toes she does not. I looked up scaly leg mites and i can 100% tell from the pictures my hen definitely has scaly leg mites. Could that cause my babies legs to be stiff? Can scaly leg mites cause anything that might look like frost bite? Can it make their nails bleed and make them lose their nails? Or do they possibly just have frost bite? Do they have a cold possibly? Are they gunna die on me? Im so worried any help at all would be appreciated! This is my first time rasing babies

 

[Boppo]

Hello, Kitty. I am not a chicken health expert, but I looked up scaly leg mites for you and found treatment options and pictures of healthy and infected chicken feet and legs at one of my favorite chicken blogs here, along with treatment options. Here is a discussion among BYC members of how to clean a chicken coop to get rid of the mites.

Here is a list of several common problems with chicks and how to fix them, again from the Chicken Chick.

Here is a short explanation of infectious coryza, which might be what is causing your chick's eye discharge. One of the other symptoms is difficulty walking. The treatment is antibiotics which require a vet to prescribe. This article has a lot of tips about how to fix the coop and do things that might help the birds along, as well as estimating how likely your birds are to survive.

Here is a short explanation of mycoplasmosis, which might also be what is causing the crusty eye (this article describes foamy eye though, so it may not be the same!). Both articles have pictures that may be some help to you. And this is a discussion of some preventive measures. And a statement about treatment.

 

[Sally PB]

@Kitty2631, where are you located, and what are the temps? Can you post some pictures of your chickens' issues? Pictures really help to show what you're dealing with.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello everyone i have teen chicks a hen and 2 roosters. It's been pretty cold lately and my babies arent handling it the best. I cant tell if they have a dieses if they are sick or if its the cold. I noticed one of my roosters wattle or comb was purple so i thought frost bite. My chicks seem to have black toes and what appears to be frostbite. But tonight i went to check on them and close their coop only to now discover 2 chicks eyes are all crusty and shut closed. Their nails were bleeding and ones got really stiff legs now she still eats walks drinks but it just seems like her legs are just really stiff i watch my other chicks walk and they seem to curl their toes she does not. I looked up scaly leg mites and i can 100% tell from the pictures my hen definitely has scaly leg mites. Could that cause my babies legs to be stiff? Can scaly leg mites cause anything that might look like frost bite? Can it make their nails bleed and make them lose their nails? Or do they possibly just have frost bite? Do they have a cold possibly? Are they gunna die on me? Im so worried any help at all would be appreciated! This is my first time rasing babies

Welcome To BYC

Can you please post photos of the chicks, chickens, their legs, eyes, housing, etc.
Thank you!


What do you feed including treats?
What's your weather like?
How old are the chicks?

Do you have a parent, friend, family member or neighbor that can help you with your chickens?

 

[Kitty2631]

@Kitty2631, where are you located, and what are the temps? Can you post some pictures of your chickens' issues? Pictures really help to show what you're dealing with.

I live in Canada BC! So the first week of december it was in the highest was -22 but the real feel was apparently -30 other than that it hasnt been to bad. This week id a different story today is -23 feels like -36. I actually put them inside with me last night so they could stay warm tho i was way too worried. I can post some pictures! I washed the ones eye with warm water last night and today its actually opened and hes using it! Ive never been so happy to wake up to that!

 

[Sally PB]

You can put your location in your profile. Then people don't need to ask, and we can tailor answers to your location. BC Canada climate is very different from Florida, and climate really matters.

If you search for scaly leg mites, or other symptoms/conditions, you will find a lot of info on this site. The pool of knowledge here is wide and deep!

More detail in your descriptions of their feed/coop/behavior is always good. And pictures of injuries or specific concerns are very helpful. Don't worry about the gross factor, either. We've seen everything here.

 

[Kitty2631]

Welcome To BYC

Can you please post photos of the chicks, chickens, their legs, eyes, housing, etc.
Thank you!


What do you feed including treats?
What's your weather like?
How old are the chicks?

Do you have a parent, friend, family member or neighbor that can help you with your chickens?

I can totally take pictures just give me a minute! As for housing so i had a friend and she placed the heat lamp incorrectly and burnt their whole coop down and then she bought them a tin shed im hoping i can make them a proper new coop here soon. Right now i have them inside with me keeping warm due to the really cold weather this week i couldnt leave them out knowing they were already having issues. So for the most part i feed them veggies for treats sometimes bread oatmeal rice fruits ive NEVER given them moldy food tho and because they were chicks and i was just learning i always googled it to make sure it was okay to give. Other than that they are on grower feed right now they have reached the teen stage so i was told to switch. I havent given them grit yet which i do know i need to for their digestion. The first week of december was really cold highest was -22 felt like -30 then it got not too bad but today is -23 feeling like -39 so last night i grabbed them all and put them inside with me and the wood stove. Couldnt leave them out there knowing it was coming and seeing their issues. They hatched about Sept 1st so they are a little over 3 months. Ive been taking care of them with their mama hen since they were born so ive grown attached to them its breaking my heart that they are the way they are right now and im just hoping to get them better and healthy

 

[Kitty2631]

You can put your location in your profile. Then people don't need to ask, and we can tailor answers to your location. BC Canada climate is very different from Florida, and climate really matters.

If you search for scaly leg mites, or other symptoms/conditions, you will find a lot of info on this site. The pool of knowledge here is wide and deep!

More detail in your descriptions of their feed/coop/behavior is always good. And pictures of injuries or specific concerns are very helpful. Don't worry about the gross factor, either. We've seen everything here.

So the first 2 pictures (if it goes in order as i upload the pictures) are my hens feet third and fourth picture is one of my chicks i washed his eye with warm water and today it was open so fifth and sixth photo is his eye today seventh is my rooster i think its frost bite. 8th picture is one of my chicks. 9 and 10 are my other chick. 11 is another chick. 12 and 13 are the chick with the stiff legs i wanted to post a video but i dont think it works its weird she like keeps her feet flat and moves her legs up and down theres no curl in the toes or bends in the legs or anything its really strange and worries me because its alot different then all the other chicks. She walks though and eats and drinks she seems okay in that aspect just her legs worry me. Also if you look at my hens feet she had a bloody nail and shes missing a nail too. any help at all would be appreciated my poor babies

 

[Kitty2631]

Welcome To BYC

Can you please post photos of the chicks, chickens, their legs, eyes, housing, etc.
Thank you!


What do you feed including treats?
What's your weather like?
How old are the chicks?

Do you have a parent, friend, family member or neighbor that can help you with your chickens?

i did post a reply with actual photos if you wanna check it out! Also idk if i answered the last question i do have parents who try to help the best they can but i dont think they know much either my boyfriend helps me out alot trying to keep them warm and built them a coop and stuff. My mom has a friend who has over 70 chickens ive been asking her advice she says they have a cold and just to keep them warm the next few days. Which im sure they do have a cold but idk if that would affect their legs yanno? I just need some more advice other peoples opinions if its something real serious or something curable. They are my babies and im just heart broken

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You do need to provide grit if you are giving veggies and other things besides poultry feed. Look to see if the grower feed is around 18% protein. While some do o.k. at lower protein, I've found that feed like an all flock at around 18-20% protein works fairly well and it can be fed year round to chicks as well as adults, no having to switch feed. It also depends on where you live and what's available to you.

I agree, it does look like at least the one hen has Scaly Leg Mites. Apply an oil or vaseline to the legs/feet working up under the scales to help smother the mites. Apply at least once a week for a month. Do check them over for lice or mites on the body as well. Look around the vent, under the wings, etc. If you find bugs on them, then use a Permethrin based poultry dust or ask your friend what they recommend. Products may be different in Canada than the U.S.

Your birds seem to have respiratory illness. Whether it's Mycoplasma or a viral infection like Infectious Bronchitis, it's hard to know. I'd start them on antibiotics if they were mine. Tylan/Tylosin, Tetracyclines or Tiamulin would be what I'd use. Hopefully you can find some meds for them.
Clean out all the gunk from their eyes, flushing with saline. Put a little Terramycin eye ointment or Original Neosporin in the eyes. Pus will not dry up on its own even with antibiotic treatment, so you'll need to clean the eyes at least once daily to help them heal.

The feet may have some frostbite, hard to tell. Moving them to a warmer area like you have is a good idea. Keep bedding dry and just monitor the feet. They may swell some and blister, hopefully it's just a mild case and you won't see a lot of damage.

For the stiff leg walking, not sure if it's due to frostbite or something else. If you do have video, then it would be worth a look.
The BYC upload does not work, you'll need to upload to a platform like YouTube, then provide a link to the video.