My rooster can’t walk!

[nataliegrinks]

Is anyone really familiar with scaly leg mites? Would a bad infestation cause these issues?

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Is anyone really familiar with scaly leg mites? Would a bad infestation cause these issues?

Let me tag some people better educated than I am about this
@Eggcessive @staceyj @WVduckchick

 

[nataliegrinks]

Let me tag some people better educated than I am about this
@Eggcessive @staceyj @WVduckchick

Thank you so much!

 

[WVduckchick]

I think scaly leg mites are usually treatable, but severe cases can cause lameness. I would keep treating the legs, and continue the Tylan, but others are more versed on the Tylan usage than me, so I defer on that point.

http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/scaly-leg-mites

 

[casportpony]

Is anyone really familiar with scaly leg mites? Would a bad infestation cause these issues?

A bad cause can make it very painful to walk. It can get so bad that they can lose toes, and some can get a life-threatening infection from them.

 

[staceyj]

How bad are the leg mites?
Not that ANY are DESIRABLE , but are they HORRIBLE, as in toes and legs all swollen, peeling and inflamed?
Are his joints inflamed?
Hot to the touch?
Did you check the bottoms of his feet and between his toes for a bumble foot infection?
Advanced bumblefoot can invade joints and cause a systemic staph infection.

There’s also two types of gout that chickens get.
I found this thread : https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/is-this-gout.1223982/

And I want to ask @azygous to come participate in this thread for when you get those pictures up okay?
The more eyes on them the better.

 

[Eggcessive]

I had a rooster with leg mites, and he seemed to have a lot of pain, even with treatment. He did some high stepping, and later seemed to just walk around when he needed to catch up with the hens. But he never became totally lame.

By any chance have you had any severe winter freezing temperatures in the last 2-3 months? You probably would recognize frostbite, but we had a recent thread where an experienced flock owner had not noticed that one of her chickens had a frostbitten leg, from back in January. There have been a few with both feet affected as well.

It may be the leg mite problem, but it could be something else. Mareks is always a possibility with lameness, but an internal infection or tumor can also affect leg nerves. Many times we don’t get an answer unless a necropsy is done after death. It sounds like you have his care well in hand and seem very knowledgeable.

 

[nataliegrinks]

How bad are the leg mites?
Not that ANY are DESIRABLE , but are they HORRIBLE, as in toes and legs all swollen, peeling and inflamed?
Are his joints inflamed?
Hot to the touch?
Did you check the bottoms of his feet and between his toes for a bumble foot infection?
Advanced bumblefoot can invade joints and cause a systemic staph infection.

There’s also two types of gout that chickens get.
I found this thread : https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/is-this-gout.1223982/

And I want to ask @azygous to come participate in this thread for when you get those pictures up okay?
The more eyes on them the better.

Thank you SO much! We have had a lot of experience with bumble foot surgery. He does not have that. The scales were very lifted and I’m sure painful. Most of those have fallen off at this point. No redness no heat no swelling. It’s the bright green poo (bile) that’s really got me worried. That usually happens before they die. He’s eating like a champ. Still drinking but not as much as the last few days. Like it was going out of style. We’ve had a chicken die of bumble foot before. She never limped or showed any signs so it was too late by the time we did surgery. I’ll check out the four link. Thank you!!

 

[nataliegrinks]

I had a rooster with leg mites, and he seemed to have a lot of pain, even with treatment. He did some high stepping, and later seemed to just walk around when he needed to catch up with the hens. But he never became totally lame.
By any chance have you had any severe winter freezing temperatures in the last 2-3 months? You probably would recognize frostbite, but we had a recent thread where an experienced flock owner had not noticed that one of her chickens had a frostbitten leg, from back in January. There have been a few with both feet affected as well.

It may be the leg mite problem, but it could be something else. Mareks is always a possibility with lameness, but an internal infection or tumor can also affect leg nerves. Many times we don’t get an answer unless a necropsy is done after death. It sounds like you have his care well in hand and seem very knowledgeable.

Thank you. I know, it’s hard to diagnose. I don’t think frostbite is an issue. He has a warm-ish coop. We have helped a friend that had to amputate a toe and it doesn’t look like that. I think he’s too old for mareks. He’s three. Maybe the leg mites getting bad let something else in. I’ve treated him with everything I know how to do at this point. I’m just out of ideas. And the bile green poo is a bad sign. Thank you so much for your input

 

[Eggcessive]

What has he been eating recently? Usually not eating causes the green poops or possibly from eating a lot of greens. Mareks is always a possibility. Even though it usually causes symptoms in younger birds from 5 to 30 weeks, they can be infected at any age. It can lie dormant in the body and suddenly become active by a stressor. But there are so many other possible causes. Mareks is best diagnosed with testing of tumor tissue or feather shafts during a necropsy. Other methods may have false negative results.