Narragansett turkeys with leg wounds - scaly mites or ???

[bluemaranfan]

Also, they are on grass, but it's dry, not green. The ground is hard, and there is a fair amount of thorny stuff in our fields as usual this time of year. I've had birds get a slight injury and limp for a while, but never seen anything like this.

 

[TWK777]

Tylan is more potent. I would lower the perch as much as possible. An infection could possibly have occurred after a bird cut its foot. I would isolate the birds and keep them in a smaller enclosure, with nothing on the ground that would be too rough on the feet. I would use shavings, because they are easy to keep fresh and clean, and to avoid worsening the problem.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

At this point just the one hen and 2 of my 3 big toms, but no chickens and no poults are affected which would make me think bumblefoot, except the hen's wound initially looked more like staph and she and one of the toms are still pecking at their feet. I will continue to rub their legs down with rice oil because that's what I have on hand and it seems like it would kill mites and may be a little safer than a petroleum product. The shed they sleep in is cleaned out and treated with ashes and diatomaceous earth. How can I get the hen to stop pecking her foot?

Being in NorCal, mud is NOT a problem in August. The big guys have swollen foot pads and the heaviest one didn't want to jump off the perch this morning. I think the perches at 3 ft are a little too high and will be lowering them to 18" in case it's bumblefoot after all.

The affected birds are eating and drinking. I will continue electrolytes, but until now held off on antibiotics. I think I need to treat the 2 that are worst off. I have tetracycline and tylocin (Tylan), and am not sure which is the best one to use.
Quote: Photos would really help

Any scabs on the bottom of the feet?
Like a classic "bumblefoot"?
Can you see anything stuck in the feet/legs - you mention thorny stuff in your field - perhaps they have some small thorns stuck somewhere?

Bumblefoot by all intents and purposes is a staph infection. Antibiotics may help, but the core/pus would still need to be removed from the foot.

If you can get some Penicillin that would be more suitable than the Tylan or Tetracycline. If you can't get any then you can try the Tylan as @TWK777 has suggested.

 

[bluemaranfan]

Got pictures last night. One tom is much better but the other 2 are now isolated and on Tylan which is used for staph (still). I'm putting in their water and also using chick starter with antibiotic-laced water mixed in. They are eating and drinking. I looked at the big tom's foot and couldn't figure out if there was anything like a bumblefoot scab. The tom is 6 yrs old and his feet are really gnarly. I think the new softer bedding helped.

 

[TWK777]

Well, bumble foot would have started from a laceration on the bottom of the foot, it normally has a black ish look to it. Bumble foot is very hard to fix. I can say definitively that this is not scaly leg mites. I would agree with you on the bumble foot, but I think foot rot is still on the table. Were you in an area that experienced flooding or heavy rains recently?

 

[bluemaranfan]

Definitely not flooding - fires are more our speed out here and we just had another big one a few miles from here

Is foot rot a staph infection? I think that must be what this is. Bird 3 seems completely recovered, but the other two are still suffering. They are still alive too, so that's a plus, I hope. I'm going to keep them on the tylosin for 2 weeks in their water and food. If it gets worse, I'll euthanize. I still hope they'll recover - I've seen turkeys heal from occasional respiratory infections, some serious damage from mating season mishaps, and other turkey misadventures, and they do have amazing ability to heal wounds, but we've never seen staph before.

 

[TWK777]

I don't know if it's staph, but I do know that after the ailment takes its course in seramas, it usually has no after effects other than losing a toe. If it is bumble foot, they will have foreign objects in their foot which need to be surgically removed, but if it's foot rot, there's not much you can do other than give antibiotics and rub petroleum jelly. I have never tryed rice oil, but I have heard good things about it. I personally have never had a case of foot rot but I have friends who have, and this is what they do.

 

[bluemaranfan]

Can you tell me exactly what foot rot is? What is the bacteria that causes it? Or is there more than one kind?

 

[TWK777]

It's really a general term. It's just what most people will call a gnarly infection in the foot, where it literally rots while the bird is still alive. The closest thing I can compare it to is trench foot. When the conditions that they are housed in lets their feet get wet, muddy, or even caked with dirt for long periods of time. It's different from bumble foot, which requires some foreign object to have cut the foot, or be imbedded in it, and from scaly leg mights which is a parisite. Again, I have never had this in my birds, but I have friends who have. I don't know the specific bacteria, but I know that they do rub the leg and treat them with antibiotics. In the thread you directed me to you can see what I'm talking about. The large brown objects on the bottom of the foot look like something has been on the foot for a long time, and is now causing it to rot. You said one of your hens healed? This might indicate that it's not bumble foot. Bumble foot usually requires a surgical operation to heal, if I'm not mistaken.You did mention the thorns in your field though, which would definitely bring the possibility for bumble foot, but I have no experience with that, sorry. For now I would just make sure that they are on clean, fresh bedding, so that whatever it is, it isn't getting worse. All of this said, your birds do look very clean and well maintained, so I would try to dig deeper into infections like bumble foot. And if there hasn't been any water in the pen, this would make me doubt even more that it's any kind of foot rot. Sorry I can't be of any more help.

 

[bluemaranfan]

I appreciate your input - looking at some pretty horrible photos of staph online it seems pretty certain that's what it must be. It seems hopeful that the sick pair are eating a lot - the food was full of tylosin, so if the bacteria isn't a resistant strain, I'm hoping for some improvement in the next couple of days.