Not Emergency - Foot Issues

[micstrachan]

Good evening,
Remember when Ruby was sick with a mass of unknown origin and she miraculously recovered with treatment? You may recall at first I thought her only problem was a broken or dislocated toe. I let it be, since the mass seemed to be the bigger issue. Well, now that toenail is way overgrown and I need to trim it. Anyone have advice for this?

The other issue is scaly leg mites. Has anyone ever mixed ivermectin in with whatever grease you use? I like bag balm the best so far, but haven’t been disciplined enough to get rid of the problem with the balm alone. There seems to be a wide range of ivermectin out there and I’m not super clear on what to buy. Thoughts?

 

[townchicks]

I haven't dealt with scaly leg yet, at least in my chickens. I got the pour on cattle ivermectin for feather mites, and that was easy, just a couple of drops on the skin at the base of the neck. Have dealt with scaly leg in a parakeet, and used baby oil. That did the trick, w/o any need for insecticide.

 

[slordaz]

I am sorry I am not much help on this one Micstrachan, haven't had to deal with either of those issues, though I did see the breeder pull out a pair of animal nail clipeprs like for a dog and use them I don't know how to do it though .

@dawg53
@oldhenlikesdogs

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I trim toenails will a dog nail trimmer. Try to avoid the quick, and have some blood stop product on hand in case you don't.

I personally haven't dealt with scaley leg either myself. So I can't help with that.

 

[zeppley]

I've had great luck just putting a few drops of pour-on ivervectin on a cotton ball and rubbing it on their legs once - works great for cochins/faverolles & other feather-footed varieties. People use this on their feather-hocked horses, too. Be sure and spray the wood and cracks in the coop, where some species of mites refuge.

I used to have to trim toenails on my geese. They usually bled some, which I stopped with down or powder. If the nails are white, you can trim shy of blood vessel. If not, guess. It's not enough blood loss to damage them. Worse case, they limp for a day, like I do after I cut my toenails too short. I had a worse reaction to their bloodshed than the geese did. You could try wrapping them in a towel and using a nail file. I think (depending on your bird) that might be more traumatic than clipping. Now that I have a waterfowl pond with rocks around it - no long toenails! Good luck!

 

[dawg53]

Personally I dont use Ivermectin for scaly leg mites, there's a long egg withdrawal period for it. Any oil based product will treat scaly leg mites over time.
I prefer to use Nu-Stock, 2 applications will clear them up. Also apply it on roosts. If using any oil based product, you must apply to roosts as well to prevent the mites spreading to other birds.
As far as trimming nails; dog nail trimmer like @oldhenlikesdogs mentioned.