Please help me Help my little guy!

[Granny Hatchet]

IF I was looking at a human I would suspect flesh eating bacteria. MERSA or when my son was a little he got strep and that turned to scarlet fever then all the skin on his feet sloffed off. Can you take this chick to a vet and possibly culture that mess ? I wouldnt have a clue if chickens could get any of these things but it looks serious enough that I wouldnt even want to touch it with my bare hands. It could be something as simple as an allergy but it could also be a staff infection. Contagious to humans .

 

[azygous]

Granny's right. It might be time to begin thinking along the lines if bacterial infection or a fungal infection. I've spent some time on Google search for chicken feet issues and came up empty.

I look at those sweet little feet and ask myself, what would I do at this point if this was my baby chick? Blu-kote comes to mind. It's both an anti-fungal and antiseptic. If this is bacterial, fungal, or fowl pox, Blu-kote has the best chance of making a difference.

What do others think of this approach?

 

[Granny Hatchet]

I am not an educator so I really dont have a clue but I do belong to an all vet site on fb and they state blu-kote slows down the healing . I am just repeating something I read.

 

[Chickassan]

I'd give the Manuka honey treatment a try on those feet.

 

[Mbart83]

The only reason I was leaning towards it not being mites is you don't see the raised scaled on him that mites usually cause. The places on his feet with the sores look awful, but the rest of his feet look good - the scales are still laying nice and tight to his legs. Plus, he's only six weeks old and has never been outside or in contact with any other birds, so it would be a mystery how he contracted them.

And, it sounds like none of the other chicks have any signs of them, which is odd because all living in a brooder together you would expect them to have spread to the other chicks, too.

So, no harm in continuing to treat him for them, but it may be better to try some other things as well. I know you said you have him on pine shavings, which is usually fine for chickens, but maybe he has a sensitivity or an allergy (that's why I asked originally what kind of bedding you were using). Maybe you should try using aspen bedding or towels or paper towels for awhile and see what happens.

Thanks! I have injectable ivermectin but not sure how to with chickens- I have it from rabbits -

Yesterday I noticed that the other chicken I have with same color as Mr. Chicken Little, has a coulpe cuts on toes...maybe it is the bedding- no raised scales or anything- everyone else’s look perfect

 

[Granny Hatchet]

so this is probably far fetched but a little fascinating too . Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS) SSSS is the most serious staph skin infection. It usually affects babies and children under the age of 5, and occurs when the staph bacteria release a poison that damages the skin. ... skin that has a burnt appearance or is peeling off. Bumble foot is a staph infection.

 

[6sablehens]

I agree I don’t think it’s scaley leg mites. When I see the feet, no lifted scales and the chick is so young. I was also going to suggest that soaking the feet can be continuing the infection and damp feet can be the cause of other infections like bumble foot, so it might be good to let them dry out, but the best solution is to find out the underlying cause. Although Epsom salts can be good for them, it may be causing pain as it is an open wound.​

I was going to recommend a chicken vet as well, hopefully you can find one near you.
We have done so in the past, and sometimes it is the only solution to get a proper diagnosis and fix the problem.

I am really sorry about your chicken, he is very sweet. I hope he gets well soon...

 

[Ravynscroft]

I am curious, can you take pics of your brooder setup? There may be something that is simple and has been missed, more eyes might help...

 

[6sablehens]

so this is probably far fetched but a little fascinating too . Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS) SSSS is the most serious staph skin infection. It usually affects babies and children under the age of 5, and occurs when the staph bacteria release a poison that damages the skin. ... skin that has a burnt appearance or is peeling off. Bumble foot is a staph infection.

This sounds very similar to what is happening to your chick!

 

[azygous]

I am not an educator so I really dont have a clue but I do belong to an all vet site on fb and they state blu-kote slows down the healing . I am just repeating something I read.

Granny, Blu-kote does dry out wounds. In cases where it's a severe injury with a large area of missing tissue, Blu-kote alone isn't a good idea because it's a drying agent, and in order for a serious wound to regrow tissue, it needs to be kept moist with something such as an ointment or salve.

My method of diagnosing things is to try a remedy and if it works, then my diagnosis was probably correct. If it doesn't work, I then try something else. You're very spot on by recognizing its similar appearance to staph scalded skin syndrome. That's the sort of thing I was trying to stumble onto in my searches.

Perhaps it's time to put this little guy on an oral antibiotic.