Red swelling on front of leg

[Tytyvyllus]

I have a 6 week old Welsummer pullet who had a swelling that is red and purple on the front of one leg. The other leg is developing the same color. I cleaned the legs with hydrogen peroxide, but I don't think it helped much. It doesn't look like the skin was broken or torn, but it could just not show. Above is a picture from last week. Below is a picture from today.

 

[Tytyvyllus]

Here is a better close up.

 

[Tytyvyllus]

Does anyone know what it is? I'm totally lost here.

 

[tearooster]

Try soaking in Epsom salts...
I'm looking online but not much. Maybe dislocated tendons? Try stretching the leg back as if the chicken was stretching, and see if it relocates the tendon. I'll keep looking.

 

[tearooster]

Here you go. Hope this helps
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/856473/swollen-legs-and-feet

 

[Tytyvyllus]

Thank you! I am going out and buying some epsom salts now, and I'll read the thread when I get back.

 

[tearooster]

Ok! Good luck

 

[Tytyvyllus]

So I went out and soaked her in epsom salt bath for about ten minutes, did another peroxide wipe on both legs, coated the wounds with triple antibac salve, and sprayed the legs down with olive oil. I stretched them like you reccomended as well. The skin over both leg fronts is now cracked and bleeding, but there's not a lot of swelling except directly where the wound is. She's jumping around and playing with the other juvenile hen like nothing ever happened, but the cracking is pretty bad looking. (I also treated the other hen's legs the same way because you never know.) She's got the most beautiful pantaloons, with their lavender and red mixture. It would be such a shame if I had to cull her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Those look like injuries from either a sharp object or from pecking. I would look around for any nails or sharp fencing, or sharp edges on feeders and waterers. Spend some tiem to observe for any aggressive pecking. You are treating them well with soak, and antibiotic ointment. She does not have a slipped tendon.

 

[Tytyvyllus]

I sat out and watched them for a few hours and didn't see any aggressive pecking beyond the usual pecking order being maintained. I got down on my hands and knees and felt around the coop and the fencing etc and didn't feel anything that seemed sharp to me, so I got suspicious and moved the chicken tractor to a new patch...and a small rat or a large mouse ran out from under and vanished under the fence. Now I know. I'm housing them in the stilted coop for a while while I figure out how to stop the pellet overspill that attracted that vermin.