Rescuing neglected chickens...help!

[Kris5902]

Can you maybe get a closer picture of the legs and feet the next time you treat for the scaly leg mites? I’d be interested to see what it looks like in a feathered footed chicken... I have 4 chickens with light leg and foot feathering, and noticed their scales seem naturally a little more raised. I’m almost certain they are mite free, but I have been treating some scaly leg mites in our older chickens here, which got me to thinking about how I would treat my feathered legs if they got it!

Glad they are liking their pedicures! Such lucky chickens...

 

[christwodog]

Those are some very lucky girls!!! Beautiful also! Best of luck, seems like you've got this well under control! Good for you for rescuing them!

 

[Cragg Klefor]

I’ve never heard of the parrafin oil treatment, I’ll definitely look into it! Thank you! Yes, I do wonder if they’ll start laying at all once they put some weight back on and start getting all their needed nutrients. We’ll see!

I’ve never heard of using spray oil before! We’ll see how the Vaseline works with their feathered feet for now. Maybe trimming the feathers would help, although I’d be worried about mistakenly cutting a blood feather too short or causing irritation. Hmm...

Yes it sounds odd I had to look it up to see where I read it, here's the thread, it was @Texas Kiki perhaps she can confirm?!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...everything-please-help.1253034/#post-20108652
edited to add: Here is another thread which mentions using cooking oil spray - but only effective on mild cases - @RodNTN
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/possible-scaly-leg.1252002/#post-20086355

The more options you are aware of the better, informed decisions - what it's all about!

 

[Kiki]

Yes it sounds odd I had to look it up to see where I read it, here's the thread, it was @Texas Kiki perhaps she can confirm?!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...everything-please-help.1253034/#post-20108652

Sure cooking oil spray will work just be sure to spray it daily for at least a week.

 

[Twoleggedmotherhen]

Pretty girls! Glad they are not in horrible condition. They were probably loving the spa treatment. Going don't stop, feels good. Relief from the creepy crawlers.
Great job on getting that coop ready so quickly.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Quick update- I’ve just brought the chooks home successfully. Just brought them inside the house to let them relax a bit before I look each one over. They’re incredibly thirsty and from what I can tell so far, a bit underweight. But, the good news is they are in far better shape than I was expecting! They do have scaley leg mites as I guessed they would, I haven’t checked for lice or mites yet. Some dirty feathers here and there (they appear to be a Cochin/Americana-Auracana mix, with feathered feet and rose combs). Their wattles-combs are definitely quite pale- slightly anemic, I suspect. Other than that they seem to be in okay shape! A couple of them are acting a little lethargic, maybe just in shock from the traveling, but the rest seem to be pretty alert.
Here are some quick pics- they’re still hanging out in the cat carriers, drinking plenty of water, for now. Planning on dusting them and checking them over once my SO arrives.
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So happy you got them home!

Thanks so much everyone, you guys are awesome! The girls are all tucked in for the night after being dusted, feet Vaseline’d and crops full of food and fresh water. They looked pretty cozy in their new home together before I turned off the heat lamp for the night.
Before I sign off for the night- I quickly checked some of their poops from when they were in the cat carriers and didn’t see any worms. Should I go ahead and treat for worms anyways?
I also looked them over and,m found no lice either. Or at least, not a single lice egg on their feather shafts. That was a pretty big surprise. If they had any mites, would there be any visible evidence? Either way, I dusted them for safe measure. Their combs/wattles seem pretty pale to me, as if they’re a little anemic. What do you guys think?
After they got some food and water, all 4 of them perked right up. None of them are noticeably lethargic. Aside from being a little underweight and pale, they all seem pretty dang healthy, considering. We’ll see how they are tomorrow, but what would you guys do in terms of the dewormer? I don’t want to do anything unnecessary that might compromise their health, ya know?
Until then, have a good night y’all! Thanks again for all the help. So far, so good!
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They’re adorable!

 

[Suzi18]

Great job. You have some good kharma headed your way!

 

[Bamabexchicks]

They sure are pretty girls! I know they had a soft landing when you stepped up to help them!
I spent lot of years as a licensed vet tech and in my experience fecal exams only show worm eggs if the organism in question is actively laying eggs. It may be necessary to take samples into the vet more than once, if you feel like they are not thriving and you get a negative reading on the first sample wait a couple weeks and give it another try.

 

[77horses]

Hey everyone, just a quick update- we’re getting hit with a pretty good snow storm here today, so everyone's hunkered down for the day. The girls are doing great, they seem pretty cozy in their warm little shed. I have them some fresh salad greens this morning as a treat, which they devoured. Just a little taste of future summer days, and I figured leafy greens are always a welcomed boost of nutrients.

I’m gonna go through and catch up on all the comments I’ve missed since yesterday, but other than that this thread will be coming to a close! I’ll be starting a thread elsewhere just to post updates on them, for anyone who is interested, and I’ll share that here when I get a chance to do that. I hope this thread is helpful to anyone else in a similar situation. Thank you all so much for all your help, you’re all amazing, I can always count on the infinite amount of wisdom, knowledge and love for chickens that exists within the BYC community.

 

[77horses]

The comb is a good indicator about laying "status" and other health related issues.
In the photos, they are pale, but I don't see anything that screams "sick". It's more the color of a comb that you see in hens that are out of lay - usually due to molting or in older hens that are taking a winter break.
Their feathers look fairly decent in the photos, so I'm thinking they have gone through their yearly molt and just have not come back into lay yet. As days get longer and light increases, they get settled in, are eating/drinking and put on a little weight, I think you will see the combs pink back up and they will begin to lay. As to how often they will lay, that's to be seen - age, breed and overall health would be factors.

That’s reassuring to hear that their combs don’t allude to illness- thank you! We will certainly see what happens with the laying situation.