Rooster bloody feet - Can't tell why

[fancbrd4me02]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had any idea what might be causing this. I have a Marans rooster which I found today with bright red blood on the tops of his feet/lower ankle area. On the top of foot, front of leg only. Like someone swabbed red paint onto him with a cotton ball. Scales in the area appear slightly raised, but no discernable injury. No blood on spurs, and other birds seem unharmed - normal. Have been treating for scaly leg mite, but he has never shown any physical symptoms of that. I can' really tell where the blood is coming from - Maybe inbetween the scales? Any ideas? If it's scaly leg mite, should I treat with a dewormer? I have seen that some use ivermectin, some said frontline (for birds? cats?) Please advise type, what animal and dose for bantam/standards. I have both and would want to do all at once. If not leg mites, what could it be? Thanks for your help.

 

[rufus]

Spray his legs with WD40. This is pretty effective for scaly leg mites. Some on this board will tell you not to use WD40 because it is a petroleum product. They would rather use vaseline, but I wonder if they know where that comes from?

Rufus

 

[elmo]

When you say "blood" do you mean actual blood (from a wound you can spot), or do you mean the skin is red?

You didn't mention the age of your rooster. Young roosters go through hormonal changes that affect the color of their feet and combs. My young roo developed pink/reddish skin on the back of his feet and up the side of his legs (like racing stripes!) as he matured, and now the back of his comb is turning purplish. This is a sign of his surging testosterone.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

UPDATE - MORE Bloody leg Rooster Info:

Hi- About this rooster, about 1 1/2 years old, no wound is visable. He also seems very light for his size, like he's lost a someweight. I know he eats & drinks. It's actual blood. Blood over the front part of his lower leg and top of foot. It's like it's seeping out of his legs slowly or something. Not dry either, doesn't seem to clot much.

Could he have a bleeding disorder caused by inbreeding? I purchased the eggs from someone and I don't know if they inbred or crossed out.

Nothing on back of legs, spurs, bottom or sides of feet. Scales appeared very slightly raised, but not enough to be positively scaly leg mite, he was clenching his feet, so it could have been that. As I said, I don't know what this is. I have never seen a chicken with this symptom. I have never heard of scaly leg mite causing bleeding. Could it be some other condition?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Does he have foot feathers? I would suspect that a blood feather is broken and slowly dripping/oozing blood.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

No foot feathers, no visible breaks in skin, no missing scales, noticed a bit of dried blood once before on one foot about 2 weeks ago, but it didn't look like there was an injury, so I assumed that it was a scrape or result of a squabble with one of the other birds.

So: Clean legged rooster with fresh-appearing blood that seems to be seeping from legs, but not dripping or pouring out of him. Seems like slow leak. Am going to try soaking his feet in betadine, then put him in a box so I can watch him and try to see if I can figure out where the blood is seeping from exactly.

 

[elmo]

Could he be scraping himself somewhere in the coop or on the roost? Try going around and seeing whether you can spot any blood in those places.

Blood sucking mites?

 

[Cathy L]

Does he have foot feathers? I would suspect that a blood feather is broken and slowly dripping/oozing blood.

My Maran rooster does have foot feathers. Seems it's from the quils? he is bleeding bright red blood. What do I do

 

[21Motherhen]

No foot feathers, no visible breaks in skin, no missing scales, noticed a bit of dried blood once before on one foot about 2 weeks ago, but it didn't look like there was an injury, so I assumed that it was a scrape or result of a squabble with one of the other birds.

So: Clean legged rooster with fresh-appearing blood that seems to be seeping from legs, but not dripping or pouring out of him. Seems like slow leak. Am going to try soaking his feet in betadine, then put him in a box so I can watch him and try to see if I can figure out where the blood is seeping from exactly.

Did you ever determine the cause?

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

Did you ever determine the cause?

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