Rooster has Legg issues

[EggSighted4Life]

Please advise, I have a rooster that I have been treating for 10+ days now. It is not bumble foot, and he does not have mites - (these were my first two thoughts with his condition). Both of his feet are red and swollen, one more than the other, he has a red stripe down his leg, and at the top of his leg where the feathers begin is very inflamed, swollen glands, bright red and painful. this goes up about 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch. I have actually been treating him with Epsom salt baths, and applying antibiotic ointment as well as some essential oils to his legs. I did break down and take him to my vet on Dec. 30, she agreed it was not bumble foot or mites (I previously treated him and the coop for mites) she did give him a treatment for mites as a precaution, and gave me an antibiotic. But after days of this treatment he is really not improving much... any one have any ideas on how to help him? He is a sweet guy, and I do not want to loose him. He is in a cage in our garage, and I am treating his legs at least once a day, sometimes twice a day.

I'm gonna disagree about it being hormone flush.. which I have not yet seen above the feathers like that.. it does look similar to hormonal flushing described by others.. but something isn't adding up for ME.

Is there any feverish heat coming off of it, or does he react like he's in pain when you touch it by pulling way or..

Some "essential" oils can cause burns.. what were you applying? Let's see what the skin looks like below his vent?

What mites were treated for in the coop.. some only come out to feed and don't live on the host.

What is his standard feed routine including treats and supplements? 1 year old you say.. is he eating, drinking, hanging out with the flock, mounting, crowing? What breed, can we see a whole body pic including eyes and comb please?

NO that red above the feathers is 100% not normal IMO.. IVE never seen it without a parasitic infection. WHAT was used to treat for mites and were any actually seen?

 

[Painted Calls]

I'm gonna disagree about it being hormone flush.. which I have not yet seen above the feathers like that.. it does look similar to hormonal flushing described by others.. but something isn't adding up for ME.

Is there any feverish heat coming off of it, or does he react like he's in pain when you touch it by pulling way or..

Some "essential" oils can cause burns.. what were you applying? Let's see what the skin looks like below his vent?

What mites were treated for in the coop.. some only come out to feed and don't live on the host.

What is his standard feed routine including treats and supplements? 1 year old you say.. is he eating, drinking, hanging out with the flock, mounting, crowing? What breed, can we see a whole body pic including eyes and comb please?

NO that red above the feathers is 100% not normal IMO.. IVE never seen it without a parasitic infection. WHAT was used to treat for mites and were any actually seen?

Rubbing essential oils on it could have caused that. The red above the feather line looks angry, but bird has been to the vet. No mites and nothing obvious.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

but bird has been to the vet. No mites and nothing obvious.

I made that observation.. but vets are people and people are fallible. I'm not above questioning someone JUST because they are a professional. Some graduated at the bottom of the class by the skin of their teeth.. Was it an avian vet.. did they do a skin scraping or look at a feather under the microscope since not all species are visible to the naked eye?? What medication/antibiotic was prescribed to possibly treat WHAT?? I'm NOT sure since that wasn't exactly stated and is WHY I asked more questions. Could it be an allergic reaction to something else like whatever was used a month ago to treat them with? Did the vet feel for heat indicating an infection verses hormone flush? On and on.. BECAUSE vet's are capable of making mistakes.. QUESTION the establishment, ALWAYS.. if something seems vague.. Maybe the vet did all that and it simply wasn't posted? Again I'm not sure.. But I do appreciate your feed back.. making sure I'm on my toes also!

As I stated SOME species do NOT live ON the host but only come out to feed on them.. I also asked what they previously treated for and with INSIDE their coop. We are here to look for what MIGHT have been missed, not what was stated.. or at least I TRY to think out of the box and find solutions and clues instead of assuming status quo is acceptable.

 

[Painted Calls]

I made that observation.. but vets are people and people are fallible. I'm not above questioning someone JUST because they are a professional. Some graduated at the bottom of the class by the skin of their teeth.. Was it an avian vet.. did they do a skin scraping or look at a feather under the microscope since not all species are visible to the naked eye?? What medication/antibiotic was prescribed to possibly treat WHAT?? I'm NOT sure since that wasn't exactly stated and is WHY I asked more questions. Could it be an allergic reaction to something else like whatever was used a month ago to treat them with? Did the vet feel for heat indicating an infection verses hormone flush? On and on.. BECAUSE vet's are capable of making mistakes.. QUESTION the establishment, ALWAYS.. if something seems vague.. Maybe the vet did all that and it simply wasn't posted? Again I'm not sure.. But I do appreciate your feed back.. making sure I'm on my toes also!

As I stated SOME species do NOT live ON the host but only come out to feed on them.. I also asked what they previously treated for and with INSIDE their coop. We are here to look for what MIGHT have been missed, not what was stated.. or at least I TRY to think out of the box and find solutions and clues instead of assuming status quo is acceptable.

Oh I don't ever trust "the vet" because of their title. So many just really do not have any business practicing.

 

[janiedoe]

Following

 

[Hide Away Pines]

I'm gonna disagree about it being hormone flush.. which I have not yet seen above the feathers like that.. it does look similar to hormonal flushing described by others.. but something isn't adding up for ME.

Is there any feverish heat coming off of it, or does he react like he's in pain when you touch it by pulling way or..

Some "essential" oils can cause burns.. what were you applying? Let's see what the skin looks like below his vent?

What mites were treated for in the coop.. some only come out to feed and don't live on the host.

What is his standard feed routine including treats and supplements? 1 year old you say.. is he eating, drinking, hanging out with the flock, mounting, crowing? What breed, can we see a whole body pic including eyes and comb please?

NO that red above the feathers is 100% not normal IMO.. IVE never seen it without a parasitic infection. WHAT was used to treat for mites and were any actually seen?

okay, you asked a lot of good questions.
There does not seem to be a lot of heat coming from the legs, but early on I thought there was, but the redness has subsided some just just a little above the leg, so not as far up his feathers as it was. He is not unhappy when I have applied salve to him, so I would say not in a lot of pain from that. But he is very gentle and lets me do almost anything with him without objection. On the oils, I used tiny amounts of oils in coconut oil mixed with antibiotic cream. I have been using EO for some time and am very aware of the potential to burn the skin, so took precautions for that.

we treated the coop with Permethrin that was diluted to .05%. I then had him treated at the vet with an oral treatment (do not remember what that was) but no we saw no mites, and none of the other chicks seem to have any issues.

He gets a standard chick food (Moore brand) and I feed scratch each day in small amounts. They get some bread or other treats from the garden and our kitchen off and on. They are in an enclosed run, not free range, too many predator's out here. They live in a large coop with a large run, the coop is a sand floor. Their is lots of ventilation too, I will attach pics of the coop at the end.

He is acting normal, eating drinking, mounting the girls and all just like nothing is wrong. Just doing the funny high step, which I assumed was because his feet hurt.

He is one that was hatched from my own hens, so part ameraucana and bared rock.

I do not know if any of this helps (this pic was a few weeks ago before the redness started)
thanks for your assistance.

 

[Hide Away Pines]

Oh I don't ever trust "the vet" because of their title. So many just really do not have any business practicing.

well, I understand that feeling, but she is not your drug pushing normal vet, she is a great country vet - but not sure how many roosters she has treated, so hard to say.

 

[Painted Calls]

well, I understand that feeling, but she is not your drug pushing normal vet, she is a great country vet - but not sure how many roosters she has treated, so hard to say.

Wasn't talking about yours specifically! I just have seen a lot of instances where a non-avian vets gives horrible advice on treating birds.

 

[Hide Away Pines]

I made that observation.. but vets are people and people are fallible. I'm not above questioning someone JUST because they are a professional. Some graduated at the bottom of the class by the skin of their teeth.. Was it an avian vet.. did they do a skin scraping or look at a feather under the microscope since not all species are visible to the naked eye?? What medication/antibiotic was prescribed to possibly treat WHAT?? I'm NOT sure since that wasn't exactly stated and is WHY I asked more questions. Could it be an allergic reaction to something else like whatever was used a month ago to treat them with? Did the vet feel for heat indicating an infection verses hormone flush? On and on.. BECAUSE vet's are capable of making mistakes.. QUESTION the establishment, ALWAYS.. if something seems vague.. Maybe the vet did all that and it simply wasn't posted? Again I'm not sure.. But I do appreciate your feed back.. making sure I'm on my toes also!

As I stated SOME species do NOT live ON the host but only come out to feed on them.. I also asked what they previously treated for and with INSIDE their coop. We are here to look for what MIGHT have been missed, not what was stated.. or at least I TRY to think out of the box and find solutions and clues instead of assuming status quo is acceptable.

To your question - We treated him and the coop (spraying inside and on the roosting bars which are wood) on Dec. 27th but he was showing signs of this for about 4 days prior to this, could have been longer. She mentioned scraping him, but said the expense may not be what I would like, and that treating him with an oral treatment was little cost for a preventative precaution. So that is what we did. She is not a avian vet, so she may not have been as informed on this as I had hoped. She gave him an oral antibiotic of amoxicillin which I give to him on bread each morning.
really appreciate the discussion!!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

He is acting normal, eating drinking, mounting the girls and all just like nothing is wrong. Just doing the funny high step, which I assumed was because his feet hurt.

He's really pretty!

So the Rock was his dame?

You're doing a great job. Thank you for seeing the vet. It sounds like she may have a handle on stuff, avian or not. Also glad you're aware of possible EO burns, I try not to presume things.

She mentioned scraping him, but said the expense may not be what I would like, and that treating him with an oral treatment was little cost for a preventative precaution. So that is what we did.

If you are able to review the records and see what was used.. Would it have been effective against scaly leg mites like Ivermectin? His feather look decent condition, what I can see.. has he molted already or are these still his original set?

Feed sounds acceptable. Permethrin has been effective against poultry lice and mites in my location in the past, but they have shown resistance in SOME locations. I think the same can be said for Ivermectin of course. And since you do trust the vet you're working with.. they would very likely know if something was not effective in your location and communicate that to you.

That hamburger leg.. whatever caused it, the others were already exposed to. If no one seem to be picking him excessively enjoying active blood feeding, excessive wound "grooming" delaying healing, or the like then I would definitely keep him with his ladies..

Also if your able show the top of the feet and front of the legs in one of your close ups.. is that just a little dried mud in post 16?

If the actual cause has already been addressed.. it may be (just) taking time to heal up..