Rooster not walking right

[Fluffy_Feathers]

My rooster, Biggie, has been walking a little odd now for a few months. He's a big buff orpington, and he'll be 6 years old in February.

Here's a link to a YouTube short, showing what he's doing exactly:

I'm going to refer to his action as "the thing", because it's hard to describe. He almost acts like there's something on his leg he's kind of tripping on or reacting to, but there's nothing. He may take a few steps mostly normally (as shown in the video), and then just randomly do "the thing". It seems to have gotten a little worse since I first noticed it, like sometimes it'll happen more frequently when he walks and he'll stumble. He does seem to stick out that leg more when he walks normally though.

When I first noticed it, I took a look at his leg, feeling it for anything unusual and looking for any sores or wounds. I didn't find anything. I figured he pulled something, which wouldn't be surprising because he's so big. He has a bit of a hard time getting on the roosts and maneuvering between them, so I thought maybe he got himself a bit hurt there. I let him be, hoping it would resolve itself. He was walking fine, just occasionally doing "the thing".

Today I noticed him looking a bit odd out with the hens. His neck was drawn in, tail down, just standing there motionless. Sometimes they do that, and when I go outside they'll perk up and act normal. He did perk up, but started doing his "thing" quite a bit. I gave him another look, being more thorough this time, and found this:


My best guess is this is a sore/callous from his spur from when he roosts. His spurs are very long right now. But I'm not sure this in itself could cause his strange walking. It didn't look infected, there was no swelling, and no unusual redness. He did have some thicker skin above it that you can kind of see. It almost looks like skin tags or something. Unless I'm wrong and maybe it is infected? I sprayed some Vetericyn on it for now. But other than that I found nothing.

I have also noticed him laying down a bit more while free ranging, and getting separated from the hens (which is unusual). Recently, he has also stopped roosting on the roost bars, and has instead opted for a thin ledge on the front of the nest boxes, which is easier to get to. So clearly there's something wrong, and it's getting worse.

I'm going to start by removing his spurs. We do the twist method and pop them off, leaving only the quick behind. I guess it could be his long spurs, but they've been long before and he's done okay. I just can't imagine his spurs causing him to react like that, unless roosting with the spurs is causing injury over time.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'm afraid he is in pain with the way he's been acting now. He's an older rooster, could arthritis cause something like this? Could that sore be the culprit?

Thanks!

 

[sourland]

I think that removing his spurs is a good idea.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I believe the spurs are is his issue.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I agree, I would trim the spurs.
A dremel works well.

For the scabs on the legs, I'd swab with Chlorhexidine, then apply triple antibiotic ointment to those areas.
Hard to see the scales of his feet and legs, but it wouldn't hurt to rub a little vaseline into and up under the scales too.

What do the bottom of his feet look like?
He's a big boy, is he molting? If so, then I'd give him a bit of extra protein daily like egg, fish or meat. I'd also be inclined to direct dose him with poultry vitamins a couple of times a week.
While 6 is not way old, but he's going to be slowing down a little. Hopefully with a trim and supportive care he'll be back to his old self again soon.

 

[Fluffy_Feathers]

I agree, I would trim the spurs.
A dremel works well.

For the scabs on the legs, I'd swab with Chlorhexidine, then apply triple antibiotic ointment to those areas.
Hard to see the scales of his feet and legs, but it wouldn't hurt to rub a little vaseline into and up under the scales too.

What do the bottom of his feet look like?
He's a big boy, is he molting? If so, then I'd give him a bit of extra protein daily like egg, fish or meat. I'd also be inclined to direct dose him with poultry vitamins a couple of times a week.
While 6 is not way old, but he's going to be slowing down a little. Hopefully with a trim and supportive care he'll be back to his old self again soon.

I removed his spurs last night. I usually just twist the top layer off with a pair of pliers, which is what I did. I had to go back to my college today for a couple finals and won't be back home until tomorrow, so we'll see how his walking is then.

I don't have any chlorohexidine, but I plan on making a store run for some other chicken first aid things. I just sprayed with Vetericyn again last night, and I'll see about picking some of that up. I also don't have any poultry vitamins, but I can look around to see what I can find. I should really have these things anyway.

His scales look okay to me, but I can put some Vaseline on them tomorrow if he's still have issues

The bottom of his feet are clear. No bumbles or anything.

He is still molting just a little bit. I think he's at the tail end of it now. I used to give them starter/grower feed when they were molting but I stopped doing that for some reason.

I'll update hopefully tomorrow and see if he's doing better.

 

[Fluffy_Feathers]

So I'm back home now and have an update. He's still having problems, and now it seems it may be a bit worse.

He's still throwing his foot back quite a bit, but now it seems like he is very subtly limping on that foot. I got him to run a bit and he more of just hopped instead of actually ran.

I'm probably going to cage him to limit his activity. I'll try to get the poultry vitamins, and while I have no extra eggs or meat to give him I'll try to get some of the starter/grower feed that I used before.

I don't know what could have happened for him to get worse. I tried to be gentle when doing the spur removal. Maybe he's sore from that? I know removing the outer sheath isn't painless. Maybe he has to readjust and he's going through some extra soreness from that?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get photos of his toes and bottom of both feet too?

They will move gingerly for a day or two if you remove the outer sheath of the spur.

Caging may work with limiting his actions as long as he doesn't get too agitated and injury himself. I usually leave mine with their flock unless there's an issue like fighting, being picked on, etc. I've found they usually self limit their activity on their own, much like we do with an injury.

 

[Fluffy_Feathers]

Can you get photos of his toes and bottom of both feet too?

They will move gingerly for a day or two if you remove the outer sheath of the spur.

Caging may work with limiting his actions as long as he doesn't get too agitated and injury himself. I usually leave mine with their flock unless there's an issue like fighting, being picked on, etc. I've found they usually self limit their activity on their own, much like we do with an injury.

Well I'm kind of embarrassed... he does have bumblefoot I think. I must've mistaken it for poop when I first looked. This is on his left foot though:

It's a bit odd looking. I'm not sure how to go about this one. For now I put iodine on it.

Here are more pictures of his feet and legs:

After this I put bag balm on them. I couldn't find the Vaseline so I just used that. I also couldn't find any chlorhexidine anywhere, so I just got iodine. I hope that will work. I put the iodine on the scab on his leg in addition to the bumblefoot.

He's still having a hard time walking so no improvements there. Poor guy. I didn't realize the kind of shape he's in.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Bag balm will be fine, just work it up and underneath the scales of his legs/feet. It looks like he has Scaly Leg Mites, so the balm will help smother them. Stay on top of applying it a few times a week.

For the bumble or calloused area on the bottom of his foot, I'd soak his foot to clean and help soften it. Dry, then apply the iodine to the scab, add a little gauze square for cushion and wrap. Do this daily, see if the scab softens and loosens or even shrinks. I'm not a fan of trying to cut into feet to remove the scabs. It takes time to heal by either method, I prefer using a non-invasive approach first.

 

[Fluffy_Feathers]

Bag balm will be fine, just work it up and underneath the scales of his legs/feet. It looks like he has Scaly Leg Mites, so the balm will help smother them. Stay on top of applying it a few times a week.

For the bumble or calloused area on the bottom of his foot, I'd soak his foot to clean and help soften it. Dry, then apply the iodine to the scab, add a little gauze square for cushion and wrap. Do this daily, see if the scab softens and loosens or even shrinks. I'm not a fan of trying to cut into feet to remove the scabs. It takes time to heal by either method, I prefer using a non-invasive approach first.

Oh, I'm kind of surprised. His scales didn't look any different than they usually do. I'll keep applying the bag balm.

That was my thought as well for the scab. I also never cut into the foot, but I do try to remove the scab. But with this scab being so wonky that would be difficult. I'm not sure if I will be able to treat it in time though. My winter break ends in a month, so we'll see how far I can get. Hopefully I can at least make a little progress.