Roosters toes falling off!

[ABernard]

Hi! We have a 8 month old barred rock rooster and his toes keep turning black and falling off! We had another rooster up until 2 weeks ago who wasn’t nice to this one so we ended up giving him away. Because of the other rooster, this barred rock spent most of his time up on the roost so, after doing some research, we thought this guy had frostbite. Mostly because the tips of his comb turned black as well and two fell off. We have been treating him for frostbite but his toes keep getting worse and he just lost another one and has one more turning black!! We soaked his legs and feet in an Epsom salt bath and put coconut oil on his toes. After looking up some more info last night I found something on scaley leg mite and that they can cause toes to fall off eventually. All of our hens legs and feet look fine so I’m not sure what to do! Please help with any suggestions you might have! Our coop is kept very clean and we have a concrete board floor covered with pine shavings which we replace every two weeks. They also go outside to a fenced in area everyday. First photo is from March 4 he is on the roost. Second photo is from this morning March 18

 

[SIMZ]

That looks like frostbite. It can take weeks for the entire process to take place. I have a hen that had some mild frostbite from the beginning of January and she's still walking around with a black toe.

Are they turning black and then falling off quickly or is it a process? It doesn't look at all like scaly leg mite - by the time their toes would fall off it would be very progressed and he doesn't seem to even have raised scales. If it's happening quickly I wonder if it's some kind of infection? Hopefully someone will chime in, too.

 

[ABernard]

That looks like frostbite. It can take weeks for the entire process to take place. I have a hen that had some mild frostbite from the beginning of January and she's still walking around with a black toe.

Are they turning black and then falling off quickly or is it a process? It doesn't look at all like scaly leg mite - by the time their toes would fall off it would be very progressed and he doesn't seem to even have raised scales. If it's happening quickly I wonder if it's some kind of infection? Hopefully someone will chime in, too.

Thank you! The first picture from March 4th shows the one toe black that took a few weeks to fully turn and then we noticed yesterday it fell off. And you can see in that picture the other toe is only black on the tip but in the second picture from this morning the entire top of the toe is black! So that took two weeks. I’m just worried that if he loses that toe he will have trouble getting around. He’s so friendly he lets us pick him up so that’s how we have been able to get the coconut oil on. I’ve been melting it and kind of dripping it on because I read it’s not good to touch it. And it’s been chilly here like low 20’s at night but it’s only him that seems to have any issues! Thanks for your reply! I appreciate it.

 

[SIMZ]

Ok - then that is frostbite. I wouldn't put anything on them like the coconut oil unless you're keeping him in a warm place. That could cake on and freeze and make things worse. Keep his toes are dry as possible - soaking in Epsom salt is fine as long as they're totally dry before he goes back into the cold.

Make sure he's not just standing around in the snow or doing something silly. Also, make sure he doesn't have mites or lice - if they're weakened by something else it makes it harder for them to stay warm like they should.

Hopefully, he'll be able to get around ok - I've heard of chickens that do. Best of luck and keep us posted!

 

[BantyChooks]

Hi! We have a 8 month old barred rock rooster and his toes keep turning black and falling off! We had another rooster up until 2 weeks ago who wasn’t nice to this one so we ended up giving him away. Because of the other rooster, this barred rock spent most of his time up on the roost so, after doing some research, we thought this guy had frostbite. Mostly because the tips of his comb turned black as well and two fell off. We have been treating him for frostbite but his toes keep getting worse and he just lost another one and has one more turning black!! We soaked his legs and feet in an Epsom salt bath and put coconut oil on his toes. After looking up some more info last night I found something on scaley leg mite and that they can cause toes to fall off eventually. All of our hens legs and feet look fine so I’m not sure what to do! Please help with any suggestions you might have! Our coop is kept very clean and we have a concrete board floor covered with pine shavings which we replace every two weeks. They also go outside to a fenced in area everyday. First photo is from March 4 he is on the roost. Second photo is from this morning March 18

That seems very strange, especially the 2nd image. It does look rather like frostbite... still, something seems off. Where is he roosting? On anything metal, perhaps?

 

[Clemmy]

FROSTBITE.
My hens get a little on their combs because it is SO cold. If it gets to that point, contact a vet for poultry, or if you see beggining signs, rub vaseline on it to protect the area from cold.

 

[ABernard]

Ok - then that is frostbite. I wouldn't put anything on them like the coconut oil unless you're keeping him in a warm place. That could cake on and freeze and make things worse. Keep his toes are dry as possible - soaking in Epsom salt is fine as long as they're totally dry before he goes back into the cold.

Make sure he's not just standing around in the snow or doing something silly. Also, make sure he doesn't have mites or lice - if they're weakened by something else it makes it harder for them to stay warm like they should.

Hopefully, he'll be able to get around ok - I've heard of chickens that do. Best of luck and keep us posted!

Oh that makes sense. Their outside area is covered so there isn’t any snow. And we put extra pine shavings inside so that theres extra insulation. Hopefully it will warm up soon! Thank you so much!

 

[BantyChooks]

Thank you! The first picture from March 4th shows the one toe black that took a few weeks to fully turn and then we noticed yesterday it fell off. And you can see in that picture the other toe is only black on the tip but in the second picture from this morning the entire top of the toe is black! So that took two weeks. I’m just worried that if he loses that toe he will have trouble getting around. He’s so friendly he lets us pick him up so that’s how we have been able to get the coconut oil on. I’ve been melting it and kind of dripping it on because I read it’s not good to touch it. And it’s been chilly here like low 20’s at night but it’s only him that seems to have any issues! Thanks for your reply! I appreciate it.

I really don't think low 20's should be causing any frostbite at all. I have to wonder if something else is going on.

 

[ABernard]

That seems very strange, especially the 2nd image. It does look rather like frostbite... still, something seems off. Where is he roosting? On anything metal, perhaps?

hi! There isn’t any metal. Floor is concrete board and roosts are made of wood. We also painted the coop with a kilz white stain blocker to kind of seal the wood weeks before we put the chickens in their coop. We also have windows and great ventilation. It’s just so strange that he is the only one. He is still walking fine though and eating, drinking etc. so hopefully it will warm up soon. Thank you for your reply!

 

[ABernard]

FROSTBITE.
My hens get a little on their combs because it is SO cold. If it gets to that point, contact a vet for poultry, or if you see beggining signs, rub vaseline on it to protect the area from cold.

I’ve read about Vaseline. We might try that next. We can see that there’s is blood on the roost I’m guessing from when his last toe fell off. I’ve read that once it turns black there’s really no helping it but we are still trying to save his toe! Thank you for your reply!