SCALEY MITES? Lame chicken

[chickmamat]

This is an 8 year old hen. For quite sometime now she had had…an odd gate? Almost like she is waddling, for at least a year now. I’ve never been able to find anything wrong with her. Aside from a pocket a dirt/poop between her toes on one foot, every couple days I “pop” out the little dirt back and she goes on her way. I can’t remember the term for these, but it is not bumble foot.

As of the last week she is struggling to walk and stand. Is she lays down, it is difficult for her to get up. Mobility seems to be her only issue, she does not appear sick otherwise.

I noticed the skin on her legs is a bit odd, so I uploaded a photo to chatGPt and it said scaley leg mites.

Is that what this looks like? Could it be causes lameness or unrelated?

I included a photo of her legs from the front, which appears normal, and then the back, which is abnormal.

Please help, thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This is an 8 year old hen. For quite sometime now she had had…an odd gate? Almost like she is waddling, for at least a year now. I’ve never been able to find anything wrong with her. Aside from a pocket a dirt/poop between her toes on one foot, every couple days I “pop” out the little dirt back and she goes on her way. I can’t remember the term for these, but it is not bumble foot.

As of the last week she is struggling to walk and stand. Is she lays down, it is difficult for her to get up. Mobility seems to be her only issue, she does not appear sick otherwise.

I noticed the skin on her legs is a bit odd, so I uploaded a photo to chatGPt and it said scaley leg mites.

Is that what this looks like? Could it be causes lameness or unrelated?

I included a photo of her legs from the front, which appears normal, and then the back, which is abnormal.

Please help, thank you!

People call the debris that collects in those pockets different things from mud balls to poop balls. Some birds seem more prone to having dirt/debris collect there for some reason. It's good that you check and pop it out as needed.

The leg is interesting. It does look like it may be Scaly Leg Mites, but I've never seen that just on the back of the leg. Is it on both legs?
She lays down a lot, so I wonder if it's a collection of debris that has worked it's way under the scales of the leg?
I'm going to tag in @Eggcessive to see what she thinks, she may have a better suggestion that I do.

If this hen were mine, I'd get a shallow dish pan with warm soapy water (use a mild dish detergent or baby shampoo). Put an old towel in the bottom of the pan so she has traction. Let her stand in the warm soapy water for 10-15 minutes if possible, then give the legs a gentle scrub with an old toothbrush, see what comes off.

Dry well, then work some Vaseline, A+D Ointment or NuStock cream into the legs.

Take some photos after cleaning it up, it will be interesting to see.

If she's laying down a lot, try to give her some deep clean bedding to lay/sit on. Does she roost?

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree with Wyorp Rock that it doesn’t look like typical scaly leg mites, but I would follow her advice onndoing a warm soapy soak to the legs with rubbing with a toothbrush at the end to get any material off. The vaseline or A&D will soften the legs, and smother any leg mites. The more you do this, the better she should be.

 

[chickmamat]

People call the debris that collects in those pockets different things from mud balls to poop balls. Some birds seem more prone to having dirt/debris collect there for some reason. It's good that you check and pop it out as needed.

The leg is interesting. It does look like it may be Scaly Leg Mites, but I've never seen that just on the back of the leg. Is it on both legs?
She lays down a lot, so I wonder if it's a collection of debris that has worked it's way under the scales of the leg?
I'm going to tag in @Eggcessive to see what she thinks, she may have a better suggestion that I do.

If this hen were mine, I'd get a shallow dish pan with warm soapy water (use a mild dish detergent or baby shampoo). Put an old towel in the bottom of the pan so she has traction. Let her stand in the warm soapy water for 10-15 minutes if possible, then give the legs a gentle scrub with an old toothbrush, see what comes off.

Dry well, then work some Vaseline, A+D Ointment or NuStock cream into the legs.

Take some photos after cleaning it up, it will be interesting to see.

If she's laying down a lot, try to give her some deep clean bedding to lay/sit on. Does she roost?

@Eggcessive
She use to roost. But in the last week her mobility has gone down hill quickly. She is laying down now all day- but I have her in a large dog crate with lots of Bermuda grass so it’s soft. She went from walking fine- but waddling, kind of reminded me of a toddler with a really full diaper- to not being able stand within a few days. No when she tries to walk she falls over and rolls around- it’s very sad

The back of both legs look the same. I will try to soak and clean, but in person it appears to be her skin almost over grown? It is very odd. But I will try all your recommendations.

Sometimes I think it looks neurological, but I’m wondering if it’s just pain?

I read that I can try a drop of ivermectin on her back to help kill the mites (if that’s even what it is). Does that sound right?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Eggcessive
She use to roost. But in the last week her mobility has gone down hill quickly. She is laying down now all day- but I have her in a large dog crate with lots of Bermuda grass so it’s soft. She went from walking fine- but waddling, kind of reminded me of a toddler with a really full diaper- to not being able stand within a few days. No when she tries to walk she falls over and rolls around- it’s very sad

The back of both legs look the same. I will try to soak and clean, but in person it appears to be her skin almost over grown? It is very odd. But I will try all your recommendations.

Sometimes I think it looks neurological, but I’m wondering if it’s just pain?

I read that I can try a drop of ivermectin on her back to help kill the mites (if that’s even what it is). Does that sound right?

This is an 8 year old hen.

Almost like she is waddling, for at least a year now.

With her age, the waddling, you mention it's like a toddler with a full diaper, now she's very limited in mobility and laying down a lot.
I would suspect that she may have a reproductive disorder. Which one is hard to know unless you lose her and investigate further through necropsy.
Feel her abdomen below the vent between the legs, is she bloated? Does it feel tight like a drum (fluid) or ? IF it's fluid, that's a symptom called Ascites, this can be seen in hens with organ dysfunction and/or reproductive issues among other things. Draining the fluid can sometimes give them a little relief, especially if they are struggling to breath or having a hard time getting around. Draining is usually short term and fluid does often build back up. Draining is not without risk, you can introduce bacteria with the needle stick and if too much fluid is drained at once, the hen may go into cardiac arrest.

Alternatively you can try an Aloe Detox which may help reduce the amount of fluid in the abdomen.

This is all if she has fluid. She may have something else going on, EYP, Salpingitis, Internal Laying, etc.

I agree with you, my first thought was it looked like an overgrowth of scales, but I've never seen anything like that, especially on just the back of the legs.

Ivermectin will help treat SLM. Dosing is by Weight. Below is dosing for Injectable and Pour On.

The dose is not drops. Birds should be weighed or at least have their weights guessed and the proper amount should be given. I have bolded the amount I use.

There are two types, one is injectable, the other is a pour on. The doses are different.

The max dose for 1% Ivermectin is 1 mg/kg which is 0.045 ml per pound. This can be given orally, by injection, or topically.
A five pound hen would get 0.23 ml.

The minimum effective dose for 1% Ivermectin is 0.2 mg/kg which is 0.009 ml per pound. This can be given orally, by injection, or topically.
A five pound hen would get 0.045 ml

The max dose for Pour On Ivermectin is 1 mg/kg which is 0.09 ml per pound. This is given topically only.​

A five pound hen would get 0.45 ml.

The minimum effective dose for Pour On Ivermectin is 0.5 mg/kg, which is 0.045 ml per pound. This is given topically only.
A five pound hen would get 0.23 ml

DO NOT USE this on your dogs unless you are working with a vet!​

 

[chickmamat]

With her age, the waddling, you mention it's like a toddler with a full diaper, now she's very limited in mobility and laying down a lot.
I would suspect that she may have a reproductive disorder. Which one is hard to know unless you lose her and investigate further through necropsy.
Feel her abdomen below the vent between the legs, is she bloated? Does it feel tight like a drum (fluid) or ? IF it's fluid, that's a symptom called Ascites, this can be seen in hens with organ dysfunction and/or reproductive issues among other things. Draining the fluid can sometimes give them a little relief, especially if they are struggling to breath or having a hard time getting around. Draining is usually short term and fluid does often build back up. Draining is not without risk, you can introduce bacteria with the needle stick and if too much fluid is drained at once, the hen may go into cardiac arrest.

Alternatively you can try an Aloe Detox which may help reduce the amount of fluid in the abdomen.

This is all if she has fluid. She may have something else going on, EYP, Salpingitis, Internal Laying, etc.

I agree with you, my first thought was it looked like an overgrowth of scales, but I've never seen anything like that, especially on just the back of the legs.

Ivermectin will help treat SLM. Dosing is by Weight. Below is dosing for Injectable and Pour On.

Thank you for this dosing info!

I checked for abdominal swing when I first noticed her altered gate. But she isn’t swollen at all, and I have rechecked periodically since this started. I have had a couple other chickens with water belly that have done really well with draining. Even a couple internal layers. She doesn’t have any of typical swelling/symptoms.

For a while I just figured maybe she had an internal cyst or something that I wasn’t able to palpate, but was everting her walk.

I will try all the topical/external soaking recommendations you’ve both shared. Thank you so much for your time and all the thoughtful advice. She’s one of only 3 of our very first batch of chickens left