Sick Rhode Island Red. Any ideas?

[AundeeErin]

Our 5 week old Rhode Island Red has swollen scabby feet and is lethargic. She occasionally opens her beak wide as if she is trying to get air. She won't leave the coop or eat unless we feed her from a bowl. All other birds (mostly Delawares) are healthy. I searched other threads and Google but am still not sure what is. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. She could be suffering with pododermatitis or foot pad dermatitis which is basically scalding of the skin from damp bedding and droppings. I would remove the straw and replace it with either pine shavings or sand. If there are any wet spots, try to fix them. Bedding should be dry and clean. Raking it daily helps to dry it out. Hay and straw tend to hold wetness and can harbor mold which is bad for the lungs and can cause respiratory diseases. If you have a dog crate, I would place her in it with food and water on a puppy pad or some fresh bedding, and place her with her flock outside during the day, and inside at night. You can try some epsom salts warm soaks to her legs once a day, and then apply some Nustock cream to her legs after each bath. Have you noticed any leg mites in the other chickens? Loose scales on the legs are usually a sign. She may also benefit from a poultry vitamin with trace minerals in it in her food or water daily. Sometimes a biotin deficiency can cause skin irritation on legs.

 

[Eggcessive]

Vionate and Rooster Booster Poultry Booster are a couple of vitamin supplements that contain minerals also. Here are a couple of articles that concern foot pad dermatitis:
http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2769.pdf
http://www.joneshamiltonag.com/jh/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/PLT_PLT-and-Preventing-Paw-Lesions.pdf

 

[AundeeErin]

Well, this is embarrassing. I was trying to edit my profile when I realized I never thanked you for the advice or the welcome to BYC...a year ago. *facepalm*

An extremely overdue "thank you" for your help and reply!