Silkie with problem feet! Help!

[Inky44]

Hi all, I'm new to the chicken world, but loving it already! I have just acquired a bearded silkie that seems to have a terrible problem with his feet. I have been researching and considering mites or fungus, but I'm just too new to this to be sure. Any help you could give me would be great. Here are some pictures that show the problem. I hope that turn out for you to see. As I said, I'm new to this, and also this forum, but I see that you all give great advice! Thanks so much!!

 

[Dar]

I cant really see from the pics..but does it look like the scales on the feet are raised and then a calcium like material has in cased them?

 

[acid_chipmunk]

Looks like a really, really bad case of scaley leg mites.

 

[Cathryn]

Looks like severe favis. I'd get with Peter Brown at FirstStateVetSupply and get meds for him, asap. Cathryn

 

[Wiglwerm]

Scaly leg mites!! Soak the legs then scrub them with a toothbrush and sevin dust mixed in water, leave the paste on a few days and then do it again. The scales and gunk will eventually fall off and new scales will grow in. It took about a month, doing the legs every few days before they were normal. Then of course the scales have to grow back... Also if you do not have alot of time you can also give ivermectin to kill the mites, I just use the paste (I believe I read an amount the size of a grain of RICE per pound). I do both, this way I can help to slough off the dead and crusty scales as well as kill the mites. Good Luck (It looks horrible but IS curable!)

 

[tammyd57]

It does look like favus (avian ringworm), which is highly contagious to other chickens and even you. There are meds to treat it though.
Cathryn is right, FirstStateVetSupply can help you.

 

[Inky44]

Wow, I didn't know it could be something so bad as ringworm that can also be contageous to me! I already soaked his feet in warm soapy water today and then put Skin So Soft Oil on it because that's all I had. I hope that didn't hurt him! I will definitely check into the pet supply that you all mentioned. I would prefer it just be the scaley mites. It looks like someone didn't take very good care of him, and he is a very pretty rooster. It's a shame. I do have him isolated at the moment, but he was with three other chickens in a cage when we brought them home last night. I hope they don't infest the rest of my small flock. Thanks so much for your help everyone.

Here is another picture I just took that shows it better. It looks like there are large growths that could be pulled off. Yuck!

 

[Inky44]

I wanted to show you a picture of my bearded silkie with the problem feet! He looks better than his feet do. LOL If this is Favus, read up on it a bit and it doesn't seem to suggest that it would be on their feet but on their comb area more. I am so confused and don't know what kind of treatment to use.

Poor little guy

 

[happytxchick]

Since Silkies are prone to leg mites, I would treat for them first. I've never seen leg mites in person, but have seen a bunch of pictures & that's what it looks like to me, too. You should begin to see some improvement in a week (like the post above says); if not, then you know that you're not using the right treatment. Good luck!

Coat all your chickens feet, legs, and roosts with oil once per month or so, to prevent scaly leg mites.

 

[RussianChickens]

I had a chicken with legs like this once. I used scaly leg protector from TSC religiously for 6 weeks and it cured it. But there's a lot of dead that needs to fall off first so you have to keep at it. You can try and wiggle some of the lose stuff off. Careful though as it will bleed if its not ready to go.

My hen was also pecking the skin off her feet it was so bad so I had to wrap the feet in sports tape every day after treating. After 2 weeks I only needed to do it every 2 or 3 days.

It did finally go away but her feet did have some permanent scarring in some places probably from the pecking.

If scaly leg didn't work on the chicken in this thread then I would treat for favus.

Hope this helps any one else dealing with this.