sore cracked feet

[Khooky chooks]

Hi knowledgeable chicken community,

Our beloved silky rooster has recently started walking with discomfort and looks to be in mild pain from his feet.

We checked them (see photos attached) and can see a few cracks.

Are we able to put some sort of cream/antiseptic or oil on his feet to help alleviate the discomfort? Or could it be something worse than just dry feet?

He seems in good health other than the discomfort walking.

Thank you for any advice : - )

 

[Lillith37]

I think that might be gout.. in which case he needs food with less protein. It can be caused by all sorts of things and treatment depends on the cause. Articular gout affects roosters more as well I think. Poor thing, it looks painful.

 

[Lillith37]

If you can get him to a vet, that would probably be best. They can help you determine the cause and treatment. It may be he needs medication to support his kidneys or decrease his uric acid production and there may be other lifestyle/feed changes depending on his needs. Articular gout is usually a chronic presentation so it’s not going to get better on its own.

 

[Khooky chooks]

I think that might be gout.. in which case he needs food with less protein. It can be caused by all sorts of things and treatment depends on the cause. Articular gout affects roosters more as well I think. Poor thing, it looks painful.

That does make sense, thank you for your reply. We do use a 17% protein feed for the hens and I had wondered how this might affect non-egg laying roosters . . . Hmm we are going to have to somehow separate them at peak feeding times. Will also get the local vets advice. We've had him for almost 3 years now and love him dearly. Not nice seeing him unwell. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge, much appreciate it.

 

[nuthatched]

That does make sense, thank you for your reply. We do use a 17% protein feed for the hens and I had wondered how this might affect non-egg laying roosters . . . Hmm we are going to have to somehow separate them at peak feeding times. Will also get the local vets advice. We've had him for almost 3 years now and love him dearly. Not nice seeing him unwell. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge, much appreciate it.

Just feed everyone a low Calcium feed and provide oyster shell for you layers.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi knowledgeable chicken community,

Our beloved silky rooster has recently started walking with discomfort and looks to be in mild pain from his feet.

We checked them (see photos attached) and can see a few cracks.

Are we able to put some sort of cream/antiseptic or oil on his feet to help alleviate the discomfort? Or could it be something worse than just dry feet?

He seems in good health other than the discomfort walking.

Thank you for any advice : - )

Looks like he has a bad case Scaly Leg Mites which will cause swelling and scabs.

Check him for lice and mites on the body as well.


Here's how to treat the feet.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/treating-scaly-leg-mites-slm-what-you-need-to-know.77376/

 

[Lillith37]

Looks like he has a bad case Scaly Leg Mites which will cause swelling and scabs.

I thought SLM as well at first but didn’t realise it could cause that kind of swelling from under the foot.

@Khooky chooks make sure to check the rest of your flock because if it’s SLM there’s a good chance there’s more than one bird affected and they will all need treatment.

 

[Khooky chooks]

Looks like he has a bad case Scaly Leg Mites which will cause swelling and scabs.

Check him for lice and mites on the body as well.


Here's how to treat the feet.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/treating-scaly-leg-mites-slm-what-you-need-to-know.77376/

We can't see any mites on him or the other chooks. But will keep an eye out. Thank you for your reply I had wondered if it could be the scaly leg mites at first.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

We can't see any mites on him or the other chooks. But will keep an eye out. Thank you for your reply I had wondered if it could be the scaly leg mites at first.

It's good that you don't see any on the body.

Scaly Leg Mites are microscopic and can't be seen with the naked eye, but evidence of raised scales, crusty skin/scales and debris under the scales (mite debris/poop) along with irritation tells you they are there.
The areas under on the bottom of the foot may prove a challenge to treat. But you may find that they aren't too bad once the crusty material starts to slough off after you've tended to them for a few days. Hard to know at this point.
The one toe looks like he may lose it, again, it's not clear in the photos of what condition it's in.

He may have something else going on too, that a change in diet may help.

.

 

[Khooky chooks]

It's good that you don't see any on the body.

Scaly Leg Mites are microscopic and can't be seen with the naked eye, but evidence of raised scales, crusty skin/scales and debris under the scales (mite debris/poop) along with irritation tells you they are there.
The areas under on the bottom of the foot may prove a challenge to treat. But you may find that they aren't too bad once the crusty material starts to slough off after you've tended to them for a few days. Hard to know at this point.
The one toe looks like he may lose it, again, it's not clear in the photos of what condition it's in.

He may have something else going on too, that a change in diet may help.


View attachment 3661324
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We changed his food to lower protein and I've been putting the Synbiotic 180-S Probiotics in their drinking water. Just to try and boost his health a little. Thank you for the details, my daughter did say the mites could be too small to see if that's whats bothering him. He has pecked/pulled at the bottom of his feet a little. So that could be mites irritating him . . I've got the mite stuff to put around and on him. We'll do that today.
Do you know what I could put on the cracks on his feet that is safe for chooks? I've got a Septicide antiseptic cream with insecticide that we used on our dog. Says its for dogs and horses . . . Could I put that on his cracks in feet do you think ?

Thanks again for your reply.