Swelling on roosters shanks

[KatieR]

Can anyone tell me what this is? This is an almost year old cream legbar rooster with no history of leg issues. He is the only one in the flock with swelling like this. We have been doing epsom salt soaks, triple antibiotic ointment and vetrycin spray. It showed up pretty suddenly but doesn’t seem to really bother him much. He is still running, mating, eating, drinking.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

My initial thought is scaly leg mite, though the one leg looks like it's gotten infected too, or could just be from the irritation from the mites.

@Wyorp Rock what do you think? Infection? Scaly leg mite? Or both?

To treat scaly leg mite, which is caused by burrowing little mites, you can dip the chicken feet in cooking oil, or I find it better to smear on vaseline. This literally suffocates the little beasts so they die. However, you have to do it repeatedly for about 2 to 3 weeks. Longer with severe cases.

This looks rather bad, and I would recommend using Ivermectin cattle pour on , 1% concentration, or 5mg per ml concentration....I think I put about 1/4ml on my birds at base of neck.

Looked it up here**: "For chickens and ducks: 0.2-0.4 mg/kg PO, SC, IM, topical once, and can be repeated in 10-14 days." which works out to be about 1mg per 5lb to 6lb bird....or about 1/5 to 1/4 ml of the 5mg concentration. (If you get the marked 3ml or 5ml tubes, you can break down the ml pretty easy).

See more at: http://www.poultrydvm.com/drugs/ivermectin

You may wish to palpate and see if there is heat in the leg and a possible abscess. I've not treated that in a bird, so maybe Wyorp can have some input. It may be a matter of general antibiotics if there is nothing to lance and drain, which it doesn't look like from the photo.

But I suspicion scaly leg mites with irritation???

My guess,

LofMc

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Has he had any other issues?

It may be SLM and infection, but I wonder if there's something else going on. Doesn't quite look like Marble Leg which is due to LL.
I'm going to tag in @Eggcessive and @coach723 as well.

Ivermectin Pour On dose is 0.09ml per pound of weight applied to the base of the neck along the spine making contact with the skin. Repeat in 10 days.

I would continue to apply some oil or ointment to the legs to help soothe them.

Amoxicillin may be helpful, but Baytril would probably be a better antibiotic to use, if you aren't going to be processing for meat since it's banned for use in poultry.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would use the dosage of ivermectin pour on that is in post 3. It looks like possibly scaly leg mites, but I would be tempted to give a round of antibiotics. Antibiotics such as Enrofloxacin (baytril) 10% is available and dosage is 0.05 ml per pound twice a day orally. For a 7 pound rooster that would be 0.35 ml. You can obtain a 1 ml needle-less syringe from most pharmacies to give oral meds to animals and babies. Here is where to get enrofloxacin 10%:
https://jedds.com/products/enrofloxacin-10

 

[coach723]

I agree, I would treat for scaly leg mites and do a round of enrofloxacin, see if you get any improvement. If they feel very hard, then I wouldn't totally rule out Lymphoid Leukosis and osteopetrosis if the mite treatments and antibiotics don't give you any improvement. Hopefully you will see some improvement. Since it showed up suddenly, it's also possible that he got some kind of injury, maybe got the legs caught somewhere, and infection has set in.

 

[Eggcessive]

Osteopetrosis (marble leg disease) is one type of a virus called avian lymphoid leukosis, as both Coach723 and Wyorp Rock have mentioned. The pictures don’t look like that, but the legs do have a similar funny shape. Hopefully, it is just leg mites or a skin infection. Here is a thread about possible osteopetrosis, to see a good picture of it in post 1:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-rooster-has-swollen-legs.898073/

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Has he had any other issues?

It may be SLM and infection, but I wonder if there's something else going on. Doesn't quite look like Marble Leg which is due to LL.
I'm going to tag in @Eggcessive and @coach723 as well.

Ivermectin Pour On dose is 0.09ml per pound of weight applied to the base of the neck along the spine making contact with the skin. Repeat in 10 days.

I would continue to apply some oil or ointment to the legs to help soothe them.

Amoxicillin may be helpful, but Baytril would probably be a better antibiotic to use, if you aren't going to be processing for meat since it's banned for use in poultry.

@Wyorp Rock Is that the 1% at 5mg/ml concentration?

Yes...that is easier in ml/pound...and yeah that's what my memory tells me I do...its about 1/4 to 1/2 ml per bird depending on size. (I keep seeing different dosage recommendations, even on vet sites, and would love a "definitive." Thank you for adding.)

I get the syringes off Amazon that are 5ml syringes. It's easy to see the markings on those. 3ml are even better. I rinse them out, let dry, and keep them in my chicken box for the next time.

LofMc

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Wyorp Rock Is that the 1% at 5mg/ml concentration?

Yes...that is easier in ml/pound...and yeah that's what my memory tells me I do...its about 1/4 to 1/2 ml per bird depending on size. (I keep seeing different dosage recommendations, even on vet sites, and would love a "definitive." Thank you for adding.)

I get the syringes off Amazon that are 5ml syringes. It's easy to see the markings on those. 3ml are even better. I rinse them out, let dry, and keep them in my chicken box for the next time.

LofMc

The dose I gave is for Ivermectin Pour On.
So a 5 lb hen dose would be 0.45ml, so yes that 1/2ml is close. Some syringes can be hard to read! I ordered some years ago, still have a lot left, but cheaper (back then) to buy in bulk.

Here's Kathy's post about Ivermectin for Injectable and Pour On, you know she has is broken down for us as always!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/mites-lice-now-hen-growling.1242981/post-19965544

 

[KatieR]

Thank you all so much!! I didn’t realize anyone had responded as it didn’t alert me!

I will try a round of abx along with treating for scaly leg mites.

There does seem to be some improvement with epsom salt soaks, triple antibiotic ointment and veterycin spray.

This is him today