Swollen but functioning leg on rooster

[Bahnhof]

Last week my rooster's leg began to swell up noticeably. I don't know how long exactly it has been in this condition (can't be more than 10days max). I asked a neighbor about it but he said it was nothing too unusual; he grew up on a poultry farm so I've been taking his advice. I'm beginning to become concerned for my roster's health though. I have searched online for images that look similar to my rooster's leg, but I couldn't find any exact match and I would like to be sure before I start any treatment. The leg appears to be fully functional still, he had no problems running from me when I was trying to catch him. There are no visible wounds or open sites on the leg the pads of his feet look similar to the other aside from some local swelling where the foot joins the ankle. Any help/ advice would be very much appreciated.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Do both legs look like that? Can you get a picture of both? The one leg has scaly leg mites, and both legs should be affected. There may be something else going on such as mycoplasma synoviae or viral arthritis (tenosynovitis) that can cause swelling and pain in the leg. For scaly leg mites, gently washing the legs once a week with soap and a soft toothbrush to get under the scales, then drying and applying a coat of vaseline, castor oil, or other oil and rubbing it in under the scales should help. This needs to be done for up to 10 weeks. Here are 2 links about MS and viral arthritis:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/164/viral-arthritis
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/99/mycoplasma-synoviae-infection-ms-infectious-synovitis

 

[Bahnhof]

Here is a picture of both legs. Thanks for the help.

 

[Eggcessive]

The difference in the legs is amazing. I notice there are a couple of lesions in the webbing of his left foot. I am not an expert on something like this, but I would look at mycoplasma synoviae, staph infection, or perhaps even Mareks disease causing the problems. I just haven't seen only one leg affected by scaly leg mites before. I hope that someone with experience in this would chime in. Do you have a poultry vet in your area?

 

[TwoCrows]

This doesn't look like MS, Mycoplasma Synoviea, although a blood test could confirm this. My flock has MS. And I can tell you that during the onset of MS and throughout the most infectious period it was running thru the flock, even the tiniest bit of swelling in the foot joints or at the webbing had my birds limping fairly badly. They limped until the swelling was completely gone. And NEVER did a single scale raise even with the most severe swelling. One thing the scales did do was go opaque. That was the first symptom I was able to detect as I followed it thru the flock, before any swelling or limping even began. I never saw any lesions or bumps on the webbing like this birds webbing has.

I have never had leg scale mites in my chickens before, HOWEVER, I have had it in my quail and yes, they have had it in on leg only. Leg scale mites move quite slowly. I never allowed my birds leg scale to get as crusty as this birds leg is, but this is what it does look like. I am surprised as bad as this condition is, that it is not in the other leg as well.

I also have some very old quail with arthritis, and it tends to effect the toes and hocks. The scales are not raised with this ailment either, although there is a lot of swelling. The limping in birds with arthritis is pretty bad. This doesn't look like arthritis.

I am no expert, but I am going to say that this is is the work of leg scale mites. I would dip this leg in olive oil, pat dry and liberally but gently rub some vaseline on the scales. Don't pick them off. The vaseline will soften them and they will fall off as the scales heal. This will take some time. I dipped the feet and applied vaseline for about 3 weeks to get my quails scales to lay back down and lose the crusts. You will probably have to do this for a few months. Apply the vaseline at least every other day for a few weeks, every day if you can. The more the vaseline stays on the scales, the faster this crud will fall off. I would also treat the other leg as I would imagine if one leg has mites, the other is well on it's way.

If you don't treat this leg scale, it will eventually cause permanent lameness and internal leg infections.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[dawg53]

It's definitely scaly leg mites. The other leg/foot appears to be normal. You can follow Eggcessive's and/or TwoCrow's recommended treatments for scaly leg mites.
You're a faster typist than me Leyla LOL.

 

[TwoCrows]

Dawg, how do you know that I wasn't typing on this post 3 hours ago!

 

[Bahnhof]

Thank you all for your help I'm sure Henry (the rooster) is thankful as well. I've begun treating for leg mites.

 

[Eggcessive]

Thanks Dawg53 and TwoCrows for looking at this thread. M.Apple also agrees with scaly leg mites as the cause. He suggests cleaning out the entire coop, and spraying the coop with Permectrin II (permethrin) or Ravap EC, then pouring some in a bucket and painting your roosts on top, bottom, and sides to kill any mites in the coop. Bahnhof, please let us know how it works out with your rooster. Good luck.