Swollen legs and feet

[MarkinPA]

Looking for some help determining what my one year old Welsummer has wrong with his legs and feet. His legs have swollen to three times their normal size and are apparently tender and sore so that he moves very little.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. It could be a few different things, but frostbite would be my first guess. Could he have gotten his legs wet during the recent cold snaps? If it's not frostbite, then I would suspect an infection or mycoplasma synoviae, but it looks pretty suspicious for frstbite. To treat him I would bring him inside for a few days to soak his feet twice a day in epsom salts, then dry thoroughly, and apply Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic ointment to his legs. If it is frostbite his could lose some toes or maybe even legs if it turns black. Keep him inside in a crate on a soft clean towel, and make sure he is eating a drinking.

 

[Janet Pesaturo]

Hm, I haven't personally seen anything like this in my chickens, but I would doubt frostbite just because that usually effects the most distal portion of appendages, because they cannot retain heat well. That is, frostbite would affect the toes before the legs.

Just googling images, it looks like it might match mycoplasma synoviae, but I also wonder about scaly leg mites. The latter doesn't usually involve so much discoloration, as far as I know, but maybe it is a possibility...

 

[Eggcessive]

I agree that there looks to be some scaly leg mites present. I have seen a Cornell University picture of Mareks disease with discolored legs, and avian flu can cause red and white spots on the legs and comb.

 

[Eggcessive]

These are skin lesions from avian pox on the left, and Mareks disease on the right.

 

[MarkinPA]

Thanks for the replies. A friend thought leg mites was his best guess as well. I am soaking his legs in epsom salt baths and applying antibiotic ointments. Would oral antibiotics be appropriate and if so which one would be the best option?

 

[MarkinPA]

Thanks for the replies. A friend thought leg mites was his best guess as well. I am soaking his legs in epsom salt baths and applying antibiotic ointments. Would oral antibiotics be appropriate and if so which one would be the best option?

 

[Eggcessive]

Is there any possibility of frostbite on top of the leg mites? If there is a possibility of possible staph or strep infection, then antibiotics might be necessary, but I would get something like baytril, clavamox, or cephalexin from a vet--not the usual feed store drugs. Procaine Penicillin G shots would be okay from the feed store, but most others are for intestinal or respiratory illness.I would not give antibiotics just for leg mites. I forgot to ask you to check the bottom of his foot pads for bumblefoot--there would be swelling and a dark spot.

 

[MarkinPA]

I don't think there is any frostbite.....The pads are looking pretty good with no swelling. He starting standing a little more today and seemed annoyed with having to soak in the bath which wasn't the case the first couple of days. The discoloration doesn't look much better but I am guessing that that will be the last thing to go away. thanks again for the help!

Mark

 

[ten chicks]

Do you have a current photo of feet/toes? Concerned b/c in your original photos(top 2) his feet/toes look almost like gangrene has set in,but in the bottom 2 photos feet/toes look entirely different.