Think my chicken may have scaly mites on her legs..can anyone help??

[sunbear1224]

Hello! I am new to the chicken forums though I browse here frequently. I have a speckled Sussex (Speckles) who suddenly started limping pretty badly a couple weeks ago. I checked her over and could not find any evidence of injuries, insect invasions or anything out of the ordinary. She hid under the chicken coop most of the day and would crawl with her legs under her to her food and water. As time has gone on however, she is up and around, roosting and hanging out with the other chickens and the limp is pretty much gone. But she now walks funny. She pulls her foot straight up and then back down and walks lightly on her feet. Upon looking at her today I noticed some bumps on her legs. I managed to get a pretty good shot of her legs as she was feeding under the coop (also got a video of how she is walking). If there are any long term experienced chicken keepers out there I'd sure like to know if you think this is scaly mites. By everything I have seen and read it appears it may be but not sure. If it is, what do I do? Tractor supply carries a spray for mites..is this effective enough as a treatment? And is it a pretty sure thing all the others will get them too? Thanks in advance! I appreciate any help I can get!!!

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Have you inspected for bumble foot?

 

[sunbear1224]

Yes. I actually just had a white Leghorn that had bumblefoot (and she actually never even limped so we caught it pretty early) and so I'm pretty familiar with the disease. Thats why I'm puzzled by this. The bottom of her foot has been find but now she doesn't seem to want to put weight on it and it looks pretty scaly on the sides of her foot and the back of the leg where the foot joins the leg.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Can't really tell by pics, her legs look pretty clean. I had an outbreak of scaly mites in autumn. Smeared Vicks vaporub all over leg, under feet and right up into feathers. Worked a treat, even the scariest legs are now smooth.

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Is it possible she injured it (like a sprain) and just taking a while to heal itself? I don't have any experience with the mites so I wouldn't know what to look for there. Try increasing her protein intake, scrambled eggs, yogurt, Flock Raiser and see if that helps.

 

[Suzie]

It is difficult to see from the photograph... does she have raised scales on her legs? Scaly leg mites normally leave their deposits under the leg scales and the scales are raised. If you do have the problem - you can treat with vaseline ( smother the legs up to where the feathering starts ) yes, it is messy but very effective - treat ALL of your flock! I have treated 40 plus chickens and it has resulted in their legs being normal now - don't wait to treat them - it can result in deformity or even loss of toes when the infection gets bad!

I did read about WD40 being good to spray on legs but my chickens were not happy about this - maybe it burns or the smell is awful to them - I only know that they are so much happier with their leg massage of vaseline!

Suzie

p.s. wear OLD clothing as the vaseline will stain your tee- shirts!

 

[sunbear1224]

Thanks! Maybe I need better pics I am concerned about the dark blotches on the raised foot and the fact that she doesn't want to put weight on it. She raises both feet straight up and puts them both down flat..its kinda strange. I could upload the video if that would help. If you look closely at the pic you may see small raised areas that are the same color as her legs (you can see one on the foot she is standing on about 1/4 of the way up) and wondered if these were the beginnings of lesions or something. Maybe I'm just a worrywart, but she isn't walking correctly and appears to have foot problems. Maybe its not scaly mites but every time I search the symptoms thats all I get back. I will try to get better pics. I appreciate your help!

 

[sunbear1224]

Yes, it is possible she has just injured herself and thats what I thought from the beginning because she has increasingly gotten more active, but just noticed she appears to have scabs or lesions on her legs that I thought may be the start of something. None of the other chickens seem to be acting like this, just her. Thanks!

 

[sunbear1224]

Thanks for the info, Suzie! I will keep an eye on it and try the vaseline if necessary. Scales on the upper legs seem fine, she just seems to have some problems with her lower legs and feet. I have ruled out Bumblefoot, so not really sure whats going on. Hopefully I will find out soon and I REALLY appreciate all the quick answers I have received on this post. Thanks again!!

 

[Suzie]

Just to say that one of mine had very similar symptoms to yours - KT couldn't walk properly and was very animated when she did manage to walk, she even used to do the "splits" at times! It turns out that she did have scaly leg mites and I was so ashamed that I didn't notice the problem much earlier than I did - that was entirely my fault! We gifted a rooster to somebody and it didn't work out well - we got our rooster back ... complete with scaly leg mites - he infected my flock and KT was suffering more than most.. she is better now... after two months of intensive treatment and I am still treating her to ensure she doesn't get any worse - I don't wish to scare anyone but the problem can be very bad if not treated in the early stages - I do hope that your chicken is fine and free from scaly leg mites... this is just my experience and I wanted to explain why I was so concerned for your girl!

Good luck and I hope she is better very soon! ( Whatever the problem she is suffering from )

Suzie