Urgent! New hens, big problems!

[Mamma se hoenders]

I adopted 3 fully grown bantam hens, adding to my flock of 5. They are in very bad condition and extremely aggressive. They have no feathers on their feet and missing plenty of nails. This particular hen cannot walk. It seems like her feet are undefined masses of bone ( its as hard as bone). My flock is very spoilt and in excellent condition, but these come from a home where they were in mud most of the time. I tried washing her feet in luke warm water but it doesnt look like anything is coming off. I dont want my hens to be in pain, and I would appreciate any help I can get!

 

[Mysticalys]

I would trim her nails and see if that helps at all. I had a chicken with a long toenail and it caused her some pain but once I trimmed it she was a lot better

 

[JShepherd]

Could that be from leg mites? Some of the weird scaliness? Kind of looks like some of the severe cases I have seen online.

 

[rebrascora]

I would give her feet another long soak in a warm Epsom salts bath, give them a gentle scrub with a soft brush to remove as much debris as possible, trim any claws that are too long, dry thoroughly and slather them in a grease or oil like Petroleum Jelly or coconut oil or I have recently been using Vicks Vapour Rub on Scaly leg mites with significant success. Anything which is thick and gunky and greasy to soften the skin and suffocate the mites. You will need to repeat every few days and keep them on clean bedding until you get them sorted. It looks like there may also be frostbite damage or perhaps burn from faeces build up on feathers.

I would quarantine the new girls until you get them sorted out.... always a good idea to quarantine new chickens but when they come with obvious problems it is much more important.
Are they aggressive to you or to each other? Quite unusual for bantams to be human aggressive.

 

[Mamma se hoenders]

I would give her feet another long soak in a warm Epsom salts bath, give them a gentle scrub with a soft brush to remove as much debris as possible, trim any claws that are too long, dry thoroughly and slather them in a grease or oil like Petroleum Jelly or coconut oil or I have recently been using Vicks Vapour Rub on Scaly leg mites with significant success. Anything which is thick and gunky and greasy to soften the skin and suffocate the mites. You will need to repeat every few days and keep them on clean bedding until you get them sorted. It looks like there may also be frostbite damage or perhaps burn from faeces build up on feathers.

I would quarantine the new girls until you get them sorted out.... always a good idea to quarantine new chickens but when they come with obvious problems it is much more important.
Are they aggressive to you or to each other? Quite unusual for bantams to be human aggressive.

Thank you. I have tried keeping them away from each other but my older hens are good flyers and they get over the fencing I put up.
They are aggressive towards each other, but still very shy of me... I dont think they got the best care before. I will definitely try the vicks and the petroleum jelly, she cant get away from me so I will do it every day, she also stays in the nestbox with my broody hens all day, I have to remove them. Their nestboxes I clean every afternoon and replace their bedding (just sawdust and hay, they seem to love it). Hold thumbs!

 

[micstrachan]

Poor girls! But so lucky you rescued them! These lovelies appear to have extreme leg mites. Follow rebrascora’s advice. Good luck!

 

[Riche Bronson]

There’s a product at most feed stores too called Vet RX. It’s natural and quite a bit like Vick’s but it sprays rather than rubs on- (if you buy an atomizer). Might be easier than trying to rub thick Vick’s on the poor sore feet of those abused and rightfully untrusting birds. Parasites hate it, and it really does seem to speed healing time. Also witch hazel would be a healing and soothing wash too. Remember- it took some time to get those poor feet in that condition, and it’s going to take a while (if ever completely) to get them back to being healthy. Poor things!! You’re a saint for taking them out of the horrible situation they were in. I’d definitely quarantine them too.. until you get that sad situation sorted out. Some people disgust me. They have NO business with animals and they KNOW they don’t. So why? Why let a helpless animal suffer this completely preventable (and not too complicated to do so!) BS!! Grr! I’d love to take that human and make them live in mud and their own waste for a few months. Keep us posted on their progress will you? Hoping to see these ladies make a huge improvement. You’re awesome. People who are kind to animals are A#1 class acts in my book.

 

[Eggcessive]

That does appear to be scaly leg mites, but also could be partially from frostbite. I would follow advice for warm soaks to the legs for several days, and application of oil (castor oil, crisco shortening, vaseline, or vegetable oil are all good, rubbing it into and under the scales at least once a week for several weeks. When you can also look at the footpads for any signs of Bumblefoot scabs.

Since they were kept in poor conditions, I would consider worming them with SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer or Valbazen. A vet could also check for evidence of worms or coccidiosis. Look them over for evidence of lice or mites as well.

 

[sumi]

@Mamma se hoenders, your username is Afrikaans, do you live in South Africa? I'm from there myself originally.

For the nail trimming, here is a tutorial with a video, that may help you:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/trimming-your-chickens-nails-tutorial.64401/

 

[Mamma se hoenders]

@Mamma se hoenders, your username is Afrikaans, do you live in South Africa? I'm from there myself originally.

For the nail trimming, here is a tutorial with a video, that may help you:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/trimming-your-chickens-nails-tutorial.64401/

I do, yes! Thank you! Its morning here, and still dark, Im on my way to work so I will sort her out this afternoon! Thank you