What the heck is up with my roosters' legs? + Is one of them broken? [PICS]

[fisher39]

I've got myself a problem, it seems, with my roosters' legs. I have 4 roosters and 17 hens as of now (and a bunch of chicks), but it looks like most of the problems are in the roosters' legs only, especially one of them. There seems to be outgrowths on their legs--scaly and large. This seems to have developed over a period of a few months, I think. A couple of weeks ago I saw one of the roosters (the worst case) limping, and thought it was mites or something (might be the case). A friend had the same problem once where the leg was completely lame--couldn't open the foot, and walked on the top of it. Otherwise, the rooster was completely healthy--no signs of illness. So she made a mix of a couple tablespoons of castor oil and a couple drops of tea tree oil and smeared the solution on the legs every couple weeks, and she says that it's completely healed now.

I did the same thing with all four of these roosters about a week or so ago, and it seems that for the most part he's limping much less now, so it could be mites. I also went and cleaned out the bedding and washed their roosts with soap (will do a bleach cleaning today or tomorrow).

Now, here are the pics of my roosters and their legs: http://imgur.com/a/jNTLH I have included descriptions. Click on the pictures for larger versions!

My questions:

1. Are these outgrowths, in fact, due to mites and uncleanliness? Is there anything else I can do for them, besides applying more of this oil solution that smothers the mites? Any other thoughts?
2. I pointed out in the album the rooster with the worst outgrowths, but he ALSO seems to have a crack in his leg! How did this happen, and what can I do for him? Like I said, he seems to be walking much better on it now than he did last week, but is there anything else I should do?

Thanks for all your help!

EDIT: This may be obvious, but they're banties.

 

[wdoyle1980]

looks like mites

 

[fisher39]

Ok, good to have that confirmed. So I'm guessing I'm going the right way with the oil, then. Why does it create such huge outgrowths and scales like that? Also, what are preventative measures against mites?

And lastly, any thoughts on that cracked leg?

Thanks a lot.

 

[wdoyle1980]

The mites cause a dermatitus and the affected area gets scaly. Not really sure if this is a permanent thing or if the scales/dead-skin will eventually slough off. I've never had to deal with them, only seen the pics.

 

[Nsampsel]

Definitely Scaly Leg Mites...and your hen has them too. Her legs are rough & patchy as well. You need to treat ALL the birds, babies included or this will not go away. The best thing to bo would be to dust them all with Sevin Dust & then coat the legs with oil or vaseline. Remove all bedding. Treat coop, roosts, nest boxes & floor of the run with Sevin Dust or a permethrine solution. Sevin can be found in the gardening section of most stores this time of year. Permethrine can be found at almost any farm supply store year round.

 

[kkowa]

their a scaly leg product you can buy at any farm store helps treat your birds and stop it from happening again