White legs

[Kerrie Ann]

Hello. I know that we have to do things to prevent mites.We have dusted our boxes and ran out of dust and needed to get more in the meantime I have noticed one of my girls her legs look different than the others. They look completely white. Scales are not raised. Just white legs. I looked at her vent in did not see any mites either. Can anybody give me some advice. Please and thank you.

 

[sourland]

Some breeds have white legs. She may be one of those breeds. Can you post a picture. As long as the scales are not rough and raised, I doubt that she has scaly leg mites.

 

[speckledhen]

Exactly what sourland said. Many breed have white legs like Orpingtons and Sussex. Also, yellow legged hens will have leg color fade very late in the laying season. The more eggs they lay, the paler their legs become. After their molt, they may regain some color, only to lose it again late in the next laying spell.

 

[Kerrie Ann]

I put Vaseline on her legs anyways just in case ,but it appears as though can't get her balance. And she's keeping her wing down.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello. I know that we have to do things to prevent mites.We have dusted our boxes and ran out of dust and needed to get more in the meantime I have noticed one of my girls her legs look different than the others. They look completely white. Scales are not raised. Just white legs. I looked at her vent in did not see any mites either. Can anybody give me some advice. Please and thank you.

I put Vaseline on her legs anyways just in case ,but it appears as though can't get her balance. And she's keeping her wing down.

Do you have photos of her or a video of her actions? (for video upload to youtube and provide us a link)

How old is she?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
How many chickens and how much space do you have?
What type of dust did you use to treat for mites?
If she is of laying age, when was the last time she laid an egg?
Any chance she ate anything moldy or toxic?
What does her poop look like? (photo)
Has she been picked on, do you have a rooster - if so, how old is he?

If she is having difficulty keeping her balance, then separate her out - either bring her in or cage her in the coop/run so you can monitor her more closely.

With balance issues, a lot of times it's a process of elimination, so check her ears for infection and ear mites, look through her feathers closely for an infestation of external parasites, how does her crop feel(?) is it hard, soft, squishy. Feel her abdomen for any swelling, bloat or feeling of fluid. Think about what you are feeding - has anything gotten wet, moldy or have you used any rat poison/insecticides, etc. Look at the legs/feet (bottom of feet too) for any injury, swelling, scabs or if they are tender when manipulated.

Do the best you can to see if she will drink for you. Poultry Vitamins in the water may give her a boost. Once she is drinking offer her some food.

Look at her poop (photos are great) You may want to collect some samples and have your vet perform a fecal float to rule out internal parasites (worms).

 

[Kerrie Ann]

I'll be going out there shortly I will take a video. I'm have not given or anything moldy. I have not seen her eat anything inappropriate. We use layer pellets and crack corn. We give Some vegetable and some fruit for snacks. Bread anything that's edible that we would give to ourselves except we do not feed them meat. She's about maybe 2 years old. We have 2 roosters. Ones about 2 to 3 years old. The other ones much older I would say 4 to 5. I did look at her feathers and her vent I did not see any Mites.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'll be going out there shortly I will take a video. I'm have not given or anything moldy. I have not seen her eat anything inappropriate. We use layer pellets and crack corn. We give Some vegetable and some fruit for snacks. Bread anything that's edible that we would give to ourselves except we do not feed them meat. She's about maybe 2 years old. We have 2 roosters. Ones about 2 to 3 years old. The other ones much older I would say 4 to 5. I did look at her feathers and her vent I did not see any Mites.

That's good about the feed and veggies Sometimes, depending on weather, feed can mold quickly, so just ruling out some possibilities that can cause balance issues.

 

[Kerrie Ann]

Try to take a video several times but it's telling me it's too large. Anyways she is now not standing falling over. I did check the vent again and she does have mites.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Try to take a video several times but it's telling me it's too large. Anyways she is now not standing falling over. I did check the vent again and she does have mites.

For video you have to upload it to another platform like youtube, vimeo, etc. then provide us a link. The video "button thingy" here on BYC doesn't work properly.

""Anyways she is now not standing falling over"" can you clarify this a bit more? Is she now able to stand?

For treating mites/lice use a Permethrin based poultry spray or dust. Since she is not moving around much, then she's not preening or dust bathing, so getting the critters under control will be important to her recovery.

 

[Kerrie Ann]

When she tries to walk it almost seems like her head's too heavy and she falls right into her head . when she falls over it seems as though that her legs shake a little .I dusted her Her vent in all underneath her feathers. And also where she's laying. I tried to let her out to walk around a bit to get a better video but the other girls want to just kill her.