Yellow Toenail with Brown Tip, Scabs underneath toe

[slukeplass22]

Hi,

I was bathing one of my hens 5 days ago when I discovered her toenail was yellow, with a brown tip on the end. It is shorter than her other nails (perhaps she broke it? But there was no bleeding), and she also has scabs underneath. The scabs look like an early case of bumblefoot, and I'm pretty sure that's what she has, I just want a second opinion since I couldn't find anything like this when I searched. I've been treating her as if she had bumblefoot, and have been applying coconut oil to her foot twice daily. The last I checked her foot, the scabs had shrunk and faded in color, so I think this is helping her wounds. I've also been adding oregano leaves and thyme leaves to her feed.

As a notice I will point out that I already know she also has gout, which I believe was caused by her intaking pelleted feed which had too much calcium for her particular needs (she was always a poor layer). Pictures will be uploaded. As always, thanks for any replies.

 

[dawg53]

I suspect an injury of some sort and with your help, the injury is healing nicely. Give it time and it should completely heal, but not the gout itself. I see no evidence of bumblefoot.
Gout usually occurs in older birds. Too much calcium, protein or maybe a vitamin A deficiency are the usual causes of gout.

I have a 6 year old Buff Leghorn rooster that has gout. The cold temps have been rough on him this winter. Occasionally I'll soak his feet and legs in a container of warm water. He relaxes and goes to sleep while soaking.
I also pick him up off the roost and set him down on the floor each morning to go outside the coop.

 

[slukeplass22]

I suspect an injury of some sort and with your help, the injury is healing nicely. Give it time and it should completely heal, but not the gout itself. I see no evidence of bumblefoot.
Gout usually occurs in older birds. Too much calcium, protein or maybe a vitamin A deficiency are the usual causes of gout.

I have a 6 year old Buff Leghorn rooster that has gout. The cold temps have been rough on him this winter. Occasionally I'll soak his feet and legs in a container of warm water. He relaxes and goes to sleep while soaking.
I also pick him up off the roost and set him down on the floor each morning to go outside the coop.

Thanks. Any idea why the toenail might be yellow though? I’ve had toenail injuries before and I’ve never seen a yellow toenail. Maybe she bled inside the toenail?

I’m not expecting the gout to go away from that, no. I just wanted to disclose that she had that also to prevent miscommunications.

I think she has gout due to too much calcium. She hasn’t laid many eggs in her life, and so never really needed the same level of calcium as the other birds. Yet she was fed the same layer feed as the others. This feed was a pelleted feed where the oyster shell was blended into the pellets. So she couldn’t avoid the oyster shell while eating the feed, and that I think caused the problem. I had another hen who looks to have had a less severe form of gout, and she never laid many eggs either.

I put turmeric + black pepper in the feed to reduce inflammation, that seems to help some. I also use a locally produced feed now that comes in the form of grains and seeds - whole foods. That way, if she wants a certain thing, she doesn’t have to eat oyster shell to get it.

 

[slukeplass22]

Occasionally I'll soak his feet and legs in a container of warm water. He relaxes and goes to sleep while soaking.

This chicken will peck me for hugs and pettings, and will sleep in my lap sometimes.

 

[slukeplass22]

Hi,

I was bathing one of my hens 5 days ago when I discovered her toenail was yellow, with a brown tip on the end. It is shorter than her other nails (perhaps she broke it? But there was no bleeding), and she also has scabs underneath. The scabs look like an early case of bumblefoot, and I'm pretty sure that's what she has, I just want a second opinion since I couldn't find anything like this when I searched. I've been treating her as if she had bumblefoot, and have been applying coconut oil to her foot twice daily. The last I checked her foot, the scabs had shrunk and faded in color, so I think this is helping her wounds. I've also been adding oregano leaves and thyme leaves to her feed.

As a notice I will point out that I already know she also has gout, which I believe was caused by her intaking pelleted feed which had too much calcium for her particular needs (she was always a poor layer). Pictures will be uploaded. As always, thanks for any replies.

UPDATE

As of late spring or early summer her toenail has healed.