Causes of growths on the legs of chickens, treatment with drugs and folk remedies
Poultry paws are one of the vulnerable places for infection. Lameness, anxiety, decreased egg production, weight should alert the farmer to determine the cause of the pathological phenomenon. How to treat growths on the legs of chickens depends on the diagnosis. Timely measures taken will avoid the spread of the disease. Inattentive attitude to raising livestock can lead to mass deaths.
Description of the disease
Growths on the legs of chickens can appear in several cases:
- with knemidocoptosis;
- gout;
- corns;
- avitaminosis.
Knemidocoptosis is a contagious disease known as scabies, "calcareous foot". The causative agent is the Knemidocopt mite, a gray-yellow parasite, ranging in size from 1/10 to 4/10 millimeters. The insect infects chickens during the warm season: from late May to mid-September.
The tick breaks through the tunnels in the integumentary membranes on the legs, reaching the epithelial tissue. Chickens older than 5 months are most susceptible to infection. The parasite feeds on the subcutaneous tissue, not coming out to the surface anymore. Exudate appears in the disturbed scaly cover of chicken paws, which indicates the onset of the inflammatory process.
The accumulation of lymph causes the formation of a tumor that squeezes the tissues of the paws. The bird first feels severe itching, and then pain in the legs. Violation of blood circulation without timely treatment leads to necrosis of the toes and death of the chicken. A sick bird is a source of infection, pecking at painful places on its legs and carrying ticks around the chicken coop.
The name of the pathology - "calcareous leg", is explained by a change in the color of the scales. A chicken with its beak inflicts mechanical injury on itself in the place where the tick, larvae is located. A film forms on the wound, and then thickened, loose white-gray scales.
The behavior of sick chickens:
- restless;
- no appetite;
- often stand on one leg, clenching and unclenching fingers;
- peck paws into blood.
When examining the birds, changes in the color and thickness of the scales, growths between the toes, on the legs, cracks, and purulent-bloody discharge are noticeable. The disease affects the productivity and egg production of chickens.
The defeat of the itch mite must be distinguished from gouty bumps, corns and manifestations of vitamin deficiency.
With gout, due to the deposition of salts, the joints on the legs swell and grow. Pus-filled growths form. At the same time, muscles, kidneys, and the digestive system are affected. Chickens start to limp and fall. The leg joint loses its mobility, is irretrievably deformed.
Corns are tough bumps that are painful to pressure and prevent chickens from walking.Cracking of growths leads to infection of the bird's body with staphylococci, streptococci.
Lack of vitamin A in chicken feed leads to a thickening of the sole, vitamins B and manganese - to a build-up in the hock joint. A swelling on the leg can appear after a bruise, provoking the further development of tendovaginitis (inflammation of the tendon sheath) with the formation of a growth.
Causes of growths on the paws
The factors influencing the formation of the "calcareous leg" are a complex of violations in the keeping of chickens:
- Increased temperature and humidity in the chicken coop.
- Untimely litter change.
- Rare disinfection of feeders, drinkers, equipment.
- Insufficient vitamin content in the feed.
The cause of urolithiasis diathesis (gout) in chickens is an unbalanced diet: the predominance of proteins in the diet.
Corns are formed due to the uneven distribution of the load on the paws when chickens are caged or on very hard surfaces. Lack of vitamins A, B, trace elements affects the condition of bones and joints.
Knemidocoptosis is the most contagious and most dangerous disease when keeping chickens.
Development stages
Manifestations of scabies depend on the phase of the disease and the age of the chickens.
Asymptomatic
The duration of the stage is up to 4-6 months. The place of penetration of the parasite is the area of the hock joint. Outwardly, infection in chickens is not determined.
Papular
The duration of the disease without treatment is 12-24 months. Under the scaly cover, knotty growths are formed, making the surface bumpy. Chickens paws acquire a gray-white coating. Symptoms of scabies appear. Because of the pain, the bird often stands on one leg, limps.
Rustic
The last stage. Deformation of the legs is observed, the scales fall off with the formation of bleeding deep cracks. Chicken feet turn brown due to dried secretions. The waste products and decomposition of mites cause inflammation of the joints to a state of necrosis and loss of phalanges.
How is hens treated?
The detection of growths on the paws of chickens indicates the second phase of knemidocoptosis, in which a sick bird becomes a distributor of an itch mite. Suspicious individuals require isolation, clarification of the diagnosis and initiation of treatment.
The rest of the chicken population must be examined in order to carry out quarantine measures. In the chicken coop, the bedding is being replaced, the flooring, drinkers, feeders, nests, perches, and equipment are disinfected. We'll have to adjust the feed.
Treatment of gout consists in the introduction of greens, sprouted wheat grains into the poultry complementary foods, drinking soda solution for 14 days. The corns on the legs are softened with Vaseline. Bruises, wounds are treated with healing ointments.
Drug therapy
For the treatment of scabies, anti-mite drugs are used mainly based on synthetic pyrethroid.
Ectomin
Designed to destroy ectoparasites. Available as a 10% emulsion. Moderately toxic agent. The concentration of the solution is 10 milliliters per 10 liters. Liquid temperature - 15-25 degrees, indoors / outdoors - not lower than 12 degrees. The holding time for paws with growths is from 30 to 60 seconds. Do not swallow the medication with a chicken.
Trichlormetaphos
The drug is a wide spectrum, medium toxicity, for warm-blooded animals. It is quickly absorbed and stored in tissues for a long time. It is excreted from the body of chickens with feces, eggs. To treat the growths, a 0.25% emulsion is prepared: 250 grams per 50 liters of water.
Butox
If parasites are found, prepare a bath for bathing chickens. An aqueous emulsion is prepared just before processing. Concentration - 0.025% or 1 ampoule per liter of water. The mixture is stirred for 20 minutes. Place the legs of the chickens in a container for a few seconds.
Butox is used for aerosol disinsection of chicken coops in the presence of a bird. For 100 square meters, 5 liters of solution are required in the same concentration.
Mara Garden
The drug is a ready-to-use oil solution, which is used to treat the paws of a sick chicken. The drug has a detrimental effect on ticks and larvae, helps to restore scales.
Akarin
Akarin belongs to a wide spectrum of nerve-paralytic poisons, low-toxic for humans and warm-blooded animals. Cannot be used if there are open cracks in the legs. The concentration of the solution for scabies mites is 2 milliliters per liter of water.
Frontline
The spray is designed to kill ectoparasites, including scabies mites. It is not applied at the third stage of knemidocoptosis, with exhaustion, concomitant infections. A single spray on the affected legs is sufficient.
Folk remedies
Non-pharmacological agents effective for scabies are birch tar and grease. Before applying the tar, the paws of the chickens are kept in a warm soapy solution (made of laundry soap) for 10-15 minutes. Then they smear the legs with tar up to the hock joint. The manipulation is repeated twice, after a week. A mixture of solid oil and vegetable oil (1:10) is applied to the affected areas 2 times a day for a half month.
Consequences and prevention
In advanced cases, when the disease has reached the rustic stage, the bird goes to slaughter.
Prevention of knemidocoptosis is general in nature:
- regular cleaning;
- disinfection of the premises with anti-mite agents;
- airing;
- lighting;
- the possibility of free walking;
- balanced, high-quality feed;
- quarantine of new livestock;
- periodic examination of chickens for infection;
- preventive treatment of paws of healthy birds from ticks.
If more than 10% of the chicken population is affected by knemidocoptosis, then a complete replacement of the herd is recommended due to the high risk of re-infection.
