Growths on the legs of chickens: how to treat with drugs and folk remedies, what to do with knemidokoptosis

The paws of poultry 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 help to avoid the spread of the disease. An inattentive attitude to livestock rearing can lead to mass mortality.

Description of 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 knemidokopt mite, a gray-yellow parasite, ranging in size from 1/10 to 4/10 of a millimeter. The insect infects chickens in the warm season: from late May to mid-September.

The tick breaks through the integumentary shells on the legs moves, reaching the epithelial tissue. Chickens older than 5 months are most susceptible to infection. The parasite feeds on the subcutaneous tissue, never leaving the surface. Exudate appears in the disturbed scaly cover of chicken paws, which indicates the beginning of the inflammatory process.

The accumulation of lymph causes the formation of a tumor that compresses the tissues of the paws. The bird feels first a strong itch, and then pain in the legs. Violation of blood circulation without timely treatment leads to necrosis of the fingers on the paws and death of the chicken.A sick bird is a source of infection, pecking at painful places on its paws and spreading ticks around the chicken coop.

The name of the pathology - “calcareous foot”, is explained by the change in the color of the scales. The chicken inflicts mechanical injury on itself with its beak in the place where the tick, the larvae, is located. A film forms on the wound, and then - thickened, loosely fitting white-gray scales.

Behavior of sick chickens:

• restless;
• no appetite;
• often stand on one leg, clenching and unclenching toes;
• peck their paws in blood.

When examining birds, changes in the color and thickness of the scales, growths between the fingers, on the legs, cracks, purulent-sanitary discharge are noticeable. The disease affects the productivity and egg production of chickens.

The defeat of the scabies mite must be distinguished from gouty bumps, corns and manifestations of beriberi.

With gout, due to the deposition of s alts, the joints on the legs swell and grow. Outgrowths filled with pus are formed. At the same time, muscles, kidneys, and the digestive system are affected. Chickens begin to limp, fall. The joint of the leg loses its mobility and is irrevocably deformed.

Corns are hard bumps that are painful when pressed and prevent chickens from walking. Cracking of the growths leads to infection of the bird's body with staphylo-, streptococci.

Lack of vitamin A in the feed of chickens leads to compaction of the sole, vitamins B and manganese - to a growth in the hock joint. A tumor on the leg may appear after a bruise, provoking further development of tendovaginitis (inflammation of the tendon sheath) with the formation of a build-up.

Causes of growths on the paws

Factors influencing the formation of the "calcareous foot" is a complex of violations in the content of chickens:

1. Elevated temperature and humidity in the chicken coop.
2. Untimely change of bedding.
3. Rare disinfection of feeders, drinkers, equipment.
4. Insufficient vitamin content in feed.

The cause of urolithiasis (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 in the cage content of chickens or on a very hard surface. The lack of vitamins A, B, microelements affects the condition of bones and joints.

Knemidocoptosis is a contagious and most dangerous disease in keeping chickens.

Development stages

Manifestations of scabies depend on the phase of the disease and the age of the chickens.

Asymptomatic

Duration of the stage - up to 4-6 months. The place of penetration of the parasite is the region of the hock joint. Outwardly, infection in chickens is not determined.

Papular

The duration of the disease without treatment is 12-24 months. Knotty growths form under the scaly cover, making the surface bumpy. The paws of chickens acquire a gray-white coating. Symptoms of scabies appear. Due to pain, the bird often stands on one leg, limps.

Rustic

The last stage. There is deformation of the legs, falling off of the scales with the formation of bleeding deep cracks. Chicken feet turn brown due to dried secretions. Waste products and decomposition of mites cause inflammation of the joints to a state of necrosis and loss of phalanges.

How chickens are treated

Detection of growths on the paws of chickens speaks of the second phase of knemidokoptosis, in which a sick bird becomes a spreader of scabies mite. Suspicious individuals require isolation, diagnosis and treatment.

The rest of the chicken population needs to be examined in order to carry out quarantine measures. In the chicken coop, the litter is replaced, the floor covering, drinkers, feeders, nests, perches, inventory are disinfected. Will have to adjust the feed.

Treatment of gout consists in introducing greens, sprouted grains of wheat into complementary foods for birds, feeding them with soda solution for 14 days. Calluses on the legs are softened with Vaseline. Bruises, wounds are treated with healing ointments.

Drug therapy

For the treatment of scabies, anti-tick drugs are used mainly based on synthetic pyrethroid.

Ectomin

Designed to kill ectoparasites. Available as a 10% emulsion. Moderately toxic. 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 of paws with growths is from 30 to 60 seconds. Do not ingest medicine by chicken.

Trichlormetaphos

Broad-spectrum drug, 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 growths, a 0.25% emulsion is prepared: 250 grams per 50 liters of water.

Butox

When parasites are found, a bath is prepared for bathing chickens. An aqueous emulsion is prepared immediately 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 the container for a few seconds.

Butox is used for aerosol pest control of chicken coops in the presence of birds. For 100 square meters, 5 liters of solution in the same concentration are required.

Mara-garden

The preparation 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 mites and larvae, helps to restore scales.

Akarin

Akarin is a broad-spectrum nerve poison with low toxicity to humans and warm-blooded animals. Do not use if there are open cracks on the paws. The concentration of the solution for scabies mites is 2 milliliters per liter of water.

Frontline

Spray is designed to kill ectoparasites, including scabies mites. It is not used in the third stage of knemidokoptosis, with exhaustion, concomitant infections. A single spray on the affected legs is sufficient.

Folk remedies

Non-drug effective for scabies - birch tar and grease.Before applying the tar, the paws of chickens are kept in a warm soapy solution (from laundry soap) for 10-15 minutes. Then the legs are smeared with tar to the hock joint. The manipulation is repeated twice, in a week. A mixture of grease and vegetable oil (1:10) is applied to the affected areas 2 times a day for a crescent.

Consequences and prevention

In advanced cases, when the disease has reached the rusty stage, the bird is slaughtered.

Prevention of knemidocoptosis is general:

• regular cleaning;
• disinfection of the premises with anti-mite agents;
• ventilation;
• lighting;
• free range opportunity;
• balanced, quality food;
• quarantine of new livestock;
• periodic inspection of chickens for infection;
• preventive treatment of paws of he althy birds from ticks.

If more than 10% of the chicken population is affected by knemidokoptosis, then a complete flock replacement is recommended due to the high risk of reinfection.

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