[HelenandPat]

Help!  I hope someone may be able to advise me on my Brahma problem.  My lovely Gold Brahma who seemed perfectly healthy has gone downhill very quickly.  She has sores on her legs which have been bleeding.  We took her to the vets and she has had a week of antibiotics, although they didn't really know what it was.  Some days she seems better, other days she looks pale, dull eyes and stands around a lot, momentarily going to sleep and then coming round again to continue pottering around the garden.  We have washed her legs with saline water every day.  She is not at POL yet. She lives in a lovely wendy house which I have kept clean and she has had a course of wormer that kills off all parasites aswell.  I have three other hens who (touch wood) seem to be absolutely fine. I am so worried that I am going to lose her.

Is there anyone who has come across this before and has any good tips for me?  Hope to hear from you.

[babe]

hi, do the scales on her legs seem to be lifting up?

[HelenandPat]

Hi
No not really lifting up but the skin has broken on the joint, like on her knees and is really blooming.  My first thought was mites but she has been treated already.

[babe]

is it possible to get a photo for people to see. someone may well recognize whats wrong.

are you certain of her age as well.

[Foxy]

Aww poor thing, I like Babe would suspect scaley leg mite which is difficult to see in brahmas. Get hold of some frontline spray from the  vet and give one spray to the tops of each leg. I have birds whic have fluffy feet. This is just my opinion, frontline is a very quick treatment of scaly leg mite. You may possibly have red mite too which would account for her lethargic appearance. What have you used so far?
Other questions is she being pecked by other chickens??? I had one one my cochins pecked it was awful the mess his feet were in. Also just dusting with powder will no get rid off scaly leg mite they are notoriously difficult to eradicate.

A link to help you with regard to parasites: Hope this helps!!

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=5250

[kimT]

It does sound like scaley leg but a friend of mine has a brahma that had problems with her legs.

Could she have broken feather shafts that have become infected?

I know she has had antibiotics but she may just need something a bit stronger.

It's just a thought.

[HelenandPat]

Thanks so much everyone, I will try to get a photo - good idea.  I am pretty certain of her age, about 6 months now.  She has had a course of panomec (I think it was called that) from the vets, who said it would cover her for worms, internal and external parasites.  As I mentioned before she has also had the anitbiotics and we have powdered all the chucks and their house.  

If I try the frontline do you know if it will be okay on the legs if the skin is still broken?

I guess she could have broken feather shafts, it's so difficult to know!  Pretty certain that the other girls are not attacking her, she still seems to be at the top of the pecking order, she arrived first and the other three later.  

Foxy, thanks for the link, I'll have a look.  KimT, did your friends' Brahma recover?

She looked a bit perkier this morning which was good as I thought she may not last the night, last night!

[Foxy]

this is just my opinion but you may need a two pronged approach -firstly it sounds like he legs are bleeding and sore and could benefit from a gentle soak in salted water then gently dried and apply a coating of germolene to help keep her legs clean and prevent infection. The germolene would also help smother any mites (if there are any)
Now the Frontline (this again is just what I would do) I use the spray and would give one  small squirt to the very top of the leg -avoiding the broken skin that will be enough to kill any mites further down the leg.
Keep a close eye on behaviour in case you have any peckers.
Hope this helps, I use frontline spray accasionaly before a show as my birds have feathered feet and dont want them picking up anything from other birds.

[HelenandPat]

Thanks Foxy, this sounds a good idea, we have been bathing her legs in salt water but I haven't used germolene or vaseline, so we'll give this a go and let you know how we get on.  It is good to talk to other people as I am new to all this and so want to get it right!!