[Helenaj]

I've rescued some hens (Marans) from a neighbour this morning who was just not coping with keeping chickens - they'd have no water for hours on end and little feed etc. They are in their own quarantine pen at the moment until I can fatten them up a little and get rid of worms, lice etc. One of the Marans has very advanced scaly leg and to complicate matters there is a leg ring that is either the wrong size or had been put on when the bird was young and not re-sized so it's just about inbedded in the leg. Any advice on how to remove it as I cannot get a clippers under it without causing the bird distress.
I'm wondering whether to treat the scaly leg first and see if there is a little more room under the ring, as she is just about starting to moult so should shed the scales as well.
Any help gratefully received!

[Casey76]

Is it a fixed/solid ring?  Some leg rings look solid, but they are clipped or flat bands.  If the ring was affecting the circulation I would expect the foot to be swollen and angry looking.  if it's not I think you would have enough time to treat the scaley leg.

Is the ring able to twizzle around at all?  one possibility is that the severity of the scaley leg is making the leg ring look too small, but it is the right size.

How are you treating the scaley leg?

[Helenaj]

It looks to be a jointed ring - thats what the other birds had and I can just about pull it apart on them, but it's very strong which is why I didn't really want to try pulling it apart on her leg. I can't turn it at all without her trying to pull her leg away. There's no space for me to get anything behind it or into it without hurting her. The leg is not swollen apart from the scaly leg problem, which appears to have partially spread over the ring, but that just may be where the mites droppings etc have spread onto it and there is some blood where I think the ring has rubbed the raised scales off. It just looks a mess. Luckily, she seems to be the dominant one in her group otherwise there would have been problems with leg pecking.
As for treating it, I have scaly leg spray which I've used to great effect in the past, so I may persevere with that at the moment and see if I can then soak some of the raised scales off in warm water in a few days time, prior to her moult. It may allow me to turn the ring a little if a lot of the gunk comes off.
She's really calm considering that she doesn't know me and allowed me to handle her with no real problems. I've dusted her for lice as they were all crawling with them and now she's happily eating with the others. Apart from the weight and lice problems, they all appear pretty good.

[Jeanette]

You are doing a fantastic job. I would leave the leg ring till you can bath her and as you said got some of the gunk off and then you may be able to get it off easier.

[Casey76]

How is she to handle?

If you can get her to stand in some warm water, using a nail or toothbrush gently remove as much debris as possible (a lot of the build up in scaley leg is mite faeces).

Gently pat dry the legs, then spray on the spray, somthering the legs in vaseline can help as it suffocates the mits, can become very messy.

You may want to speak to your vet about getting some ivermectin drops, but ivermectin is not licensed for poultry in the UK, so he would have to prescribe it "off label" for you.  Ivermectin spot on is a systemic treatment, and will also treat the lice and other body mites, as well as scaley leg mites.

I just want to thank you for making me itch all over now lol!

[Helenaj]

Unfortunately, my vet won't prescribe Ivermectin. I tried to get some Eprinex off him before and he wasn't having any of it. It's a large practice and they actually have a vet who is familiar with poultry, but he plays it by the book - which is probably a good thing.
My neighbour who I had the hens off, suggested dipping the legs in paraffin but I won't repeat to you what I said to him! If he hadn't offered them to me this morning, I think I would probably have kidnapped them as I can't stand back and watch any animal be purposely neglected. As for itching - if you'd seen how many lice were one them you would have the screaming fits! All clothing has gone in the wash and I've had a hot shower. Yuch!

 I'll try the vaseline first as it may loosen things up a bit enough for me to try and move the ring. Thanks everybody for your good advice.

[Casey76]

If you can't get systemic ivermectin, you can get benzyl benzoate from a pharmacy and use it topically

[ehs284]

WD40 or silicone spray down the back of the ring (vaseline is great for the mites, but won't get behind the ring). Use a small file (nail file perhaps) to weaken or cut the ring.

[Helenaj]

Hi everyone - I finally managed to remove the ring. I soaked her leg in warm soapy water and most of the gunk came off. With the help of a very fine lip brush (obviously never used and never will be now!), managed to push some warmed vaseline beneath the ring. I left it for an hour and it turned easily enough for me to get the rest of the gunk that had gathered under it out, giving me just enough space to pull it apart and get it off. I was previously advised against using paraffin on scaly leg by my vet as it can cause allergic reactions.
She seems much happier now and is now doing what chickens do quite happily - eat and poo!
On the lice front, the following morning there were so many dead ones on the newspaper I put under the perches that I could literally pour them off. All six ladies are coming into my garage this morning for a bath and freshen up where they can stay for most of the day as it's heated and also has a large chick pen with heat lamps to dry them off if they want to sit in there.

[noshed]

A sort of chicken spa really. Good job those hens have you.

[joyfull]

sounds like what my dogs had yesterday at the doggy parlour - but a lot cheaper 

[nicky d]

arh bless them, im sure they are much happier now,   Johnsons do an anit mite spray aswell which is very effective, dont forget your gonna have to treat in 7days or so time to treat any unhatched eggs.    I hope they really thrive for you .   nickyx

[Chookiechook]

I am sure that P and T Poultry offer  Ivermectin 0.8% for poultry???

Is that different stuff??