What's wrong with these feet? (Gross pics)

[Everose]

So I was just given this silkie roo and his feet are freaking gnarly, like nothing I've ever seen before. What could cause this? Is it safe to put him out with my other birds? Is this treatable? Any tips on clipping his nails?

 

[Eggcessive]

What do the bottoms of his feet look like? Any bumblefoot scabs? From the looks of the lumpy feet and toes, my guess is that he has gout, but he could have some other type of arthritis, bacterial or viral. You are going to be spending a lot of time soaking his feet in warm Epsom salts, and caring for him. He might have some scaly leg mites as well. Those are treated by smothering the legs and feet with vaseline a couple of times a week for a couple of months. You might want to consider giving him back, but it sounds like he may have not had a good life there. Have you checked him over for lice or mites?

 

[Everose]

What do the bottoms of his feet look like? Any bumblefoot scabs?

I've actually never had bumblefoot on my birds so I'm not sure what to look for but it does look like he has some scabby scar tissue on his feet.

From the looks of the lumpy feet and toes, my guess is that he has gout, but he could have some other type of arthritis, bacterial or viral.

His feet look even worse from the bottom. Almost like string foot but no strings.

You are going to be spending a lot of time soaking his feet in warm Epsom salts, and caring for him. He might have some scaly leg mites as well. Those are treated by smothering the legs and feet with vaseline a couple of times a week for a couple of months. You might want to consider giving him back, but it sounds like he may have not had a good life there.

Honestly since he can't even walk, and his feet are falling apart I'm more likely to put him out of his misery than send him back. According to the previous owner he was kept in a cage on hay.
Maybe that's why all of his nails are overgrown and his feet are useless. It's pretty horrific, idk if he'll walk again. The lady wants him back if he doesn't "work out" because apparently she's concerned about him.

Have you checked him over for lice or mites?

I don't see any, his feathers seem mostly healthy.

 

[Everose]

His foot is not really discernable from his leg. It looks like he's been walking on his flattened legs for a while.

 

[coach723]

At first I thought maybe scaly leg mites, but it looks more like really bad pododermatitis. And that is often from living in wet conditions, or built up droppings which can burn the feet. If you want to try to treat him, and see if things get better, I would soak his feet daily and gently clean them, and apply a plain triple antibiotic ointment over all of it. Keep him on a clean, dry surface, and try to keep his feet as clean as you can. The one foot with a dark spot in the middle on the bottom, may be bumblefoot, but I would treat the whole foot first and then see what that looks like after a bit, see if it starts to heal. If you see improvement, it may take a period of time, it probably won't be real quick. I would probably give him a b complex or super b complex once a day also, in case he has any vitamin deficiencies. Those are very safe to give, and not expensive.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Awe. Poor guy. Maybe soak in some iodine treated water. Give him a nail trim. Add some vitamins - nutri-drench, poultry cell, or b complex.
He definitely won't be able to go in with the flock until he can walk - if it ever happens.

 

[NatJ]

Any tips on clipping his nails?

You can use dog toenail clippers or human toenail clippers or various other things to clip.

Chicken toenails have a quick inside, just like dog toenails and chicken beaks. You do not want to clip into the quick.

With light-colored toenails you can often see where the quick is, because it is darker than the rest of the nail. With dark-colored toenails that does not work so well.

If in doubt, cut just a bit off the end of each nail, then a few days later do a little more, and keep working at it until you get them down to a reasonable length.

If you do clip into the quick, it will bleed, and also the chicken will probably jump because that hurt. A small amount of bleeding will stop itself soon, and the chicken will ultimately be fine. If it bleeds much, there is something you can put on it, but I've never had to do it so I never remember what the stuff is. Any article about trimming dog toenails will mention it.

If he gets healthy enough to scratch around in dirt or sand, that can also help wear down his toenails. But for now, he probably isn't up to it.

I've clipped chicken toenails by myself, just holding the chicken, the foot, and the clippers with my arms and hands (only works with some chickens.) It may work better to have one person hold the chicken and another person clip, or wrap the chicken in a towel and lay it down so you can clip without having to hold the bird.