once I took concern of the crimson on Jaeson ’ sulfur leg ( courtesy of the flee Ginger Bean ’ mho talons ), I contacted my hope domestic fowl diagnostician, R.M. Fulton, DMV PhD, a Diplomate of the American College of Poultry Veterinarians. recently, he ’ s besides acted as one of my son Michael ’ s professors at the College of Veterinary Sciences at Michigan State University. As more detail was necessity for a reasonable diagnosis, I lured the technicolor cock back with some sunflower seeds. The inflammation wasn ’ metric ton raw, thank heavens, nor was it bloody. No blister or plutonium was noticeable, and there was no discernible smell .
There was sensitivity, however. Ginger Bean most decidedly did not want me to touch the irritate areas on his legs and between his toes. I was mystified. I had never come across this circumstance in all my years of domestic fowl keeping. fortunately, Dr. Fulton had. here are three possible reasons a chicken might develop red legs .
Here are the 7 questions chicken keepers should ask their veterinarian.
Scald
improperly kept cage litter can cause countless health issues for chickens, and scald is one of them. alternatively of boiling water causing the injury, the culprits in blister are besotted sleep together and chicken droppings. The sodden litter accelerates the decomposition of the feces, releasing ammonia. The combination of ammonia and wetness causes acute irritation, increasing blood flow to the moved area.
Scald is arsenic irritating as its name implies but can be well treated by :
- Clearing out the wet litter
- Letting the coop air out to dissipate the ammonia
- Putting an even layer of fresh litter down.
analgesic cream may be applied to the afflict dame ’ mho toes and shanks if permitted by the affected role. but the circumstance will fade on its own in a workweek or so .
Hormones
Increased blood flow to the legs and toes once again comes into play, but this time the root induce is not an environmental stipulate but an inner one. A cock ’ randomness hormones may go into overdrive as spring establishes itself and his hens ’ egg production starts up again. The layers ’ generative reawaken causes a lifelike, hormonal reaction in the cock, indicated by his bright-red toes and shanks. This condition besides may occur as cockerels reach sexual maturity .
Check out these 6 changes you may observe as a hen ages.
Weather
Sharp, chili winds make children ’ s cheeks rosy as they play outside and turn ungloved fingers and ears bright red from the cold. When chickens are exposed to adverse frigid weather, the stream of blood to susceptible areas—wattles, combs, earlobes and toes—increases to adjust the temperature of these body parts upwards.
Rapid, repeated changes in climate can result in these areas becoming suffused with blood, a circumstance that reverses itself once the weather evens out. As our hens have been in lay for more than a month and as the chicken coop interiors were dry, I concluded that Ginger Bean ’ second red legs resulted from the crazy weather Southeast Michigan has been experiencing this past workweek : cheery 70-degree days mixed in with gusty below-freezing flurries and torrential rain. The coloring material of his feet and shanks is alarming, but at least I know this irregular imbue will give way to his usual white once our Michigan weather settles down … whenever that may be !
