I just adopted three adult chickens from my husbands uncle, and one of them has one leg. It is an otherwise healthy rooster, with one leg missing and on the one foot it has, the toes are really large. Hubbys uncle said he believed it was from frostbite as it turned black and fell off in the dead of winter. I thought about Merrick's (??) Disease, unknown if it had been vaccinated. He had a whole lot of other chickens with thier feet. Now that I have brought them home, They have been doing well in the past week we have had them, except this morning I noticed my other rooster (I got two males and one female) who has two legs is turning very red between his toes and up the backs of his legs. Hubby thought it might have been from the wire bottom run or possibly climbing up the board to get in the house (which is above the run). It doesn't seem like that to me though, and I was wondering other possiblities/precautions I should be taking? Should I remove the hen in case this is contagious? If it were, why hasn't she gotten it before now? Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I have had chickens in the past, but usually lost them to a predator or sold them and never had to deal with any illness.
Chicken's legs are Red?
Chickens with Marek's usually have wing or leg paralysis and wasting or sudden death...depending on which nerves/organs are affected. I don't think it sounds like Marek's. Frostbite sounds more likely.
http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/Avian/mareks2.pdf
The second rooster may have mites--or a bacterial infection--or even an allergy. I would check for mites first.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-mites.html
Any other ideas?
Thank you for the tips and info on Marek's disease. I will check for mites in the morning, as it is almost 10pm here. I will let you know what I found!