Our broilers are three weeks old. Some of them are have green legs. Last year this same thing developed when they were ready for butcher (6-8 weeks). I can't find anything in my poultry books about green legs. Our layer chicks are in the same building (sectioned off) and they do not have this. Are green legs normal or do we have a disease problem? Your thoughts are appreciated.

-- JoAnn in SD (jonehls@excite.com), June 02, 2001

Answers

Hey I don't think this will help you any but our araucana chickens have it to. only they are suposed to. Oh well it was the thought that counted RIGHT? I wish i tryed help but i don't think it helped much. sorry

-- lindsey IL (l_shamhart@hotmail.com), June 02, 2001.

I strongly suspect it is genetic (as in Araucanas and other breeds) and no cause for concern. If I prove to be wrong, (I was once before!) please let us know. GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), June 02, 2001.

My American Standard of Perfection of Poultry book list several chickens with green legs, some almost black, blue, others have light green legs and some have gray legs. Jersey Giants,Javas,Araucanas, La Fleche,Mincora,Andalusian,Catalana,Polish,Crevecoeur,some Modern Game,Old English, Lakenelder Hamburg, Campine, Rosecomb,Sebrights, Dutch,Belgian are a few with different colored legs. I would not worry if the legs look healthy and the feet are correct.

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), June 02, 2001.

So far it all sounds good to me! Another note, there are two real small birds and they have very green legs and are about half the size of the others. Could just be slow to grow I guess. Some of the chickens are Hi-Y- Broilers and the rest are Cornish Cross. We are feeding them Purina Meat Bird feed and also put some electrolytes in their water. Otherwise, they all seem healthy.

-- JoAnn in SD (jonehls@excite.com), June 02, 2001.

Just in case it's not genetic, here's the only green-legs thing I could find in the chicken health handbook, by Gail Damerow:

Disease - Exudative Diathesis, also Exudate Diathesis; Age - 1-4 weeks; Characteristics - Greenish blue breast and legs; Prevalence - Rare; System/Organ Affected - Skin and muscle tissue; Symptoms - chicks stand with legs far apart due to fluid under skin, paralysis; Mortality - 100 percent; Postmortem Findings - Yellow or bluish green gelatinous fluid under skin; blood spots in breast and leg muscles; Diagnosis - symptoms, postmortem findings, ration evaluation; Cause - Vitamin E deficiency, usually related to selenium deficiency; sometimes occurs in combination with white muscle disease; Transmission - nutritional, does not spread from bird to bird; Prevention - use only fresh feed fortified with vitamin E and selenium; store feed in cool dry place and use within 2 weeks of purchase; Treatment - vitamin E and selenium supplement in feed or orally (300 IU per bird), replace old feed; Human health risk - none.

Like I said, just in case it's not genetic.

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), June 05, 2001.

The green coloring of the chickens legs are usually called willow- green. Many different breeds have it. Don't worry:D

-- Marie (lucricausa@highland.net), January 28, 2002.