Rook.

[JohnP]

Apart from the deformed foot this Rook is in pretty good nick. I can hardly believe the number of birds I see with problems with their feet.

 

 

Canon EOS 60D ,Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
1/200s f/7.1 at 135.0mm iso800

[annie]

Is it because the get hooked up on things John?

[JohnP]

Is it because the get hooked up on things John?

 

Sometimes it is annie!  It can also be a disease that they catch.  I seem to remember seeing a shot of a Pigeon posted on here not long ago that had the same problem.

[FUJI]

A great shot John..........In my dim and distant past, I seem to remember my Gran's chickens often catching something called..................Bumble Foot?

Any chicken keepers on here?

FUJI

[colinb]

nice shot John, it's surprising how many birds you do see that seem to have problems with one foot or the other?

[JohnP]

A great shot John..........In my dim and distant past, I seem to remember my Gran's chickens often catching something called..................Bumble Foot?

Any chicken keepers on here?

FUJI

 

You are quite right FUJI... chickens do get Bumble Foot. I may be completely wrong, I think in wild birds they catch something called Tassel Foot, it's caused by a mite that gets under the scales of the legs and feet. In most cases they seem unaffected by it, going on the number of birds I've seen with it, it seems to be a growing problem across many species of birds. Do feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[annie]

Feet deformities can be due to injuries (entanglement with nylon netting is common, so too are injuries caused by entanglement with, often man-made, nesting materials prior to fledging), or they may be congenital ... that is due to genetic defects they may be born that way.

 

A further common foot problem that can be seen in garden birds is 'tassel foot', where the scales on the toes and base of the legs appear lifted or overgrown ... this is due to a mite (Cnemidocoptes) infestation.  It's fairly easily treated, but it has to be a judgement call as to whether or not more damage may be done to the bird in trying to capture it, or in it being handled inexpertly.

 

In most cases, garden birds with a single foot deformity or injury usually cope well enough with it, for no intervention to be necessary.

 

 

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I found the above on a wildlife site..

[NannyFerret]

Rats can get Bumble foot too. Mostly from walking on sharp wood shavings, which is why I always lined my rats cage with newspaper.

My brother used to keep pigeons when he was young and occasionally a pigeon would hatch out of it's egg with a club foot.

The frost can also cause deformities  in feral pigeons from the sitting on the edges of freezing rooftops.
I feel very sad for wild animals when they have something wrong with them as they don't have vets to help get them better or put them out of their misery, and they just have to wait until nature takes it course one way or the other.