I'm at my wits end here. I know its not exactly chicken related, but we have some "horsey" members and I'm despirate. We built our horse corrall last year, 3 rail wood plank and post construction, new materials. Horses (3 of our own) lived there all summer last year. In the fall our horses went to their wintering grounds, and we had 4 horses in for training. Not a single accident all summer.
This year I bought a yearling in the spring. He was home about a month when his leg swelled up to the size of an elephant. He went three-legged lame in short order. He had two tiney puncture wounds about a centimiter deep on his forearm. One on the front/inside, one on the outside. The vet cut him open to drain it, found no foreign objects. In the process of opening him up, she cut right through to the other wound, but they were not orriginally connected. He was on antibiotics and bute fore a week, with a drain right through wound 'canal'. It probably wouldnt have gotten quite that bad if we had noticed it earlier, but the wounds were so small we missed them. $400 vet bill and a thourough search of the pen. Nothing there.
About a month latter, oh crap. His OTHER leg has a little puncture that looks almost identical, same area of forearm, except its only one puncture wound this time. Caught it early, cold hosed, Bute (keep swelling down) and saline rinces. He was okay on that one, didnt swell up that bad.
Three weeks ago, just after we had them trimmed, my husbands horse was sore. Beleiving she was just a bit ouchey after a too short trim, we decided to just keep an eye on her. A day or two latter her leg does EXACTLY the same thing as the yearlings. Swells up like an elephant, and I find two little itty bitty puncture wounds! Same spot on the left forearm, two wounds, not particularily deep. Another trip to the vet. No foriegn bodies in the wounds. She has just finally healed up from that, a bit of a scab left.
This morning I go out to do chores (and by now both of us are paranoid, watching for anything, picking peices of hay off because their -might- be a puncture wound under there) and I see Rango (the yearling) has a tiney puncture wound on his forearm. OMG. Not again! This one is a little deeper (2 cm?), and is already swelling. Hes on antibiotics, Bute, saline rincing and all that jazz, dont know yet if we caught it in time or if he needs to see the vet.
One last additional peice of information. Last summer we had no problems. This summer our horses have been run through the fence by -something- three times. Coyotes have been bad this year, but I've lost no chickens, cats or dogs. Our neighbour got a pup this spring and it roams around being a nuisence (and has grown quite large) but the horses show no fear of it when it comes into the yard.
Now, I have walked that fence so many times I've lost count. Our water trough is moulded plastic, nothing sharp there. There is a salt block in the pen and thats it. No junk or old wire. Our boards are nailed in place, but I've litterally (I have the slivers to prove it!) ran my hands over ever inch of that fence, inside and out. NOTHING. No big splinters sticking out, not event the NUB of a nailtip. Our feeders are old tractor tires. Same thing. Nothing sharp there.
So what is it???? Always on the front forearm of the animal, always on the two lowest in the peck order. Havent changed a thing in that pen since we built it other than replace the boards they broke going through it. (Nope, nothing pokey sticking out there either.) We thought it might by the neighbours dog biting them, but its only ever a single puncture wound in one spot (one inside, one outside) and never ripped open like it jumped up and tugged when it got a mouthfull. Sounds like a nail to me, but I litterally know ever rough spot, knot and nail in that fence. No nails sticking out. Ideas?? And why have they got infected 3 out of 4 times? We feel so frustraited and helpless!
My husbands mare. You can see how swollen her knee is here (mostly edema, not infection), and it moved down her leg from there as it progressed.
Tiney wounds. This is what they start as.
Rango as I found him today. Hes a bit more swollen now, but I have it bandaged to hopefully keep some of the swelling away.
The long streak of red is just draining crud, its not actually a cut.
This year I bought a yearling in the spring. He was home about a month when his leg swelled up to the size of an elephant. He went three-legged lame in short order. He had two tiney puncture wounds about a centimiter deep on his forearm. One on the front/inside, one on the outside. The vet cut him open to drain it, found no foreign objects. In the process of opening him up, she cut right through to the other wound, but they were not orriginally connected. He was on antibiotics and bute fore a week, with a drain right through wound 'canal'. It probably wouldnt have gotten quite that bad if we had noticed it earlier, but the wounds were so small we missed them. $400 vet bill and a thourough search of the pen. Nothing there.
About a month latter, oh crap. His OTHER leg has a little puncture that looks almost identical, same area of forearm, except its only one puncture wound this time. Caught it early, cold hosed, Bute (keep swelling down) and saline rinces. He was okay on that one, didnt swell up that bad.
Three weeks ago, just after we had them trimmed, my husbands horse was sore. Beleiving she was just a bit ouchey after a too short trim, we decided to just keep an eye on her. A day or two latter her leg does EXACTLY the same thing as the yearlings. Swells up like an elephant, and I find two little itty bitty puncture wounds! Same spot on the left forearm, two wounds, not particularily deep. Another trip to the vet. No foriegn bodies in the wounds. She has just finally healed up from that, a bit of a scab left.
This morning I go out to do chores (and by now both of us are paranoid, watching for anything, picking peices of hay off because their -might- be a puncture wound under there) and I see Rango (the yearling) has a tiney puncture wound on his forearm. OMG. Not again! This one is a little deeper (2 cm?), and is already swelling. Hes on antibiotics, Bute, saline rincing and all that jazz, dont know yet if we caught it in time or if he needs to see the vet.
One last additional peice of information. Last summer we had no problems. This summer our horses have been run through the fence by -something- three times. Coyotes have been bad this year, but I've lost no chickens, cats or dogs. Our neighbour got a pup this spring and it roams around being a nuisence (and has grown quite large) but the horses show no fear of it when it comes into the yard.
Now, I have walked that fence so many times I've lost count. Our water trough is moulded plastic, nothing sharp there. There is a salt block in the pen and thats it. No junk or old wire. Our boards are nailed in place, but I've litterally (I have the slivers to prove it!) ran my hands over ever inch of that fence, inside and out. NOTHING. No big splinters sticking out, not event the NUB of a nailtip. Our feeders are old tractor tires. Same thing. Nothing sharp there.
So what is it???? Always on the front forearm of the animal, always on the two lowest in the peck order. Havent changed a thing in that pen since we built it other than replace the boards they broke going through it. (Nope, nothing pokey sticking out there either.) We thought it might by the neighbours dog biting them, but its only ever a single puncture wound in one spot (one inside, one outside) and never ripped open like it jumped up and tugged when it got a mouthfull. Sounds like a nail to me, but I litterally know ever rough spot, knot and nail in that fence. No nails sticking out. Ideas?? And why have they got infected 3 out of 4 times? We feel so frustraited and helpless!
My husbands mare. You can see how swollen her knee is here (mostly edema, not infection), and it moved down her leg from there as it progressed.
Tiney wounds. This is what they start as.
Rango as I found him today. Hes a bit more swollen now, but I have it bandaged to hopefully keep some of the swelling away.
The long streak of red is just draining crud, its not actually a cut.
I sure hope it works out for you and your horses. 
You'd think we'd have found a pellet in the wounds though... *sigh* Thanks for the ideas, I will keep an eye on those trees!
Next time (oh I hope theres no next time!!!) If I catch it early I might try some less traditional medications, see how they do. Thanks for the support, its wonderfull to have a "Featherless Flock" to lean on 
