A flock with bumblefoot: Journey back to health

[seminolewind]

Those pictures are great! Nice healing! Goldie's feet look awesome.

If Goldie is shivering (scared?) . Will she take treats during her dressing changes? Is she eating? Nobody I've done yet has refused bread when I work on their foot.

I don't know if this works but probably does, to cover their face during the procedure. It's supposed to keep them calm. Some handle pain better than others. My roo actually plays dead or starts gasping. Talking to him helps him calm down. And the dressing changes help because they have been caught there's no pain involved.

With my bottom-of-the-totem pole hens, I usually just make sure that they get a lot of treats at treat time. I had one time that a group of chickens were ganging up on one of my Polish, and she went to live in with my silkies.

As long as she's not acting sick.

 

[iwiw60]

Wow! Their feet are SO much improved!!! Magnapaste, eh? I'll have to add that to my first-aid kit for the girls for sure! Did you get it at the feed store????

 

[deacons]

A hopeful sign they're not too stressed out by this whole experience: all 8 laid yesterday!



Day 8
Not much to do to the girls today with the mass bandage change yesterday. I sprayed vetricyn on the unbanaged feet this morning. I am happy to report that Goldie was much more normal this morning. She didn't do the strange laying down thing, she just headed out with everyone else for morning free ranging. She's not picking at her feet or holding them up as much- I really wonder if I just put the bandages on too tightly or wrapped them in an uncomfortable way last time? I hope she's truly back to normal. Thanks to the folks who shared suggestions about making bandage changes less stressful for her- she LOVES dried mealworms, and I can definitely use those and rethink how I'm going about the whole process with her.

 

[deacons]

Wow! Their feet are SO much improved!!! Magnapaste, eh? I'll have to add that to my first-aid kit for the girls for sure! Did you get it at the feed store????

Yep, the Magnapaste was great for drawing open the sores on Robin's feet, which had been really stubborn up until that.

My tack shop didn't have the Magnapaste brand, but they had this Epsom Salt poultice gel, which as far as I could tell was the same ingredient list and same idea:
http://www.durvet.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=77:epsom-salt-poultice

It was about $10. According to the label, it has a lot of uses. And I will say, it was far easier to use than getting an epsom salt soak ready and forcing the chicken to stand in it for 15-20 minutes.

 

[iwiw60]

Thanks for that link...all tucked away on my Pinterest Board!

 

[welasharon]

I asked at my feed site about magnapaste. She prefers to make her own without the menthol. She said the menthol can burn their legs. Maybe that's why they are red. She just naked her own with epsoms and water

 

[deacons]

I asked at my feed site about magnapaste. She prefers to make her own without the menthol. She said the menthol can burn their legs. Maybe that's why they are red. She just naked her own with epsoms and water

Thanks, I wondered about that. Did your feed lady share the "recipe" for making hers with the salts and water?

The person I talked to at the tack shop thought it should be safe to leave on the skin, but her reference point was horses.

The magnapaste was only put on the bottom of their feet though, not up their legs where the redness is, so my thought it still that it's irritation from constant bandaging. I don't think I'll need the magnapaste again, unless something changes, but it's definitely something good to keep in mind for the future.

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Magnapaste -there are several different brands. I get mine at the horse tack store.

I would think that it was the bandaging that caused the redness. I've never had any get on their legs. Usually I put a glob on a few layers of gauze , put it on the bottom of their foot and wrap. I usually use the "silk" tape they make for using on people.

I think that next time I bandage, I'm going to try leaving little tabs folded at the ends of the tape so I can get it off easier.

 

[welasharon]

Ah. Maybe it was the tape:? I use vet wrap and haven't seen any redness on mine and they keep the bandages for upward of two weeks.

She said she just took Epsom salts and added water to make a paste.

 

[seminolewind]

I think vet wrap is better, but end up using tape, LOL.