Advice for Bumblefoot Treatment

[CrystalAnon]

Thank you for your response! I used pine shavings for their bedding. There are sometimes pieces of wire around their free-ranging area but whenever I see them I throw them away. It is really hot here so I started putting a mister for them and the ground in their run does get pretty wet and grimy. I read that being in wet mud or dirt for a prolonged time is a cause for bumblefoot so could this be the case? Unfortunately I do not have any PRID and about 4 of the hens have very small scabs. I can't buy any right now, so should I do what I was going to do? Thanks!

This is the exact issue I’m dealing with right now. 4 hens with Bumblefoot (half our hens)…one is the worst case. Trying to figure out what’s going on because it seems to be a systemic problem.
Soaked the four hens in Epsom salt day before yesterday. The first case I discovered in our small gal was in our cage for 4 nights (out during the day) & she’s doing really well without any surgery. She was limping, which is why I noticed there was an issue. Just treated with Antiseptic gel, after an Epsom salt bath & let it soak in a bit then wrapped every morning with some fresh antiseptic gel.
I’m thinking it was from the rainy season here too. I have a mister, but it did not get the whole run wet. Just a slight misting on the ground on one spot.
Things we’re doing to try & address the issue…
-A major cleaning of everything they walk on!
-We completely changed out all the hemp bedding (was horse hemp for less dust) in the coop, for a finer/softer hemp bedding (chicken hemp bedding), for softer landings from the roosts.
-We’re replacing the roosts with newly soft-sanded & sealed wood. (Neither of us could remember, but the wood could have been treated wood. Chemical issues maybe? Doh! )
-Added a bunch of alfalfa to the run, so they aren’t just walking on wet, poopy, dusty, hard, sandy dirt all day until they get out to forage in the evening. Plus I can change it out pretty easy for fresh stuff.
-I’m also going to be a tad more strict with the amount of food I give them, in case there is some extra weight on some of them causing an issue. The first gal I was treating is a very petite hen. She also bounced back & was healing up quite quickly. A couple of the others are a bit more stout, and I think it’s mostly just genetics, but possibly a little more weight on them than should be. They are my little puffy piggies, with shorter legs than the other breed.
-We have a lot of spiky things in the woods they forage in, here in Florida. One notably is a giant sweet gum tree. I’ve heard the gum balls can be an issue with piercing the feet of chickens. I can’t do a lot for that. We’re def not going to cut it down (the shade it provides is invaluable), raking the gum balls up everyday is not very feasible with how many fall on the lawn. Mowing helps, and that happens about once a week in the wet season. We regularly cut out all the spiky vines that pop up everywhere, in the woods.

Any other suggestions? Am I missing anything?
Thank you to anyone who can take the time to respond!

 

[CrystalAnon]

Thank you for your response! I used pine shavings for their bedding. There are sometimes pieces of wire around their free-ranging area but whenever I see them I throw them away. It is really hot here so I started putting a mister for them and the ground in their run does get pretty wet and grimy. I read that being in wet mud or dirt for a prolonged time is a cause for bumblefoot so could this be the case? Unfortunately I do not have any PRID and about 4 of the hens have very small scabs. I can't buy any right now, so should I do what I was going to do? Thanks!

I put the mister outside the run, pointing in towards them. Seemed to put a fair amount of moisture on the run fencing and fall down to the ground. But it kept the chickens cool (they love it!) and run ground just misted & not crazy wet. The downpours is what made the run ground really wet. We have a lot of sand, so puddles soak in relatively quickly, but with the poop… still not a great situation for wet/soft feet that might have been pierced at some point.

 

[Saaniya]

Hey Y'all! I know a lot about treating bumblefoot but I wanted some extra advice that I did not find. How should I sterilize the X-acto knife that I will be using to remove the scab and corn? And does it cause pain to the chicken? Thank you!

i treat it successfully with ayurvedic treatment i face the worst case of bumblefoot i use many many things end up applying ayurvedic lip balm and it cures like a miracle

 

[The Chick Addict]

Good news!! Both Emerald and Waffles scabs have fully healed and are doing well. I have one more surgery for my last girl who has it, so I am hoping this one will go well. She has a smaller foot so I'm a bit nervous, but I'm sure she'll be fine. Thank you to everyone who helped me so much!!!

 

[CrystalAnon]

Good news!! Both Emerald and Waffles scabs have fully healed and are doing well. I have one more surgery for my last girl who has it, so I am hoping this one will go well. She has a smaller foot so I'm a bit nervous, but I'm sure she'll be fine. Thank you to everyone who helped me so much!!!

Awesome! Glad your gals are doing so well.
I’ve been trying to deal with it without surgeries. It takes more time, but so far I’ve had it work well for three out of four gals. I won’t even pull a splinter out of myself if it’s not clearly easy to pull out. I let my body push it out naturally, even though it takes longer.
I have one gal who still has puffy, hot feet. Not limping, but not enough healing to my liking. Def better than before the Epsom salt baths, treating with healing gel, feet wrapped for the day & not sleeping on the roost overnight. But not as healed as I would like at this point.
If her feet stay hot & puffy, I’ll do the surgery way. I’m just really hopeful to avoid it.