Bumble foot & bugs (Lice?)

[Blazel]

Long story short, we rescued two chickens, Harper & Blake, back in late 2019. When we got them they were malnourished, has bumble foot to the point they couldn't walk, had lice, had mites, beaks clipped too short, and pneumonia. We treated with ivermectin, metacam, antibiotics (clavamox? if i remember correctly?), and chlorahexidine soaks and shoes. We had our vet examine both of them and prescribe the above treatment. Harper now has permanent scarring on her airway from the pneumonia but otherwise they are recovered...or so I thought.

After they healed we introduced them to Reese, our lone chicken (other passed from egg laying issues via veterinary euthanasia). They have all been living happily without any obvious signs of distress or discomfort. We were checking their feet every couple of weeks. Today I noticed Blake had a bump on her foot where a rock had gotten stuck between her toes. We removed it (it looks blistered?) and decided to do a foot check on everyone. Harper and Blake were fine, but Reese had a big bump with a black scab in the center. Bumble foot. So we gave her metacam, soeaked it, drained it, put hibitane on and a vet wrap shoe with guaze. During the process we noticed bugs on Reese, lice, I think? So now we're waiting to vet her and I'm assuming all the girls have bugs and their coop is probably infected.

Heres where things get tricky, I work in animal welfare and am about to be away for a week for a conference. My partner will not be able to change Reese's shoes alone. So what do we do? Additionally do all the chickens need to come in the house until their coop is bug-free (which also how do we get rid of the bugs in the environment?). I'm debating just boarding all three of them at the vet while I'm gone and having my partner deep clean the coop while I'm gone. What would be the best plan of action to reduce discomfort/suffering and effectivley prevent future distress?

Also with the bumble foot, is the staph infection now in the environment?

 

[MGG]

@azygous @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

 

[azygous]

For the feet, you can give them a good soak and then put antibiotic ointment on them and bandage them with Vetrap. That should be okay until you get back and resume the foot care.

If you identify the bugs on the chickens as lice, there's no need to treat the coop as lice live on the chickens. If they are mites, they live in the coop and come out and feed on the chickens at night.

Both lice and mites will wait until you return, and your chickens won't be that much worse for it.

If your budget can handle it, Elector PSP is a one time treatment for chickens and coop. It's highly concentrated and actually saves money in the long run. I love the stuff. You can get it from Amazon. It also treats scaly leg mites in one clean treatment if your chickens ever get that nasty parasite.

 

[proudchickenmom]

my chickens have a bumblefoot problem too. if it is a serious case and the chicken has had it for a while, soaking it and putting antibiotics on it might not bee enough. an at home surgery will fix them up pretty good. to do the operation you simply soak the foot in Epsom salt dissolved in warm (not hot) water, clean the foot/wound, until the scab is soft enough to pull off. once the scab is removed squeeze out as much puss and infection as you can. the infection itself is a cheesy yellow core. if you cant get the core (also known as the bumble) out of the foot using tweezers, you may have to cut out or scrape out the core. I know this sounds painful, but chickens can be real troopers when they want to. once you get the core out, pack antibacterial cream into the wound, place a cotton ball over the cut, and wrap with VetWrap or clean fabric strips around the food. do not wrap too tight! put the chicken in a warm habitat with food and clean water. change the bandages and add more cream every 2-4 days or so. you may have to repeat this procedure to fully annihilate the staph infection. staph bacteria is everywhere so you wont have to deep clean anything. the bugs however are a different story. if they are lice all you have to do is powder the coop in DE (diatomaceous earth). mites are different but i forget how... DE is edible and can be powdered onto chickens. it has one downside, it can be harmful if breathed in in large amounts, so a little wont do any harm. just wear a dust mask when powdering and have a well ventilated coop. as for you taking them to be boarding them at the vet, i think that is unnecessary. one week is probably not going to change anything and i am sure the chickens will be fine. as i said, chickens can be troopers and can handle just about anything.