DawnKD
Chirping
Hoping for a little advice/insight .....
I have a Welsummer who's always had wonky feet but I noticed she might be hobbling a little more than usual (she hurt her leg while young so she's always had a 'hitch') so I checked her feet. One spot on the bottom of each foot looked off. I didn't want to upset her, so I didn't mess with her much.
SO I check all the other girls too .... my Easter Egg has it on both feet (I was able to dislodge one small scab with just my thumb nail and then googled the gross thing I took off and thats how I discovered maybe bumble foot) and my Buff Orpington has a small scab on one foot. NONE of them are swollen or red but that might be bumble foot due to the telltale scab on the bottom?
These three amigos are my most intent scrapers in the run ..... if there's a morsel in the dirt, those three would scrape their way to China for it. And these three always forage and roost near each other. Truly, three amigos.
Background ... since I'm trying to eliminate causes:
- roosts are 12" and 24" off the ground that requires the bird to go from shorter roost before reaching taller beam, flat 2x4s with the wide side up and sanded on all edges
- coop floor is Koop Klean and deep litter method w/ almost no poop on the coop floor (I fluff and pick any up every day)
- roosts have dropping boards that are scraped daily and scrubbed monthly
- run is 10' x 10' dirt-based that I rake weekly; loose in some areas and compacted in others
- run is generally dry (we did have a leak about a month back, but we caught it immediately and sealed it off)
- diet is Scratch & Peek Layer, grasses/weeds I pull from the yard and roughly cup of kitchen scraps daily, almost solely consisting of protein, fruits and veg
- 'treats' (not daily) are watermelon, kale, safflower & flax, black sunflower seeds, 3-grain scratch
- I scrubbed the roosts down with white vinegar since these 3 are always the ones jockeying for the same spot by the window
- I cleaned out all the nesting boxes
About a month ago, I moved their cup of oyster shells near the door to their run; they dislodged it and it dumped out completely - I tried to clean most of it up, but I'm wondering if continually walking thru it / scraping at it could have caused cuts and then infections? I also read it could be a Vitamin A deficiency? I understand that staphalococcus bacteria is soil borne, so typically prevalent in and around chicken coops but still YUCK; any thing a normal person can do to eliminate it?
Has anyone dealt with this? I'd love some tips! Sorry I couldn't take a photo - I'm not skilled enough to hold a chicken and take a picture!
I have a Welsummer who's always had wonky feet but I noticed she might be hobbling a little more than usual (she hurt her leg while young so she's always had a 'hitch') so I checked her feet. One spot on the bottom of each foot looked off. I didn't want to upset her, so I didn't mess with her much.
SO I check all the other girls too .... my Easter Egg has it on both feet (I was able to dislodge one small scab with just my thumb nail and then googled the gross thing I took off and thats how I discovered maybe bumble foot) and my Buff Orpington has a small scab on one foot. NONE of them are swollen or red but that might be bumble foot due to the telltale scab on the bottom?
These three amigos are my most intent scrapers in the run ..... if there's a morsel in the dirt, those three would scrape their way to China for it. And these three always forage and roost near each other. Truly, three amigos.
Background ... since I'm trying to eliminate causes:
- roosts are 12" and 24" off the ground that requires the bird to go from shorter roost before reaching taller beam, flat 2x4s with the wide side up and sanded on all edges
- coop floor is Koop Klean and deep litter method w/ almost no poop on the coop floor (I fluff and pick any up every day)
- roosts have dropping boards that are scraped daily and scrubbed monthly
- run is 10' x 10' dirt-based that I rake weekly; loose in some areas and compacted in others
- run is generally dry (we did have a leak about a month back, but we caught it immediately and sealed it off)
- diet is Scratch & Peek Layer, grasses/weeds I pull from the yard and roughly cup of kitchen scraps daily, almost solely consisting of protein, fruits and veg
- 'treats' (not daily) are watermelon, kale, safflower & flax, black sunflower seeds, 3-grain scratch
- I scrubbed the roosts down with white vinegar since these 3 are always the ones jockeying for the same spot by the window
- I cleaned out all the nesting boxes
About a month ago, I moved their cup of oyster shells near the door to their run; they dislodged it and it dumped out completely - I tried to clean most of it up, but I'm wondering if continually walking thru it / scraping at it could have caused cuts and then infections? I also read it could be a Vitamin A deficiency? I understand that staphalococcus bacteria is soil borne, so typically prevalent in and around chicken coops but still YUCK; any thing a normal person can do to eliminate it?
Has anyone dealt with this? I'd love some tips! Sorry I couldn't take a photo - I'm not skilled enough to hold a chicken and take a picture!
