Bumblefoot issues

[brewer12345]

My coturnix are in kind of typical pens with a wire bottom and a slide out poop collection board. I put in several small cardboard boxes with straw to give them spots to hunker down in the cold weather and hide out from each other as necessary. I have had reasonable success with them over the past year, but it seems like I have persistent problems with bumblefoot. This is happening in two different pens, so it isn't something to do with one specific spot nicking feet. Is the problem just the wire? Anything else I could be doing wrong? I keep birds 9 to 12 months and cull before egg production declines too precipitously, and they seem to be likely to have bumblefoot by 6 to 8 months of age. We will be trying to keep a few birds for a 4H project for my daughter this year and I would really like to avoid problem with them.

 

[AmazingRachel]

Maybe scub down the top of the wire floors more often. From I've read, wire floors don't necessarily cause bumble foot but it's more often with dirty ones.

 

[JaeG]

Dried poop can be very sharp so keeping wire bottomed cages scrupulously clean is a must.