Bumblefoot treatment

[Bickstead]

The bottom of the trim board that runs across the front is 18" off the floor. I wanted it to be high enough that they weren't afraid of going underneath, for the sake of more space. There is a sheet of plywood on top of that and then a sheet of vinyl wall panel (all removable for annual cleaning). So the floor/poop board surface ended up 22" from the floor. The roosts themselves (top surface) are 6", 18" and 28" from the poop board. The vinyl paneling came from lowes and makes it much easier for daily scraping and wipe down. There is a larger space between the bottom roost and the middle one so that no one gets 'trapped' behind them, it's easy escape. With the steps there, it is much smaller than an 18" drop for them, and while some will jump the 22", most use the steps. There is also room enough in front of the bottom roost, on the poop board, for them to stand.

Awesome, thank you! I have linoleum flooring on my shelf and the floor of the coop. I put sand on the shelf at many people's recommendation and I HATE IT. Lol. Slowly removing it. Easier to just scrape the shelf.

 

[coach723]

I agree on the sand, I tried it also. Mostly to try to stop egg losses from the random bird that would lay one while roosting and having it break on the poop board. But with the humidity here it just was a disaster. I couldn't sift it as it was clumpy, and it raised the humidity even more inside the coop. It was way more work than just scraping. So I also gradually got rid of it. I will just deal with the occasional broken egg (usually new layers who haven't figured it out yet). Thank you for comment on my mural. I just HAD to put something on that big blank wall! Pic's below when construction was almost complete and no one had pooped all over yet!

 

[Bickstead]

I agree on the sand, I tried it also. Mostly to try to stop egg losses from the random bird that would lay one while roosting and having it break on the poop board. But with the humidity here it just was a disaster. I couldn't sift it as it was clumpy, and it raised the humidity even more inside the coop. It was way more work than just scraping. So I also gradually got rid of it. I will just deal with the occasional broken egg (usually new layers who haven't figured it out yet). Thank you for comment on my mural. I just HAD to put something on that big blank wall! Pic's below when construction was almost complete and no one had pooped all over yet!
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Oh my goodness! I LOVE THAT. Its so satisfying when its all new and clean and you have your head in the clouds of how glorious your flock is going to be... and then theres days that feel like the after photos... just covered in sh!t lol, but we love them regardless.

 

[Bickstead]

This is how we cut the nail. She was restrained. My husband is very experienced and knowledgeable with this and other tools. Please keep in mind, we love our chickens and would never do anything that would intentionally harm them. We do not have any vets in the area that see chickens. This girl is happy and doing well. This is our second and final attempt to cut the nail shorter to make her more comfortable. It took about 3 min total with breaks in between to make sure she wasnt stressed. She did great and is doing wonderful. If this makes you mad or uncomfortable, I don't know what to tell you. I couldn't see culling a perfectly good girl without giving her every chance. Was it scary? For me, yes lol. My husband was very confident though and I trust him. So I set my worries aside and did what needed to be done to help our girl.

 

[Bickstead]

It wouldn't let me attach a video for some reason. If you'd like to see it, maybe I can send it another way

 

[coach723]

I'm sure it will be better however short you can get it. Sometimes we have to do the best we can since there are an awful lot of us that don't have access to a vet that either will see, or knows anything about, chickens. I think it's wonderful of you to try to help her.
Fingers crossed she continues to do well.

 

[Bickstead]

I'm sure it will be better however short you can get it. Sometimes we have to do the best we can since there are an awful lot of us that don't have access to a vet that either will see, or knows anything about, chickens. I think it's wonderful of you to try to help her.
Fingers crossed she continues to do well.

Thank you so much!! You never know how some people will respond when we're just trying to do the best we can

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This is how we cut the nail. She was restrained. My husband is very experienced and knowledgeable with this and other tools. Please keep in mind, we love our chickens and would never do anything that would intentionally harm them. We do not have any vets in the area that see chickens. This girl is happy and doing well. This is our second and final attempt to cut the nail shorter to make her more comfortable. It took about 3 min total with breaks in between to make sure she wasnt stressed. She did great and is doing wonderful. If this makes you mad or uncomfortable, I don't know what to tell you. I couldn't see culling a perfectly good girl without giving her every chance. Was it scary? For me, yes lol. My husband was very confident though and I trust him. So I set my worries aside and did what needed to be done to help our girl.

Nice job!

I bet that will be more comfortable and it sounds like she's doing really well.

Thank you for the photo.

 

[Bickstead]

Nice job!

I bet that will be more comfortable and it sounds like she's doing really well.

Thank you for the photo.

She is walking much better now and actually laying down at night on the roost. She wouldnt lay down before. I felt awful for her. She would literally stand all night. I wish I could pist the video. I was going to post it to my you tube, but im worried they would flag it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is walking much better now and actually laying down at night on the roost. She wouldnt lay down before. I felt awful for her. She would literally stand all night. I wish I could pist the video. I was going to post it to my you tube, but im worried they would flag it.

I'm glad she's able to lay down now, that must be a relief to you both!

Yes, YT can be a bit funny at times.

For video upload on BYC, upload to the Gallery, then tell us it's loaded. We should be able to find it in the Gallery under your profile.

Here's how.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-upload-videos-to-the-gallery.1631126/