Bumblefoot

[mboreham1]

Seen a couple of posts about bumblefoot recently, i know what it is, i now seem to know how to fix it! How do chickens get it, where does it come from and how would one prevent their chickens getting it?

 

[Breac]

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any one, sure-fire cause of Bumblefoot. In most cases, it simply appears without any previous notice. Some people think it's caused when a chicken gets a small cut on the pad of it's foot and the cut gets infected, but that hasn't been proven. There is no real way to fully prevent Bumblefoot. However, making sure there's nothing sharp in the coop that a chicken could cut it's foot on is a good start (and a smart idea anyway). There is a fair amount of debate about where Bumblefoot comes from and how to best prevent it. Some people claim one thing, and some people claim another. In the end, the best thing to do is to just keep the coop and run free from any debris and watch your chickens for any sign of Bumblefoot.

 

[mboreham1]

do you inspect their feet regularly? I have read that there are very few actual signs in the day to day activities of a chicken that give the infection away

 

[Kanga77510]

Quote:
Since my bumble foot spell this summer, I go through and check feet about once a week. The girls hate it, but I hate wrapping feet and treating illness. I have a special pair of gloves just for cleaning feet. I get out any old poop or debris stuck in the feet. Haven't had any relapses since, so it must be working.

 

[dawg53]

Bumblefoot is usually caused by a splinter that has penetrated their footpad and gets infected, much like getting a splinter in your finger and getting infected. Debris in the yard, pine cones, gumballs from sweetgum trees, wooden roosts that first need to be sanded to remove splinters and burrs etc...It's good to inspect their feet weekly. When you see a swollen footpad or toe, limping, redness...I always suspect bumblefoot first, then proceed to treat accordingly.

 

[classicsredone]

I've never dealt with foot problems in chickens, just with others like horses and goats. Keeping their runs and coops clean and free of anything sharp should go a long way towards prevention. It doesn't take but a couple minutes a week to visually scan the area for any nails coming loose, etc.

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Well said.