Bumblefoot

[TXchickmum]

We have ten hens, six of which have bumblefoot. They are three years old and have been very healthy....thus far. One of our big Buff Orpington gals was walking with a limp yesterday, so immediately we thought she had a hurt leg from jumping down from the nest boxes. -picked her up, checked the leg, then noticed a round black scab on the bottom of one of her feet. We then decided to check the other chickens, and sure enough more had the same round black scab things on the very bottom of the feet. We would have NEVER noticed this as the feet are clean and aren't swollen (and it isn't at all noticeable from the top). -researched and read how to treat and soaked in Epson salt, did "surgery", applied triple antibiotic ointment, and wrapped three of them. -kept them indoors on clean towels for the remainder of the day, and returned them to the coop last night. Is there ANY other treatment to cure this???? Our coop is scrubbed and cleaned every day. (immaculate, IMO) The run is scooped and inspected three to four times per day. We are stumped as to where/how/why they are contracting this. Their nest boxes and roosts are 36 inches off of the ground, and I do have heavy breeds. My bantams fly into the rafters to roost, also. Is this this the culprit responsible for the foot trauma????? All suggestions and opinions are welcome.......we need some help, here.

 

[SavageDestiny]

Bumblefoot is caused by a scratch, scrape or puncture on the foot getting bacteria in it. It's impossible to eliminate bacteria in a chicken coop and run. You might try lowering your roosts, your heavy birds might be having issues jumping down so far and landing on something sharp, or just scratching the feet from hard landings.

 

[TXchickmum]

Thanks for the reply. We are going to rework the nest boxes and roosts. Today, I took care of the rafter-roosting issue. No more birds shall be flying into those rafters!! Also, I had scooped and swept all of the plush shavings out in March. It gets so hot here, that I thought it would be better not to have such dense bedding on the floor. (and, I figured that I could sweep the painted wood flooring daily and keep it clean and less dusty during the summer. Plush wood shavings went back in there today for cushion!) There is a ladder that leads to the nest boxes from the floor, however, not all use it. Since the big gals could fly up and down easily, I had no idea that their feet could be suffering.