Dixie Chicks

[Outpost JWB]

I would soak the foot and scrub it clean, then look again.

Maybe a tiny string is wrapped around the joint, or maybe it is bumble foot.

Bumble foot will have a scab somewhere. There has to be some spot where the foot was wounded and infection entered.

The scab once soaked might gently peal off, hopefully still connected to any nasty infection kernal that might be there. Then flush the wound. Supposedly you are then supposed to use antibiotic and pack and dress the wound.

The two times I had bumble, I just cleaned them out and popped the chicken back down in the same dirty chicken coop. Both times (different chickens each time), it didn't come back.

Thanks! I tried to give you an ovation....but my iPad is not cooperating. I'll try later

1kluckychik, we have Russian olive bushes all over our property. (Very invasive), anyway, being me.....I tried one of the "olives" once I found out what it was. Still not sure if it's poisionous, but I won't be eating anymore.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Olives have to be cured because they are packed with a bitter oleuropein.... this has to be leached out in the curing process. We had a single olive tree in our front yard. when we stripped it of olives we filled an eighty gallon plastic trash barrel bought and cleanded just for the purpose of curing olives.

Dad used the lye method... But there are several other ways to do them....

As to them being poisonous... Not. jsut a self defense mechanism. I knew a mare named Buckey who would scarf up all the ripe olives laying under what was left of an olive orchard. she would mull them around in her mouth till she had purple foam on her lips then one by one the seeds would fall out and onto the ground. Goofy horse. Never got sick.... But she stayed butter fat no matter what kind of diet we put her on.

If you have lots of them it might be interesting to give olive oil making a try. Olive trees grow quite well here. I have seen classes on it on Meetup.

deb

 

[Mahen100]

@JWB, I have one Easter Egger that has had repeat problems with bumble foot. I have wondered if the EE"s I have are not susceptible to it as they are the only ones affected. Alaskan has been lucky if he can put the treated chick back on dirt without further treatment. Not so here.

The key components to treatment are soaking the affected foot in warm water (Epson salts even better). I clean with my fingers feeling around the foot finding what is tender and what is not...and then I actually pick at the scab on the pad (it could be inbetween toes...I didn't see the scab on your pic. After a 15 minute soak, it should pic off fairly easily. (some people say not to do that, to cut around it to preserve getting the core out. It depends how long it has been infected, how much matter and puss is there to clear, and if the kernel will come out whole.

I think the very best treatment after the above is to spray VETRICIN into the whole, and put a gauze pad and then wrap the injured claws between toes with horse leg wrap....or human stretchy wrap bandage...the idea is to protect the hole on the sole of the foot with padding and make a barrier to dirt.

I have seen an excellent "operation" for bumble foot if you google there is a do it yourself video by a feather chick. I even saw a primitive clip from South America in which a man treated his roosters with soaks, a salve made of soap, and binding the foot with strips of old sheet padding the sole and tied around the leg. Care taken not to inhibit circulation. He left the bandage on for a month.

I have borrowed a disposable 4mm biopsy tool from my dermatologist. (It is a round razor sharp blade that makes a little clean "hole" the size of the tool when it is rotated back and forth. I've never had to use it. But it is how it is done by a vet.

The earlier you catch it and treat it the easier. If the kernel doesn't come out, it will probably come back. Chickens are amazingly cooperative when you soak them and work on their foot. Relieving the pressure makes the pain so much more bearable for them. Vetricin is NOT cheap, but it is the best tool in my first aid kit. Good for so many little things..wounds, skin problems of all kinds. Safe, nontoxic, kills germs, works on bumblefoot after soakings. You may soak a few days in a row, or if you get the kernel out the first day, and clean and bandage foot and just leave the bandage to get nasty. Watch the chicken put weight on the bandaged foot.

 

[Beer can]

Outpost, I've never delt with bumblefoot, I would take Mahen and Alaskan's advice, does look like pictures I've seen.
You could also check out this stuff from TSC, Lambert Kay EMT gel, works amazing wonders on wounds. Could be put in the hole you'll make in your birds foot. I used it on a really bad wound on my dog and it healed unbelievably well (all hound hunters refer to it as a first aid kit in a tube). Fit for man and beast, birds and reptiles.

"Lambert Kay EMT Gel contains the active ingredient Type 1 Hydrolysate of Collagen which provides a matrix for new cell growth.
Seals and protects wounds
Promotes rapid healing
Relieves pain & itching
Reduces scarring
Non-toxic and non-sensitizing."

 

[ChicKat]

@JWB, I have one Easter Egger that has had repeat problems with bumble foot. I have wondered if the EE"s I have are not susceptible to it as they are the only ones affected. Alaskan has been lucky if he can put the treated chick back on dirt without further treatment. Not so here.

The key components to treatment are soaking the affected foot in warm water (Epson salts even better). I clean with my fingers feeling around the foot finding what is tender and what is not...and then I actually pick at the scab on the pad (it could be inbetween toes...I didn't see the scab on your pic. After a 15 minute soak, it should pic off fairly easily. (some people say not to do that, to cut around it to preserve getting the core out. It depends how long it has been infected, how much matter and puss is there to clear, and if the kernel will come out whole.

I think the very best treatment after the above is to spray VETRICIN into the whole, and put a gauze pad and then wrap the injured claws between toes with horse leg wrap....or human stretchy wrap bandage...the idea is to protect the hole on the sole of the foot with padding and make a barrier to dirt.

I have seen an excellent "operation" for bumble foot if you google there is a do it yourself video by a feather chick. I even saw a primitive clip from South America in which a man treated his roosters with soaks, a salve made of soap, and binding the foot with strips of old sheet padding the sole and tied around the leg. Care taken not to inhibit circulation. He left the bandage on for a month.

I have borrowed a disposable 4mm biopsy tool from my dermatologist. (It is a round razor sharp blade that makes a little clean "hole" the size of the tool when it is rotated back and forth. I've never had to use it. But it is how it is done by a vet.

The earlier you catch it and treat it the easier. If the kernel doesn't come out, it will probably come back. Chickens are amazingly cooperative when you soak them and work on their foot. Relieving the pressure makes the pain so much more bearable for them. Vetricin is NOT cheap, but it is the best tool in my first aid kit. Good for so many little things..wounds, skin problems of all kinds. Safe, nontoxic, kills germs, works on bumblefoot after soakings. You may soak a few days in a row, or if you get the kernel out the first day, and clean and bandage foot and just leave the bandage to get nasty. Watch the chicken put weight on the bandaged foot.

Good approach to bumblefoot. I soaked in Tricide neo -( it is for fish )-- used soak only and no surgery -- and Vetericyn gel applied after drying the foot -- this has been in 2013 - no return of bumble foot. , My chickens were at someone else's place when they contracted it -- and I think their coops were wetter and perhaps had more contaminants than mine do -- But it hasn't come back and no cutting was involved.

That stuff is very expensive too -- but I had a lot of value in this pair and didn't want either to die from the effects so it was well worth it. The directions tell you to mix a gallon and soak -- divide the powder and only mix enough for the soak for that day. Fraction of a gallon -- like a pint. I think it requires soaking at least 5-days in a row.

 

[Mahen100]

@chicKat: Thanks for the info on Tricide neo (your fish med!). I'm learning from other's approaches....helps us all to understand what the problem is and approaches to address it. I've heard Bumblefoot compared to a bad pimple from staff germ but with a hardened core. Basically, the treatment is to soften and wash the area, release the pressure from puss, kill the germs causing the infection, and protect the area until healing occurs.

@Beer Can. I will keep Lambert Kay EMT Gel on my list get when supplying my emergency kit. You made it sound good enough to eat.

 

[Amberjem]

I've looked up info on bumblefoot but havent delt with it the way I have delt with it is to make sure my perchs arent to high for foot injury when they leap down.. I know I sure dont wanna have a chicken with it..the process of cleaning the wound out and on a chicken seems a pain. so far we been good without having an issue! hope it's not that and you solve the issue with lil fuss pls keep us updated

 

[Amberjem]

thought I'd share a lil green

 

[Outpost JWB]

Is this a blueberry tree? I just found it

Here is an upclose pic of my blueberry bush. Because we just got into warm weather, the berries are all green.

To me, the leaves look the same....I've had these blueberry bushes bear fruit for 3 years now. They are low to the ground & not protected. Therefore, the berries get ate by my chickens, deer, or coons.

 

[Amberjem]

Here is an upclose pic of my blueberry bush. Because we just got into warm weather, the berries are all green.



To me, the leaves look the same....I've had these blueberry bushes bear fruit for 3 years now. They are low to the ground & not protected. Therefore, the berries get ate by my chickens, deer, or coons.

I have low and high bush blueberrys also