Faverolles Thread

[n8ivetxn]

Good point, I don't think they would both have it on both feet.... I say keep them dry (as much as possible) for a couple of days and see what develops. I'm not sure if I would bandage it, or just leave it open to dry out good, especially since it isn't bleeding or infected....???

It just doesn't sound like bumblefoot to me... At least there's no infection, that's good...

 

[hcammack]

They have scabs on their feet, no bleeding and no sign of infection. I hadn't noticed anything wrong until today, they aren't limping and had I not picked one of them up to and specifically looked at her feet, I wouldn't have seen anything amiss. I stood them in warm water with some iodine for almost 15 min, picked off the scabs and put some organic wound treatment on it, then bandaged it. We're organic over here and since I didn't see any sign of infection I haven't given anti-bios. It's been raining almost daily for about 2 weeks so it's pretty soggy and I will be keeping them inside for now anyway. They have hay and leaves for bedding, so I'm quite perplexed. I live in Maine, so it's not normally this wet. Seems really strange that they both have it on both feet and no one else has troubles.

Hmmm. Are the scabs on the upper sides of the feet or on the bottoms? What your describing almost sounds like some other birds are pulling the feathers out of the Faverolles feet and leaving open feather holes that form scabs. Is that a possible? If they are on the bottom of the feet bumble foot or something like it would be my guess.

 

[Leo1]

If they are jumping down off of roosts, heavier birds are more prone to problems with bumblefoot. Also, the hay could be your problem....if they are jumping down and getting hard hay ends poked in their feet...

So, maybe I'll nix the hay. One of them jumps down because her little legs are too short for the ladder, but the other is able to walk down. They are very small for Faverolles, they only weigh 4-5 lbs and are the smallest of my girls. If they were normal sized, I would have been less surprised. My Brahma, who's about twice their size, isn't having troubles. So, your theory may explain one of the girls, but what about the other? Maybe it's just a coincidence, big one , though, both feet on both girls. I'll have to do an inspection tomorrow and look for stray wire or some other culprit. It's really the strangest thing, I was thinking maybe Faverolle feet were more sensitive or something, but I guess not. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Leo1]

Good point, I don't think they would both have it on both feet.... I say keep them dry (as much as possible) for a couple of days and see what develops. I'm not sure if I would bandage it, or just leave it open to dry out good, especially since it isn't bleeding or infected....???

It just doesn't sound like bumblefoot to me... At least there's no infection, that's good...

I did cause a little bleeding when I picked off a scab...oops, so I figured a bandage would be a good idea. I don't want to cause an infection. I've never seen infection on a bird foot, but I assume it would be just as obvious as on a mammal. I had my doubts it was actually bumble foot, too, since it didn't seem infected, but I'm still learning. I seem to always get the weird problems. I was hoping it was a Faverolle thing and that would explain it, but I appreciate the advice, especially since it's off topic!

 

[n8ivetxn]

I did cause a little bleeding when I picked off a scab...oops, so I figured a bandage would be a good idea. I don't want to cause an infection. I've never seen infection on a bird foot, but I assume it would be just as obvious as on a mammal. I had my doubts it was actually bumble foot, too, since it didn't seem infected, but I'm still learning. I seem to always get the weird problems. I was hoping it was a Faverolle thing and that would explain it, but I appreciate the advice, especially since it's off topic!

Birds are full of "weird problems" .... I hope they get better, oh - instead of the hay, try using pine shavings (no sharp points and a nice, cushy landing!)

 

[mame1616]

Good point, I don't think they would both have it on both feet.... I say keep them dry (as much as possible) for a couple of days and see what develops. I'm not sure if I would bandage it, or just leave it open to dry out good, especially since it isn't bleeding or infected....???

It just doesn't sound like bumblefoot to me... At least there's no infection, that's good...

Since you picked off the scab, you have to cover that, or it's basically raw exposed flesh. When I had a similar problem, I slathered it with neosporin and wrapped the feet in thin strips of duct tape. The neosporin didn't do the job, but the duct tape did! Even the vet liked the idea. (Although admittedly it does work better on clean-legged birds)

 

[Snozzle]

Not sure if this would help in this case, but usually if I have an animal with an infection that is not open or obvious to the outside, I will put black salve on it. It will draw anything to the surface and you can see what is going on. If you can't find black salve just mix any base salve with charcoal powder and use it. Just an idea, I used it on my dog with an abscess, a quail with sore feet and myself when I had a nasty spider bite and it always works great, not sure if it would work in this case though. Can you post a pic of their feet?

 

[comerspoultry]

Fancy Fave are you showing at the show this weekend in Michigan?

 

[Snozzle]

Yay I just received my stickers in the mail, thank you!

 

[Outrun Acres]

Yes, many other breeders of show quality exhibition birds report that a separate male and female line are necessary to get the best birds. I raise several other breeds and I know many very serious breeders of one or two breeds will have two lines. I have a couple of issues with this breeding philosophy. First, it requires more room and essentially cuts in half the number of breeds you can work with if you maintain separate male and separate female lines for each. I like variety so this is hard for me to to do. The second issue is that from a sustainable agriculture aspect and a heritage breed aspect I don't like the fact that in order to raise a breed of chickens you have to have two lines to breed chickens that meet a standard. Shouldn't a breed of chicken be able to be bred In a 'normal' fashion?
I have the same issue with breeds that are now requiring the use of artificial insemination to get quality birds. Breeds of dogs, like English Bulldogs require artificial insemination and I think this is unnatural. I am very capable of AI ing birds and will when necessary for other reasons, but not to maintain a breed to meet the standard.
Ok, of this particular soapbox. Nothing wrong with having sex separate lines, just not a method I want to use, I will give it a shot with one line and heavy selection.

I just noticed that your location says you are in Northwest Arkansas. I live in this area as well and have been trying to find a breeder to get some Large Fowl Salmon Faverolles from. If you don't breed to sell, do you know of anyone that does in our area? I had a faverolle that I really enjoyed and she dropped dead a few weeks ago. I found her dead on the floor of our coup with no visible signs of trauma. All of our other chickens were/are fine. We purchased her from hatchery stock. I definitely won't be doing that again. Any help, information, or advice would be appreciated!