HELP.. NEIGHBORS CHICKENS

[WalnutTree]

Im a small backyard flock owner of 7 happy birds of various breeds. I am still a student, and im known for being a chicken lady. I get a call from another student whos mom recently got more chickens from one of their friends to add to their flock... which they added to their flock WITHOUT Corintining OR doing a health check. I already suspected bad things but nothing could've prepared me for what i was about to see.
 I was requested to come check out possible bumblefoot and a "long nail" in one of the new hens.
This is what i found.
Discretion advised.

So severely overgrown spur on this golden laced wyandotte hen. And high stage bumblefoot on both of her feet. Naturally, i check for mites and lice next. These owners didnt even know chickens could get lice or mites.
And I wasnt suprised when i found out she was INFESTED in these things. The poor thing.

I begin to check her other hens for these lice (?) And low and behold... almost all of her new hens have bad lice (?) Problems... COVERED in eggs.

I have never had any problems with my hens having mite/lice or overgrown anything, so im a bit rusty on the steps.
The wyandotte had it the worst, limping, so i knew i had to do something. Doing some quick article skimming i used dog nail cutters to cut about 1/5 of the spur down to a nub (i was too scared to hit a quick). I soaked her and the second worst hen in a dawn dish soap for 10 min as i didnt have much time. I gently picked off some of the wyandottes egg sacks but there is too many.
BUT THATS NOT THE END FOR THIS POOR WYANDOTTE!
 Upon close inspection she had holes (?) In her comb where the comb has a bit of a bump. It was filled with hard yellow balls of what looked Dried pus. I removed most of them from the largest hole with a small pin needle. Any idea of what it is?

Photo after i cleaned most of it out.

This yellow dot is of a smaller peice of the yellow hard stuff i was pulling out.

 

[AidKD]

Soak the bumblefoot in warm epsom salt water for 15-20 minutes. After you've soaked it it should be a little bit softer. Get a small, clean knife and a pair of tweezers and start gently cutting the bumblefoot out. You may have to use the tweezers to pull out any loose pieces. After you've gotten all of it removed, fill the holes in her feet with a disinfectant cream and wrap them. You'll have to continue changing the wraps and re-applying the cream every day until it's all completely healed up. Wrapping her in a towel while doing this may help you.

I've never had to deal with lice or mites before, but make sure that they have a good dust bath area. The dust will get down to the skin and smother the mites and lice. I've also heard that neem oil is extremely effective in killing them. Add a couple of teaspoons of the neem oil to every gallon of water you use and give the chickens a bath in it. You can also add dish soap to the water again.

You could try flushing and rinsing their combs off with hydrogen peroxide. There's not much more that I know about the yellow spots though.

It's best to remove the chickens to a chicken tractor or far away from the coop while cleaning it out from the lice and mites. Maybe keep them out for a couple of days while everything is gotten under control. I really hope you're able to help get things under control with them. Best of luck!

 

[WalnutTree]

Soak the bumblefoot in warm epsom salt water for 15-20 minutes. After you've soaked it it should be a little bit softer. Get a small, clean knife and a pair of tweezers and start gently cutting the bumblefoot out. You may have to use the tweezers to pull out any loose pieces. After you've gotten all of it removed, fill the holes in her feet with a disinfectant cream and wrap them. You'll have to continue changing the wraps and re-applying the cream every day until it's all completely healed up. Wrapping her in a towel while doing this may help you.

I've never had to deal with lice or mites before, but make sure that they have a good dust bath area. The dust will get down to the skin and smother the mites and lice. I've also heard that neem oil is extremely effective in killing them. Add a couple of teaspoons of the neem oil to every gallon of water you use and give the chickens a bath in it. You can also add dish soap to the water again.

You could try flushing and rinsing their combs off with hydrogen peroxide. There's not much more that I know about the yellow spots though.

It's best to remove the chickens to a chicken tractor or far away from the coop while cleaning it out from the lice and mites. Maybe keep them out for a couple of days while everything is gotten under control. I really hope you're able to help get things under control with them. Best of luck!

I think their flock of 15 chickens all have lice or mites. The smaller bantams with thicker clean white bottom feathers have mites and even most of her original chickens have lice.

The mom does not care about the condition of the animals.

I will be going back next week to take care of them. Thank you

Any tips with the spur?
I want to trim it back to a healthy length but no articles were helpful enough
I dont want to hit a quick, the poor girl is already in so much pain..
 I noticed the spur is rubbing against her other leg and taking away scales from there.

Also, what sort of bandages do i use? I feel like most of the ones i have wouldnt hold

 

[AidKD]

I think their flock of 15 chickens all have lice or mites. The smaller bantams with thicker clean white bottom feathers have mites and even most of her original chickens have lice.

The mom does not care about the condition of the animals.

I will be going back next week to take care of them. Thank you

Any tips with the spur?
I want to trim it back to a healthy length but no articles were helpful enough
I dont want to hit a quick, the poor girl is already in so much pain..
 I noticed the spur is rubbing against her other leg and taking away scales from there.

Also, what sort of bandages do i use? I feel like most of the ones i have wouldnt hold

You could just use strips of fabric and wrap it around their feet several times then tie it. As for the trimming, chickens spurs are kinda like human nails. You should be able to trim it back pretty short without hurting her. Just go slow. You'll do fine with it! Also, it's quite alarming that she doesn't care about the well- being of the flock. Have you considered calling it in?

 

[WalnutTree]

You could just use strips of fabric and wrap it around their feet several times then tie it. As for the trimming, chickens spurs are kinda like human nails. You should be able to trim it back pretty short without hurting her. Just go slow. You'll do fine with it! Also, it's quite alarming that she doesn't care about the well- being of the flock. Have you considered calling it in?

Yes, but I wouldnt ever be able to see those people again, and id rather just try my best to treat their chickens.
They are a very big and protective family.

 

[AidKD]

Yes, but I wouldnt ever be able to see those people again, and id rather just try my best to treat their chickens.
They are a very big and protective family.

Understandable, that's a hard situation to be in. Does the lady really want the chickens?

 

[WalnutTree]

Understandable, that's a hard situation to be in. Does the lady really want the chickens?

Yes, unfortunately. She originally apparently planned to kill and eat the new chickens she introduced. She clearly has done zero research due to her not understanding that older chickens yield worse meat in taste and supply and lay less eggs.

 

[Callender Girl]

Are you using the regular stretchy vet wrap that sticks to itself to bandage the feet? In an emergency over a holiday weekend, I bought "human" wrap at Target, but it's MUCH cheaper to get the animal version from a feed store.

Also, I was wrapping my bird's feet incorrectly and not using enough wrap until my vet showed me the right way -- sort of a figure eight around the toes and partway up the leg (of course, my girl had extreme frostbite and some of her toes were gone, which made that more challenging).

Bless you for taking care of these birds. And, clearly, the owner is one of those people who should not be allowed to have chickens, or likely any other critter. Best wishes for taking care of the problems she created.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Wow. I'm sorry no one seems to care for the welfare of these birds right now except you. I hope at least they have offered to pay you for your time. Remembering to wear protective clothing and practice good biosecurity to keep your own flock healthy, too. If nothing else, you are learning so much from this experience.

 

[WalnutTree]

Wow. I'm sorry no one seems to care for the welfare of these birds right now except you. I hope at least they have offered to pay you for your time. Remembering to wear protective clothing and practice good biosecurity to keep your own flock healthy, too. If nothing else, you are learning so much from this experience.

 Im on good terms with her daughter whos a similar age to me
 Although she can do very minimal things for the chickens, i will be supplying the tools and care.
There is no compensation, due to the mom not caring wether or not theyre sick. I did get some free pop though
Definitely a learning experience, a thorough "what not to do" extensive guide