Hen with poorly foot

[richardeblack]

Hello again
Yes, I have checked roost bars and the ramp and all very smooth, no splinters. They are free ranging so no way of knowing what they might be encountering. Lots of hawthorn hedges etc.
I think I'll carry on with straw. It is the disinfected stuff that comes in large bags specifically for hens.
I'll have another go at the pictures.
Fatty's foot:

Hazel's scab underside:

 

[MarlaMac]

Hello again
Yes, I have checked roost bars and the ramp and all very smooth, no splinters. They are free ranging so no way of knowing what they might be encountering. Lots of hawthorn hedges etc.
I think I'll carry on with straw. It is the disinfected stuff that comes in large bags specifically for hens.
I'll have another go at the pictures.
Fatty's foot:
View attachment 4166396
Hazel's scab underside:
View attachment 4166397

Definitely a bumble. The scab may have hardened around the pus kernel and came out with it. At any rate, the foot looks good. I would clean and wrap every couple of days until it heals over.

 

[richardeblack]

Will do thank you Marla. I'll take pictures of Hazel's foot tomorrow. I tried to see if I could get anything out from under but again, what I thought was infection turned out to be tissue which bled slightly. There was no swelling in her foot, unlike Fatty's foot which was horribly swollen.
I've learned so much from you and LaFleche thank you. I feel almost confident now.
Thank you.
Richard

 

[LaFleche]

Hello again
Yes, I have checked roost bars and the ramp and all very smooth, no splinters. They are free ranging so no way of knowing what they might be encountering. Lots of hawthorn hedges etc.
I think I'll carry on with straw. It is the disinfected stuff that comes in large bags specifically for hens.
I'll have another go at the pictures.
Fatty's foot:
View attachment 4166396
Hazel's scab underside:
View attachment 4166397

Fatty's foot looks so much better, you are doing a good job, Richard!

As you decided to go with straw as bedding, make sure to inspect for poultry mites often as they love to hide in the hollow stems.

How high are the roosting bars installed?
When heavy birds decide to just jump down from the high roost in the morning and not use the ramp, they often end up injuring their foot pads as little stones etc. on the coop floor can pierce/penetrate the soft skin of the foot pads and lead to infection.

 

[richardeblack]

Thank you LaFleche and Marla.
I am happy that I'll soon not need to dress Fatty's foot. I think she should be fine soon. This is what it looked like yesterday.

-------------------------------------------

On taking the dressing off Hazel's leg, her scales came away and were very crumbly. I have been treating her for scaly leg mite and assume that this is the old scales breaking off and are only noticed because they are trapped in the dressing. The leg looks nice and pink where the scales have gone. I hope this is ok. Here are some pictures.

The following are photos of her scab and after its removal. I can't see any sign of infection like there was in Fatty's foot. There is a fairly hard part of the wound (circled on the photo) but it is not the same sort of fibrous material that was in Fatty's wound. Also as I tried to carefully pull bits away, there was some blood so I stopped immediately and sprayed and dressed it. I think I'll just clean and dress it from now on. There is no swelling or any signs of redness. Hopefully she will be ok.
Photos of Hazel's foot:

On another note, they have a gentle ramp out of the coop down into the run so never jump down. The perches in the coop are about 18" to the wooden floor with straw bedding on it. The only thing I have noticed, after the mention of stones etc in the run, are quite a few stones in the back section which I have started collecting. I will get them all out and add sand to the loose soil in that section as I have done for the front section to provide them with a nice soft surface in the run.
I do doubt if they injured themselves in the run though and probably cut themselves on hawthorn or brambles.
Re straw bedding: I check for mites several times a week (I have double sided tape round the perches to keep a check and check on the nooks and crannies) and the straw is split or crushed so does not have hollow sections and is treated with disinfectant as it is specifically for chicken bedding.
I think that is enough of my rambling for one post so thank you very much again for all the guidance and reassurance.
Richard.

 

[MarlaMac]

Thank you LaFleche and Marla.
I am happy that I'll soon not need to dress Fatty's foot. I think she should be fine soon. This is what it looked like yesterday.

View attachment 4168896
-------------------------------------------

On taking the dressing off Hazel's leg, her scales came away and were very crumbly. I have been treating her for scaly leg mite and assume that this is the old scales breaking off and are only noticed because they are trapped in the dressing. The leg looks nice and pink where the scales have gone. I hope this is ok. Here are some pictures.
View attachment 4168906
View attachment 4168908
The following are photos of her scab and after its removal. I can't see any sign of infection like there was in Fatty's foot. There is a fairly hard part of the wound (circled on the photo) but it is not the same sort of fibrous material that was in Fatty's wound. Also as I tried to carefully pull bits away, there was some blood so I stopped immediately and sprayed and dressed it. I think I'll just clean and dress it from now on. There is no swelling or any signs of redness. Hopefully she will be ok.
Photos of Hazel's foot:
View attachment 4168948

On another note, they have a gentle ramp out of the coop down into the run so never jump down. The perches in the coop are about 18" to the wooden floor with straw bedding on it. The only thing I have noticed, after the mention of stones etc in the run, are quite a few stones in the back section which I have started collecting. I will get them all out and add sand to the loose soil in that section as I have done for the front section to provide them with a nice soft surface in the run.
I do doubt if they injured themselves in the run though and probably cut themselves on hawthorn or brambles.
Re straw bedding: I check for mites several times a week (I have double sided tape round the perches to keep a check and check on the nooks and crannies) and the straw is split or crushed so does not have hollow sections and is treated with disinfectant as it is specifically for chicken bedding.
I think that is enough of my rambling for one post so thank you very much again for all the guidance and reassurance.
Richard.

Thanks for keeping us updated. Yes, definitely treat Hazel for SLM. Sorry I didn't notice that before. Fatty's (I think I call her "larger bodied" hahaha), anyway, Fatty's foot looks awesome. Hard to tell what the hard spot on Hazel's foot is. Bumbles are not always fibrous so I would keep treating until you are comfortable with the outcome. If you haven't used the drawing salve on Hazel, you might try that for a few days.

You are now the "expert".

BTW...my bumbles mostly come from the sand burrs we have. Working hard to rid our property of them, but they are like clover in the ability to proliferate.

 

[LaFleche]

Thank you LaFleche and Marla.
I am happy that I'll soon not need to dress Fatty's foot. I think she should be fine soon. This is what it looked like yesterday.

View attachment 4168896
-------------------------------------------

On taking the dressing off Hazel's leg, her scales came away and were very crumbly. I have been treating her for scaly leg mite and assume that this is the old scales breaking off and are only noticed because they are trapped in the dressing. The leg looks nice and pink where the scales have gone. I hope this is ok. Here are some pictures.
View attachment 4168906
View attachment 4168908
The following are photos of her scab and after its removal. I can't see any sign of infection like there was in Fatty's foot. There is a fairly hard part of the wound (circled on the photo) but it is not the same sort of fibrous material that was in Fatty's wound. Also as I tried to carefully pull bits away, there was some blood so I stopped immediately and sprayed and dressed it. I think I'll just clean and dress it from now on. There is no swelling or any signs of redness. Hopefully she will be ok.
Photos of Hazel's foot:
View attachment 4168948

On another note, they have a gentle ramp out of the coop down into the run so never jump down. The perches in the coop are about 18" to the wooden floor with straw bedding on it. The only thing I have noticed, after the mention of stones etc in the run, are quite a few stones in the back section which I have started collecting. I will get them all out and add sand to the loose soil in that section as I have done for the front section to provide them with a nice soft surface in the run.
I do doubt if they injured themselves in the run though and probably cut themselves on hawthorn or brambles.
Re straw bedding: I check for mites several times a week (I have double sided tape round the perches to keep a check and check on the nooks and crannies) and the straw is split or crushed so does not have hollow sections and is treated with disinfectant as it is specifically for chicken bedding.
I think that is enough of my rambling for one post so thank you very much again for all the guidance and reassurance.
Richard.

Fatty's foot does no longer seem infected and Hazels legs and feet will appear brand new after getting rid of the scaly leg mites and the old scales.

Split straw is great and the double-sided adhesive tape will show immediately if new mites were brought in.

Fresh sand is also what I treat my flocks to several timer a year and the love it.

So all in all things are looking good and you can start to relax and enjoy summer.

 

[JanetRN1]

Thank you again MariaMac for all your time and support. Really not looking forward to doing it in the morning (our time) but all your advice has been a great help.

I'll update when I have finished if all goes well.

Thank you and the others for all the advice.

Richard.

Any updates? We returned home from vacation to find a hen with Bumblefoot. It could be a week that she’s had it.
I’ve ordered all supplies but am nervous about “surgery”, though her foot is pretty swollen.
How’d you do?

 

[MarlaMac]

Any updates? We returned home from vacation to find a hen with Bumblefoot. It could be a week that she’s had it.
I’ve ordered all supplies but am nervous about “surgery”, though her foot is pretty swollen.
How’d you do?

You should start your own thread. It will give your post the greatest visibility.

I wouldn't go straight into the surgery stage. Start with using a drawing salve to help draw the infection out.

This thread will outline the procedure for you, but it is best to start your own post so that your hen gets personalized comments. Post pictures of your hen's foot/feet in your post so they can be accessed by people with experience in such matters.

 

[richardeblack]

Any updates? We returned home from vacation to find a hen with Bumblefoot. It could be a week that she’s had it.
I’ve ordered all supplies but am nervous about “surgery”, though her foot is pretty swollen.
How’d you do?

As Marla says, it would be better to start a new thread. There are such knowledgeable and helpful people on this forum they will guide you through it. Marla, LaFleche and Eggcessive and others I can't remember at the moment have been so helpful to me with this and other problems.
I would recommend reading through this topic to see how Marla and LaFleche have given me the confidence to treat two hens successfully. Is she limping? It was amazing the improvement in my hen when the core of the infection finally came out.
However you proceed, please take care as the staphylococcus is highly infectious to humans as well as your other hens. I might have been overly cautious but definitely better safe than sorry.
Good luck.