I had heard of bumblefoot in passing awhile back. I did not think that much of it because I thought it was more a problem with chickens in small runs where they constantly walk in their own poop. My chickens have a large grassy yard and any areas with little grass I rake regularly to keep poop-free.
However, I checked all my birds' feet about a month ago and was dismayed to find that I had 8 chicken feet with scabs. Unfortunately only after I discovered this did I do even more research and found that roosts being too high can cause this. My roost was like 3-4 feet up ugh. I lowered the roost.
My main question is, how common is bumblefoot? I feel terrible that so many feet have it.
Also, does a scab always mean bumblefoot, or might it go away on its own? There are only 1 or two that were swollen at all.
I cut into the most swollen foot and used Vetericyn VF with gauze and vetrap. It seems to be getting better, is just still a little swollen.
I tried pulling off another scab on someone who was not swollen at all, I felt it was just skin deep and it started bleeding and the bird was clearly uncomfortable so I stopped and didn't try cutting any more scabs. I have just been wrapping the feet with Vetericyn VF. Last night I decided to let their feet air out for 24 hours.
I don't really know what to do. I have researched bumblefoot so much, yet am still unsure. When to cut or not cut? If scabs always mean bumblefoot? What if it's not swollen at all? At this point it is just a source of constant stress! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
However, I checked all my birds' feet about a month ago and was dismayed to find that I had 8 chicken feet with scabs. Unfortunately only after I discovered this did I do even more research and found that roosts being too high can cause this. My roost was like 3-4 feet up ugh. I lowered the roost.
My main question is, how common is bumblefoot? I feel terrible that so many feet have it.
Also, does a scab always mean bumblefoot, or might it go away on its own? There are only 1 or two that were swollen at all.
I cut into the most swollen foot and used Vetericyn VF with gauze and vetrap. It seems to be getting better, is just still a little swollen.
I tried pulling off another scab on someone who was not swollen at all, I felt it was just skin deep and it started bleeding and the bird was clearly uncomfortable so I stopped and didn't try cutting any more scabs. I have just been wrapping the feet with Vetericyn VF. Last night I decided to let their feet air out for 24 hours.
I don't really know what to do. I have researched bumblefoot so much, yet am still unsure. When to cut or not cut? If scabs always mean bumblefoot? What if it's not swollen at all? At this point it is just a source of constant stress! Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Last edited: