How did flock get bumble foot?

[berlyannpotter]

Great idea! Do you use fresh mowed grass or dried out?

I dry them out and bag it up. If no rain is in the forecast, I leave it for a couple of days and rake it up. They love it.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[Bsmac]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

My theory? Jumping down onto sand can cause micro scratches in the footpad. Once there is damage to the skin barrier, bacteria can gain a foothold. If there is excess water, there is excess bacterial growth.
Step one: prevent the micro scratches in all landing zones by using a fluffy thick dry bedding to cushion impact. I use large flake pine shavings.
Step two: mitigate excess moisture in their environment by either adding a solid roof to the run and pitch all drainage away from the run or by adding coarse dry organic litter that drains well and keeps the birds out of the worst of the moisture. Or a combination of the two.

Dobielover and janiedoe summed it up pretty well. Pine shavings help give some cushioning effect and a solid roof especially with a decent overhang to help keep bedding dry. The pine pellets work wonders when it just plain rains so long or blows in.

 

[C Siena]

Greetings & Salutations. Welcome. A great place to learn and share knowledge...and have Fun.

I read a great deal about Bumblefoot a couple of years ago, on this site. I thought one hen possible had it. PTL, she did not but now we have the necessary supplies. Though we use straw and pine shavings in the coop, we knew we wanted to cushion their landing. It's about 3"+ deep...depending on how much they scratch out the door.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Welcome to BYC! It's nice to meet you!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

We raise/breed silkies who don't fly and won't jump more than about a foot, if that, so we have ladders and ramps for them. I would think other chickens would use ladders/ramps too. It's just a thought.

We're glad you're here!

 

[Tookie]

Welcome! We're glad you joined us. Good luck with your flock!

 

[TishM]

Welcome to BYC. I believe the over abundance of rain may be your problem. How high are your roosts? Is your coop floor wood, or another surface? What type bedding do you have in the coop?
I've learned to keep several bags of pine pellets available to absorb water when we get flooded. It seems to happen here more often in the last few years and I get mucky runs also.

Thank you for the pine pellet advice, it has been a game changer for keeping the sandy run from going to muck! We got over 6 inches of rain last week in Charlotte and it's dry and no stinky muck! I really appreciate the help!

 

[BoundlessLove]

So glad it is working for you!
A belated welcome to BYC!!

 

[janiedoe]

Thank you for the pine pellet advice, it has been a game changer for keeping the sandy run from going to muck! We got over 6 inches of rain last week in Charlotte and it's dry and no stinky muck! I really appreciate the help!

My pleasure! I'm glad it helped.