I think one of my EE chicks has bumblefoot. What should I do?

[Andora]

I was holding an EE chick (not sure of age, but probably around 4 weeks?) and I noticed she had a black thing on the pad of one foot. I thought it was just a crusty piece of poop, so I tried to knock it off...and it was attached. It's a round, thick, black scab. Her other foot has a cracked spot on it. I checked the feet of the other chicks, and the other EE pullet has something similar starting on her feet but there isn't a large scab yet. The naked neck chick also has a cracked spot but not a black scab yet. Why is this happening? Is it because they are on wire in a rabbit cage brooder? There are shavings right under the wire, they've just pushed through the bottom in between the cage and the floor so the chicks are mostly standing on wire. I left it because it was nice to have their poops fall through. I guess I'll line it and top it up with shavings to keep them off the wire. But the other chicks are perfectly fine. Oddly, the three pullet chicks have cracked feet and the three roosters are fine.

What should I do to their feet? I slathered them with neosporin and then coated them with unpetroleum. I looked up bumblefoot and what I read said to rip off the scab, stop the bleeding, coat with neosporin, then bandage and put terramycin in the water for five days. Is this correct? I'm so scared to rip off the scab. On the feet that just have cuts, is it alright to just keep putting neosporin and unpetroleum on them? There is no scab to rip for them...

I feel so bad. My poor little chicks must be in pain!

 

[Andora]

*bump* Anyone? I want to start treating her tonight, but I don't want to do the wrong thing...

 

[speckledhen]

Yes, living on wire can cause bumblefoot. Run your hand over the wire they are walking on and you'll be able to tell if there are burs and scratchy areas on it. I've never seen it in chickens that young, but sure sounds like it. Remove the scab and squeeze any infection out that you can. Flush the wound with saline or wash with Chlorhexadine soap, pack with Neosporine and wrap with stretchy gauze if you have any. You'll have to clean and repack the foot every couple of days. Remember that this is a staph infection so use gloves or wash your hands thoroughly.

 

[Andora]

Thanks. I'm not looking forward to picking the scab.

I don't think I have any stretchy gauze on hand, but I do have gauze pads. Do you think gently taping it with scotch tape or masking tape would harm her legs? I can go buy stretchy gauze tomorrow afternoon, but I want to start treating it before then!

Should I put any antibiotics in the water? I think I have prescription antibiotic cream to treat staph...I have a reoccurring infection in my nose.

If I have any left over in the medicine cabinet I could put that on her.

 

[speckledhen]

Be very careful using human meds on chickens. Anything with "caine" in it, like Benzocaine, can be fatal to birds. You could use a gauze pad and medical tape, but one day wont hurt if you want to wait to get the supplies. The feedstores here sell Vetwrap or Coban, made to stick to itself, that is good for this task. Put the gauze pad with neosporin on it on the wound, then wrap, between the toes, being careful not to bind the toes where the bird cant walk well. Dont put it on very tight because the vetwrap tends to tighten up over time. Good luck with your bird.

Adding that unless you have a strong antibiotic, I wouldn't bother. Terramycin isn't strong enough for a staph infection, so dont even start with that. I dont use antibiotics anymore other than topical ones.