Ideal Poultry sends chicks with bumble foot

[KarateHorse]

We ordered 6 ducks and 9 production red chicks. A couple days after we got them we found that the ducks had bumble foot. The chicks had been with the ducks so the chicks also had bumble foot. We seperated the chicks and ducks. We are treating them all. The chicks are almost completely better. But the ducks still have it. We emailed Ideal Poultry that the birds had bumble foot. A couple days later they finally emailed back and said "that's not bumble foot. It's just from the bedding." We use pine litter from Tractor Supply. That's what you are supposed to use. I don't have any pictures of the chicks bumble feet but I have one of the ducks. This picture is from when we first discovered the bumble foot. They have got worse. We were going to order more Ameraucanas and more silkies from Ideal Poultry but now we are not going to. Has anyone else had a bad experience with Ideal Poultry?

 

[Pyxis]

That actually doesn't look like bumblefoot. To me it just looks like dirty feet, but that could just be the picture. I see from your post history others have said this too. This is probably a silly question, but have you tried just washing it off? Bumblefoot is characterized by a black scab that usually must be cut out and the pus underneath it emptied to treat the infection.

Bumblefoot, by the way, is not contagious. It does not spread from one bird to another. It is the result of bacteria getting into the pad of the foot, usually caused by a bird stepping on something sharp and causing a puncture wound and introducing the bacteria.

How have you been treating it?

I also picked up a duckling from TSC once with foot wounds. It looked like this:

Is this like what you're seeing? Because that's not bumblefoot either; it was just some kind of wound they developed in the brooder at Tractor Supply. This was the worst but two other ducklings had some scabbing too. It healed up on its own with no treatment needed aside from some Neosporin I applied to prevent infection. I don't know what caused it but it wasn't bumblefoot, as confirmed by a vet, and the duck did fine. My guess is if all your birds are coming down with whatever this is that it truly is a brooder issue. This would also seem to be the case because you said it developed "a couple days after you got them". That would indicate that they did not come from Ideal that way. Plus, bumble takes much longer than a couple days to develop.

I've ordered from Ideal multiple times and never gotten sick chicks or ducklings.

@Miss Lydia what do you think?

 

[Miss Lydia]

It looks like something that could turn into bumble if it isn't. Maybe the lil ones feet are too tender for the bedding. try old towels and wash as needed. At least till their feet heal.

I'd soak their lil feet in some warm Epsom salt water then put neo with out pain relief over the wounds. keep them as clean as possible. I saw someone else who had ducklings with this. can't remember what was done and how it turned out. [don't let them drink the ES water] it is also a laxative.

@KarateHorse

 

[Pyxis]

My other question would be if it's possibly being caused by wet bedding. As we all know ducklings make a huge mess with their water. Their bedding and brooder can be constantly wet if you don't keep on it or use the right kind of waterer. That's not good for their feet, and that's my theory as to why my ducklings from TSC had the scabby feet when I got them - the brooder was soaked when they took them out of it. After a week in a nice dry brooder and some neosporin applications they healed right up.

And since the chicks have been separated (thus out of a wet brooder if my theory is correct) they have healed, while the ducklings, whose brooder would still be wet if this is what is going on, have not.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My other question would be if it's possibly being caused by wet bedding. As we all know ducklings make a huge mess with their water. Their bedding and brooder can be constantly wet if you don't keep on it or use the right kind of waterer. That's not good for their feet, and that's my theory as to why my ducklings from TSC had the scabby feet when I got them - the brooder was soaked when they took them out of it. After a week in a nice dry brooder and some neosporin applications they healed right up.

And since the chicks have been separated (thus out of a wet brooder if my theory is correct) they have healed, while the ducklings, whose brooder would still be wet if this is what is going on, have not.

Ammonia mixed in with wet bedding can cause burns. possibly.

 

[Pyxis]

Ammonia mixed in with wet bedding can cause burns. possibly.

Thanks for popping in to help It may be me you are remembering who had the ducklings with the same sort of thing; you posted in that thread and helped me out.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks for popping in to help

It may be me you are remembering who had the ducklings with the same sort of thing; you posted in that thread and helped me out.

I was trying to look it up then got distracted. I have seen the TSC bins where the ducklings/chicks are kept. poor things. Those lil feet are very tender when so tiny.

 

[KarateHorse]

That actually doesn't look like bumblefoot. To me it just looks like dirty feet, but that could just be the picture. I see from your post history others have said this too. This is probably a silly question, but have you tried just washing it off? Bumblefoot is characterized by a black scab that usually must be cut out and the pus underneath it emptied to treat the infection.

Bumblefoot, by the way, is not contagious. It does not spread from one bird to another. It is the result of bacteria getting into the pad of the foot, usually caused by a bird stepping on something sharp and causing a puncture wound and introducing the bacteria.

How have you been treating it?

I also picked up a duckling from TSC once with foot wounds. It looked like this:

Is this like what you're seeing? Because that's not bumblefoot either; it was just some kind of wound they developed in the brooder at Tractor Supply. This was the worst but two other ducklings had some scabbing too. It healed up on its own with no treatment needed aside from some Neosporin I applied to prevent infection. I don't know what caused it but it wasn't bumblefoot, as confirmed by a vet, and the duck did fine. My guess is if all your birds are coming down with whatever this is that it truly is a brooder issue. This would also seem to be the case because you said it developed "a couple days after you got them". That would indicate that they did not come from Ideal that way. Plus, bumble takes much longer than a couple days to develop.

I've ordered from Ideal multiple times and never gotten sick chicks or ducklings.

@Miss Lydia what do you think?

We noticed it a couple days after we got them who knows how long they had it before. It looks a little different from your picture. I will try to get a better picture here in just a couple minutes. We are treating it with vetricyn. What do you mean by a brooder issue? Like them cutting themself in the brooder?

 

[KarateHorse]

My other question would be if it's possibly being caused by wet bedding. As we all know ducklings make a huge mess with their water. Their bedding and brooder can be constantly wet if you don't keep on it or use the right kind of waterer. That's not good for their feet, and that's my theory as to why my ducklings from TSC had the scabby feet when I got them - the brooder was soaked when they took them out of it. After a week in a nice dry brooder and some neosporin applications they healed right up.

And since the chicks have been separated (thus out of a wet brooder if my theory is correct) they have healed, while the ducklings, whose brooder would still be wet if this is what is going on, have not.

Since we discovered they had bumble foot I have been cleaning their brooder 4 or 5 times a day. They are a mess.

 

[Pyxis]

We noticed it a couple days after we got them who knows how long they had it before. It looks a little different from your picture. I will try to get a better picture here in just a couple minutes. We are treating it with vetricyn. What do you mean by a brooder issue? Like them cutting themself in the brooder?

Vetericyn wouldn't do anything for bumblefoot. So if that's helping your chicks that would again point to it not being bumblefoot. I think you're dealing with something else here. I would try switching to towels as Miss Lydia suggested and see if that helps.

Also if it was bumblefoot, all of them would have had to somehow cut their feet to get the bacteria in since it's not a communicable infection so it did not pass from the ducklings to the chicks. So if that were the case and then the chicks were getting it after you got them, they'd have to be doing it in the brooder you were keeping them in, and it would indicate that you also have a lot of staph bacteria in that area, which just doesn't seem like it would be the case. Perhaps you got a bad batch of bedding or something and it's irritating their feet. I'd try switching the bedding, doing the Epsom soaks, and applying neosporin as Miss Lydia suggested and see what happens.