Infected feet - but it seems to be contagious

[DIMBY]

Just read the excellent post about Bumblefoot with great pictures. I have two young hens, less than 25 weeks now, the RIR began to limp and act listless about a week ago. I began to soak the foot in epson salts/warm water, but I never saw any indication of Bumblefoot. I also used spray Neosporin. She's doing much better but today I noticed another hen limping slightly -- so, began the epson salts, neosporin regime. These are new hens, have had them about two weeks so I have fortunately NOT integrated them with my other five hens -- their coops are adjacent but separate. This afternoon, I cleaned out both coops then sprayed everything down with diluted hydrogen peroxide, vinegar solution. I can take pictures, but honestly, there is no swelling no "bumps" no sores. The feet look fine. Any thoughts?

 

[threehorses]

Bumblefoot is caused by a contagious bacteria, Staph. The problem is often at least partially environmental so it's as much about making sure to fix the environmental issues as it is treating the individual bird:

Roosts: Make sure, especially for heavier breeds, that the roosts aren't terribly high. Remember if you're growing birds, they're getting heavier and what once was an appropriate roost height may not be later. All roosts should always be disinfected whenever there's a case of bumblefoot so that bacteria doesn't get into a break in the skin of another bird.

Bedding: Bedding in the coops should be deep and dry - like pine shavings that are dried/compressed for horse stalls.

Run environment: Keep the areas where your chickens run nice, dry, and hygienic goes a long way towards preventing bumblefoot. Also watch where you place your runs and try to keep them from rocky ground, ground with a lot of thorns, etc.

Hydrogen peroxide/vinegar probably won't kill staph terribly well. I'd get some Nolvasan and use that. It won't hurt the birds' feet if it's left on.

You don't see a break in the bottom of the foot, a possible kernal of infection? Sometimes bumblefoot starts with a bruise and its' the seepage of the bruise that becomes the kernal later. I'd continue the epsom salt soaks and just try to make sure all the roost heights, etc. are fine. Maybe keep her up in a place where she's less likely to continue to hurt the foot - conditions you'd want to be in if you had a bruise on the bottom of your foot.

 

[purpletree23]

How high off the coop floor is their roost? I think about 24 inches is about the right height. Are they hurting themselves by jumping too far to get to the ground?

 

[DIMBY]

Thanks for the replies, the roost is only about 8 inches off the floor of the hen house, I learned the hard way about making the roosts too high. However, since I inherited these ladies, they were not properly roost-trained and therefore I rarely see them on the roost. Could that be a problem? I use straw, which I switch out every 4 days or so.

Coop is on nice, soft dirt. Will Nolvasan be a problem if ingested with scratch?

 

[threehorses]

Yes, it could be. People think that straw is absorbent (and is is more absorbent than dirt) but it's not nearly as absorbent as people think. It tends to hold moisture rather than disperse it and let it evaporate, and when it holds moisture it also tends to allow spores of mildew, etc, to bloom.

I'd recommend switching to dried/compressed horse stall type pine (only, no cedar) bedding like you can get from TSC. If you use that type of dry bedding, you can eliminate most dust by pouring the shavings in a cardboard box first, stirring a bit (dust falls into the box) and taking the shavings off of the top. Shavings (not pine chips) will wick moisture and disperse it. Bedding is one of the causes of bumblefoot as bedding that retains any moisture makes the bottom of the food way more susceptible to fissues in the skin, which allow staph bacteria to get in - thus bumblefoot happens.

Another benefit of shavings is you really don't have to change them that often. They dehydrate droppings, allowing for easier cleaning. They're WAY more hygienic as their dryness disallows much bacteria growth. Keep it fluffed, or toss a handfull of scratch into it (that's what scratch was designed for) and your birds will keep it fluffed for you.

 

[PoultryPedia]

Could a problem besides injury or infection be causing them to limp? Could they be starting to get leg paralysis from Marek's or something?

 

[kuntrygirl]

How do you disinfect a wooden roost? What chemicals do you use?

 

[threehorses]

Nolvasan works nicely (chlorhexidine). Virkon-S if you really wanted to get super serious about it. But Nolvasan is a good all purpose work horse for both man and beast use. Just mix with water (it's soapy) and scrub the roosts. You don't have to rinse it off as it's entirely safe.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Great! Thanks for letting me know. I hope that I can find this locally.

 

[DIMBY]

ok, off to murdoch's tomorrow to get some shavings and Nolvasan!