New member having bumblefoot issues

[Cgorges]

I started this adventure last May when I started with 22 chicks. I have 20 hens and 2 roosters. My food is a mis of Easter eggers, olive eggers, black copper marans, welsummers, and blue americaunas. This spring I had one girl come down with bumblefoot. I soaked it with Epsom salts, removed the kernel, and coated with vetericyn and vetwrap.

Now I noticed another girl with a red inflamed bumble and inspected the flock. 16 of them have the small black scabbing the center of their pads. They are true free range and have run of the whole properly. The coop is clean and perches are sanded 2x4s. There are so many with scabs its going to be too time consuming to soak treat and bandage them all and do daily rebandaging. I hate to confine them to a run, but I don't know what else to do to prevent the bumbles. I've gotten so much conflicting information. Some have told me that if there is not an abscess eventually the body will push out the kernel and heal itself. One person I know says leave them and if it gets crippling they go in the soup pot (mine turned into pets, that's not an option).

Sorry for a long rant as an introduction, but that's my story.

At this point I'm thinking treat the red inflamed case and 2 or 3 of the worst scabs. Add colloidal silver and oregano, thyme, and garlic to their water and treat in order of severity. That still leaves me the debate as to whether or not its sustainable to let them free range, they are so happy out and about tho.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[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!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

I moved your thread to our Emergency forums for more help. I hope your flock will be ok!

 

[TwoCrows]

@azygous

@Wyorp Rock

 

[Blue Raptor]

I started this adventure last May when I started with 22 chicks. I have 20 hens and 2 roosters. My food is a mis of Easter eggers, olive eggers, black copper marans, welsummers, and blue americaunas. This spring I had one girl come down with bumblefoot. I soaked it with Epsom salts, removed the kernel, and coated with vetericyn and vetwrap.

Now I noticed another girl with a red inflamed bumble and inspected the flock. 16 of them have the small black scabbing the center of their pads. They are true free range and have run of the whole properly. The coop is clean and perches are sanded 2x4s. There are so many with scabs its going to be too time consuming to soak treat and bandage them all and do daily rebandaging. I hate to confine them to a run, but I don't know what else to do to prevent the bumbles. I've gotten so much conflicting information. Some have told me that if there is not an abscess eventually the body will push out the kernel and heal itself. One person I know says leave them and if it gets crippling they go in the soup pot (mine turned into pets, that's not an option).

Sorry for a long rant as an introduction, but that's my story.

At this point I'm thinking treat the red inflamed case and 2 or 3 of the worst scabs. Add colloidal silver and oregano, thyme, and garlic to their water and treat in order of severity. That still leaves me the debate as to whether or not its sustainable to let them free range, they are so happy out and about tho.

Any advice is appreciated.

Welcome to!!

 

[Cgorges]

Thank you.

 

[azygous]

Long ago when I had five of my five new pullets come down with bumblefoot, I knew there had to be something they all were encountering that was causing it. I discovered that the coop they were in had a perch that was too high and the bedding under it was inadequate to cushion their dismount.

I treated the bumblefeet and corrected the height of the perche and installed some deeper bedding. The bumblefoot never came back.

 

[Cgorges]

Ill put that on my list things to adjust. I based my coop on my neighbor who has had chickens for decades. His australorps are confined to a run and in the winter his garden. When I asked him about bumblefoot, he said he's never had a single case. But that said lower and softer couldn't hurt especially when some will be bandaged up.

Do yours free range?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I started this adventure last May when I started with 22 chicks. I have 20 hens and 2 roosters. My food is a mis of Easter eggers, olive eggers, black copper marans, welsummers, and blue americaunas. This spring I had one girl come down with bumblefoot. I soaked it with Epsom salts, removed the kernel, and coated with vetericyn and vetwrap.

Now I noticed another girl with a red inflamed bumble and inspected the flock. 16 of them have the small black scabbing the center of their pads. They are true free range and have run of the whole properly. The coop is clean and perches are sanded 2x4s. There are so many with scabs its going to be too time consuming to soak treat and bandage them all and do daily rebandaging. I hate to confine them to a run, but I don't know what else to do to prevent the bumbles. I've gotten so much conflicting information. Some have told me that if there is not an abscess eventually the body will push out the kernel and heal itself. One person I know says leave them and if it gets crippling they go in the soup pot (mine turned into pets, that's not an option).

Sorry for a long rant as an introduction, but that's my story.

At this point I'm thinking treat the red inflamed case and 2 or 3 of the worst scabs. Add colloidal silver and oregano, thyme, and garlic to their water and treat in order of severity. That still leaves me the debate as to whether or not its sustainable to let them free range, they are so happy out and about tho.

Any advice is appreciated.

Welcome To BYC

Can you post photos of the feet?

 

[Cgorges]

I will tomorrow as I start treating. All but the red swollen one are just the typical small black scab in the center of the foot pad. Was looking at them again tonight, almost all of them have that scab. I feel terrible, with no one limping and all going about business as usual I had no idea. I should have been checking feet periodically. Very disheartening knowing the girls are suffering just for the sake of my learning curve.