HI all, I don't post often, but try to keep up with the thread, coo over the tiny chick pics, and feel so sad reading of losses, great to read of the chickens relocating between people on the thread, and that everyone enjoyed Chickenstock.
Tonight I'm hoping for some advice, about possible 1st cases of bumblefoot in 2 of our 4 chickens - I have noticed occasional limping recently, and occasional pecking or looking at the bottom of their feet. They both are still very agile, run, jump up and down, clamber on stuff, free range on all kinds of ground for several hours a day, still eating and drinking fine, but tonight I noticed that there seems to be some swelling on top of one of the feet. These 2 are the chickens who hate being handled, flap and squalk, generally act very stressed, gasping with open beaks when I pick them up. I know ideally I should accompany this post with pics, but also feel that whatever I do will be stressful for them, so if I have to get pics, I should be fully prepared to do some foot cleaning and soaking etc at the same time.
I've tried to do some research about the best approach to take, from many, many threads on here, my chicken care books, Youtube vids of chicken owners doing a procedure, even a chicken under full anesthetic at a vets office for foot treatment. Sadly, I am now more confused than before I started!
Generally an initial foot soaking in Epsom salts seems to be agreed upon, but after that, for one place with set recommendations, there is another with opposite advise, you should make a cut around the black scab and dig out everything you can, then you shouldn't open up the foot, just apply medications, or make up a poultice, use raw honey, foot should/shouldn't be wrapped, chicken should be separated - don't separate chicken as this adds to stress, do everything now - leave them be, some chickens heal on their own ....
I'm even finding for every product recommended, there are arguments for / against, some appropriate for when there is a scab, but which should never be used on an open wound, if you use iodine, it's terrible to use the orange colored kind it should be clear. Even some concerns about bathing using regular tap water (in our case this would be well water) as bacteria may be present....
So, before I do anything, I thought I'd ask fellow BYC members from this NY thread for their experiences and advise, also wondering about the mental aspect of this - I have worked as a receptionist at a small animal vets office (cats only) for almost 10 years, watch all kinds of life and death situations, surgeries, abscess flushes, big wounds sutured back up with drains in etc, and none of it phases me - however that is all performed by a veterinarian and licensed vet techs, usually under anesthetic. I'm very anxious if the advice is to perform a procedure whether I could actually do it, concerned about causing pain, whether my panicky girls would actually magically be subdued if wrapped in a big towel, or thrash about potentially meaning I may damaging other parts of the foot, even if I could get through it without throwing up mid procedure! (None of the vets I work with have any chicken experience, but it may be possible to get one of them to come over and help if a procedure is the way forward)
Thanks!