Persistent bumblefoot

[Brashlie]

I have two quail that I’ve been battling bumblefoot on for 2-3 months! I’ve done twice a day soaks, minor surgery and wrapping, and even antibiotics for one. It seems like these methods have kept it from getting worse but a scab remains and swelling continues if I stop treatment. I can’t keep soaking these birds for the rest of their lives! Anyone had bumblefoot persist so long?
Also, most of the hutch recommendations are for a wire bottom for cleanliness to avoid such problems so that’s what I did. But the vet told me they shouldn’t be on wire. How do so many others with wire floors not have this problem all the time?

 

[gtaus]

Also, most of the hutch recommendations are for a wire bottom for cleanliness to avoid such problems so that’s what I did. But the vet told me they shouldn’t be on wire.

Welcome to the BYC forums!

I have never had quail, but I have been raising chickens on dry deep bedding in the coop for 5+ years and never had a problem with bumblefoot. I don't know where you live, but I live in northern Minnesota and have to consider our cold winters. Anyways, here is some information I looked up concerning wire cage bottoms versus the dry deep bedding system I use...

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Quail can be raised on either wire-bottom cages or deep bedding, but deep bedding is generally better for their health, comfort, and winter survival—especially in cold climates like Minnesota. Wire cages are easier to clean but can cause foot injuries and cold stress.

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Wire-Bottom Cages: Pros and Cons​

Pros:

• Easy waste management: Droppings fall through the wire, reducing ammonia buildup.
• Efficient cleaning: Less frequent bedding changes; just empty the tray below.
• Space-saving: Ideal for stacked or compact setups.

Cons:

• Foot injuries: Wire can cause bumblefoot, abrasions, and long-term leg issues BackYard Chickens.
• Cold exposure: In freezing temps, wire floors can lead to frostbite or hypothermia BackYard Chickens.
• Stress and discomfort: Quail prefer solid ground for dust bathing and nesting.

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Deep Bedding (Like Chickens): Pros and Cons​

Pros:

• Comfort and enrichment: Quail can scratch, dust bathe, and nest naturally YouTube.
• Insulation: Bedding retains warmth, protecting feet in winter BackYard Chickens.
• Compostable waste: Bedding mixed with droppings can be composted for garden use YouTube.

Cons:

• More maintenance: Bedding needs regular cleaning to prevent odor and moisture buildup.
• Higher cost: Frequent bedding replacement can add up.
• Pest risk: Moist bedding can attract flies or mites if not managed properly.

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Best Practices for Minnesota Winters​

Given your location, where winters can be brutal:

• Avoid wire-only setups outdoors—cold metal can cause frostbite.
• Use deep bedding in insulated pens or greenhouses.
• Consider quail tractors or converted dog crates with pine shavings, which offer mobility and composting benefits YouTube.

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Sources:
BackYard ChickensBackYard Chickens discussion on quail bedding vs wire
YouTubeGuten Yardening deep litter quail cage setup

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I hope some of that info and/or links will be helpful. IMHO, I would not put birds on wire floors. I have had great success with dry deep bedding so I'm sticking with that method. Good luck.

 

[Debbie292d]

Good info above about the wire floors!

As for the bumblefoot, I've never dealt with it in many years of raising silkies. We use horse bedding pellets and they're stuck in the coop for weeks in the wintertime sometimes, and never have had an issue.

If I did, here are the articles I'd refer to:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/bumblefoot-in-chickens-my-successful-treatment.75244/

Tricide-neo
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/treating-bumblefoot-with-tricide-neo.513183/

 

[catesquire]

I've been dealing with bumblefoot all summer due to a leaky waterer I didn't catch soon enough while I was still using pine shavings. I've been gradually noticing that less is more with quail bumblefoot; they just need time and a little assistance to heal it themselves.

My own (inexpert, but seems to be working) treatment plan:

I toss the birds in a plain warm water foot bath bin every ~2-4 weeks for about a half hour (I've stopped using epsom salt, as well, since I couldn't actually find any scientific sources for using it and I was worried about how much of it they were drinking), to fully soften the scabs.

The biggest thing I've noticed is that their bodies seem to have trouble getting rid of the scabs, probably because the flooring we keep them on isn't as rough as the terrain they'd have been running over in the wild. So after the soak, I give a light tug around the scab edges with tweezers, and get off what I can WITHOUT reopening the wound (if it starts bleeding on accident, I put on plain Neosporin [no painkillers] and wrap with vet tape for a day).

By doing this, their feet have been getting progressively better, to the point I'm not worried about them any longer. Most are now fully healed with perfect feet; the others have tiny lingering scabs that I think they'll be able to get rid of on their own, though I'll check again in another month.

Basically: I'm giving time for the skin under the scabs to be fully healed, then helping gently peel the stuck scabs off. As far as my birds go, I've never seen sign of the weird hardness inside the wound that chickens apparently get. I don't think you need to keep up your more involved routine--the stress is probably worse for them than the scabs. Unless you notice their feet getting worse, just leave them to heal for longer between treatments, and see if that makes things less stressful for both the birds and you.

If you're keeping them outside, I personally prefer pine pellets as flooring now, since it keeps their feet INCREDIBLY dry while still letting them exhibit natural birdy behaviors like dust bathing and foraging for treats. It's also even easier than wire, since there's no regular tray cleaning; I'm going on two months with the same (deep) pellet bedding without any hygiene issues.

Good luck to you and your birds!

 

[Brashlie]

Wow this was my first question on here and yall are so responsive! Thanks for the replies. I’m in the Pacific Northwest so cold is not too bad, but it is wet. Also, I’m in the city and there’s a serious rat issue, not to mention not a lot of space, so that’s why I went with a raised hutch. But I really want them to have a better experience so I think I will try to make a small aviary in my very small yard with lots of fortifications. In the meantime, I think I’ll put a solid floor in the hutch and try the pellets bedding. I’ll do some occasional soaking and keep an eye on things. They’re still laying and seem in good spirits.
I need to think about how to keep the rain and rats out of an aviary, and the ground from becoming a mudpit. Maybe bury wire, then layer gravel and dirt mounded a little, then bedding. Perhaps siding for rain that can come off in the summer. Further suggestions welcome.
Thanks a lot!

 

[Nabiki]

If you garden, raised garden beds make good places for pens. I keep mine on my raised garden beds after I harvest and move them around. They fertilize the beds and eat the bugs. The cycle goes kind of like this:
1 - plant
2 - harvest
3 - put quail on
4 - move quail
5 - water and let compost
6 - back to step 1

 

[gtaus]

Thinking about your last post, I have a few suggestions...

Also, I’m in the city and there’s a serious rat issue, not to mention not a lot of space, so that’s why I went with a raised hutch.

I don't have a rat issue, but I do have a raised chicken coop. I think it helps to cut down on potential predators. Nothing wrong with a raised hutch.

I think I’ll put a solid floor in the hutch and try the pellets bedding.

I advocate for using any free source of litter you can get. I have tried free wood chips, leaves, and dried grass, but my current favorite bedding is shredded paper. I shred all our household paper and cardboard using shredders I buy from the Thrift Store at less than $5.00 each. The used shredders don't last forever, but they pay for themselves in terms of how much coop litter I can make before they die. Well, that, and I shred my bills, etc... anyways.

Nothing wrong with mixing different types of litter. If I am short on shredded paper, I'll mix in leaves, wood chips, or dried grass to get the depth of coverage I want.

If you have to buy litter, I do hear pellets are good. You might also want to consider pine shavings. I just encourage you to consider using free resources because it will not only cut down on your expenses, but in my case, it reuses sources of material that previously I used to bag up and send to the landfill.

I need to think about how to keep the rain and rats out of an aviary, and the ground from becoming a mudpit. Maybe bury wire, then layer gravel and dirt mounded a little, then bedding. Perhaps siding for rain that can come off in the summer. Further suggestions welcome.

There are a lot of people who advocate using a wire apron around the run. They say if you lay down wire on the ground, maybe 18-24 inches out, that digging animals will give up trying to dig a tunnel into the run. It run contrary to a digging animals nature to dig a long tunnel where they could trapped. So, they attempt to dig a tunnel next to the run wire and discover the wire apron and give up. Using a wire apron laid on the ground is a lot easier than trying to bury wire 18 inches deep. If you don't want the ground wire apron to show, you can cover it with dirt and let the grass grow up through it.

After my chickens ate all the grass and pulled everything out to bare dirt in the chicken run, I converted my entire chicken run into a chicken run composting system. I dump all my wood chips, leaves, grass clippings, and used coop litter into my run. My run never gets muddy. All that litter breaks down into Black Gold compost which I use in my raised bed gardens. It's just a win-win for me.

You don't need a lot of litter to keep your birds out of the mud. Maybe only a few inches. Because I compost everything organic on my property in my chicken run, my run litter is almost 18 inches deep this time of year, full of leaves. Over winter, it will break down and fall to about 12 inches deep.

But I remember back when I first started that only a few inches of litter were enough to keep my birds up and out of the mud. Again, I have access to lots of free organic resources to use as run litter.

Every year, I harvest hundreds of dollars of Black Gold compost that I use in my raised beds. If you garden at all, that used litter into compost is the best. If not, at least organic litter in the run will keep the birds up and out of the mud.

 

[Brashlie]

If you garden, raised garden beds make good places for pens. I keep mine on my raised garden beds after I harvest and move them around. They fertilize the beds and eat the bugs. The cycle goes kind of like this:
1 - plant
2 - harvest
3 - put quail on
4 - move quail
5 - water and let compost
6 - back to step 1

Love this idea! If I can figure out good rat exclusion I will try this, or maybe just for short periods at a time.