Please Help, Any Advice!

[amicus14]

Ok, so here in Montana we are having a pretty tough winter... colder than usual. No big deal, I have 5 Buff Orpingtons and 2 Araucanas. Both are cold hardy, sweet birds. When we got our second cold snap, it was -7 degrees at my house for the high for one full day and 2 nights. During this, one of my girls was kicked out of the coop for reasons I do not know, and the day in that temperature proved too cold for her. She was gone when I arrived home a short 3 hours after my husband had last checked on her, brought her in the house and tried to get her back in the coop. I had intended on bringing her in the house for the night, but those plans clearly were cut short. I posted on here then... wondering what she could have died from assuming no way was it from the cold. She had posted up in a sheltered space, on clean straw. In any case, we summed it up to being she was sick with god knows what and shunned from the coop, then either succumbed to her illness and/or the cold. When I did a check on her body, I did notice swollen feet. Not bumble foot, not mites... but swollen feet. I thought frostbite (maybe early stages before black and shrinking)...

Now, I have another hen with one deformed and swollen foot! I took her in the house, both feet warm to touch. We gave her a nice bath, soaked her feet in betadine solution for about 10 minutes, put antifungal and mushers secret on both feet and wrapped her bad one. It is deformed due to the swelling, and she refuses to put weight on it so I know it must hurt. She is all comfy now and sleeping in the house tonight, and likely for the next few days...

The swelling reminds me a lot of my other girl that didn't make it! I know its hard without pictures but my phone had died and I wanted to get her feeling better, so chose to care for her rather than worry about photographing the whole incident. Her foot doesn't seem to cause pain with I move the toes back straight (they have curled up together) so I made a little boot out of cardboard and wrapped them to it.

Please, anyone... what in the world could this be? After loosing my other girl, I have stopped letting my chickens have so much access to outside in the snow during these cold snaps... but its not even that cold anymore... it was in the 20s today (10 this morning). They get let out for 20 minute periods about 4 times a day.

I don't want to lose another... tomorrow I think I will do another round of cleaning, so I will try to snap a few pictures then... why do feet swell outside of bumble foot?

 

[BBCHICKS123]

Huh that is odd my best guess is that it is from the cold l think soaking it in epson sald cold be a good idea definitely keep her in a warm place indoors a picture would be helpful but l totally understand not wanting to disturb her



-Bobi sue

 

[Pebblypoo]

I'm having a similar problem in N Idaho with frigid temps. I bought 5 2 week old chicks in Nov. Prob hatched Nov. 1 ish. Kept them in neighbors basement where it was warm with a heat lamp until Saturday when I loved them to my place and put them in with other girls. I live in a rural area and have a huge barn sized coop fully enclosed with dirt floor. I put them in a corner with a heat lamp due to frigid conditions and them having been in a warm basement this whole time. Yesterday I noticed 4 out of 5 have huge water blisters between their toes and feet are swollen. I researched and
found it was bumblefoot. I read everything I could find and watched several videos on how to remove. I purchased supplies and planned on non-invasive removal of pad, pus and kernel. My neighbor came over to help tonight. We soaked birds' feet in warm water with Epsom salt and cleaned well. Some of the blisters had popped. Some appeared to have popped and begun healing. Some seemed to pop during soaking. Some were just huge. All 4 chicks were in different stages, but not one of them had a scab or dark spot anywhere on their feet. No sign whatsoever of bumblefoot scab. What could these blisters be? Frostbite? They went from under a heat lamp in a warm basement to no heat lamp, to frigid temps in a corner under a heat lamp but not enclosed. Just a heat lamp in corner of big coop, but temps range from -11 to 0 for the last week they have been outside. Any ideas?

 

[BBCHICKS123]

You live in N ID, same l live in Sandpoint

 

[Pebblypoo]

Lol.......I live in Sandpoint too....lol

 

[BBCHICKS123]

Huh l live in the valley

 

[Pebblypoo]

I'm actual in Cocolalla, but I work in Sandpoint. Any ideas about my birds blisters?

 

[Leigti]

Are their feet getting cold and freezing? Some sort of frostbite?

 

[amicus14]

I thought frostbite, but no black dying anything yet. Can begining stages of frostbite cause swelling?
Also, because I thought frostbite, I had been limiting their time outdoors, and have a heat lamp in their coop... this happened to my girl despite that. I have read that them being out in negative Temps for 10 min can cause frostbite in a chicken... but these are cold hardy bird and I have had others in MT tell me no way.
Is it because they have heat lamp and are relying on it for warmth... their bodies aren't adjusting when let out in the cold???
I'll try to get some pictures up when I clean her up again and redan adage tonight. For now I'm just trying to keep warmy, clean and comfortable. Hopefully it heals.

 

[amicus14]

Ok, I did another wellness check on all my other chickens tonight... everyone looked good. One rooster looked like he might be starting to swell, but then I thought... nope, he just has huge feet! Anyway, they all looked good and there were some eggs. I felt their bedding, it seems dry and is still pretty clean from their last change less than a week ago. I kept thinking if maybe somehow water is getting in and this is beginning of frostbit (because I can't find anything else!) So I went and bought a massive tarp and created a secondary roof to protect the roof they currently have. haha. It only covers the roof (of a 20 foot long area) and just folds over the sides about 3 feet down on each end with the back fully covered... think of a portable horse stall made out of a tarp. We are supposed to have some nasty cold rain tomorrow and I couldn't risk it since I haven't pinned down what's causing this.
On another note, my sweet Gem that I brought in yesterday seems to be doing well. I am about to go do our soaking ritual and then will wrap back up her poor foot. I will try to get some photographs the best I can. Thank you all for trying to help... It stinks not knowing what's going on.