Preventing Bumblefoot 😕

[Aunt Angus]

Hi, there.

I have 12 chickens and 4 ducks that live in my 64 sq ft coop with 200 sq ft covered run and 500ish sq ft pasture.

I just finished treating one of my ducks for a really bad bumblefoot infection. One of my chickens has been battling bumblefoot on and off for months. Now my Cochin has bumblefoot.

I am really frustrated and I need input for how to prevent this from happening.

In response to the duck's infection, here's what I've done:

• Changed the substrate around the duck's pool to pelletized horse bedding that has been reduced to super soft, chunky sawdust
• Cleaned the run and coop out entirely and disinfected everything
• Replaced the pine shavings with a new brand that is crazy soft amd absorbent
• I scoop out the poop board 2x daily (PDZ)
• I remove any soaked shavings 1x daily
• I add new shavings daily

They are fed a mix of Scratch & Peck grower feed and organic all flock pellets (oyster and baked egg shells on the side bc I have a rooster and 3 chicks). They get fermented feed 2-3 times a week. Treats are VERY sparingly. They also have special organic chicken mix in the chicken pasture. Their waterers are cleaned and refilled every morning.

I looked at sand, but for everything, I'd need at least 2 cu yards of sand - heavy and expensive. We live down a long first road, so deliveries would be tricky.

This is a relatively new problem, and I think it has to do with the duckies who turn everything into a soggy mess. I can separate the ducks eventually when we redo our fencing, but that's still months away, unfortunately.

Any advice for how to stop bumblefoot from becoming a permanent problem???

 

[Emelyn]

Hi, there.

I have 12 chickens and 4 ducks that live in my 64 sq ft coop with 200 sq ft covered run and 500ish sq ft pasture.

I just finished treating one of my ducks for a really bad bumblefoot infection. One of my chickens has been battling bumblefoot on and off for months. Now my Cochin has bumblefoot.

I am really frustrated and I need input for how to prevent this from happening.

In response to the duck's infection, here's what I've done:

• Changed the substrate around the duck's pool to pelletized horse bedding that has been reduced to super soft, chunky sawdust
• Cleaned the run and coop out entirely and disinfected everything
• Replaced the pine shavings with a new brand that is crazy soft amd absorbent
• I scoop out the poop board 2x daily (PDZ)
• I remove any soaked shavings 1x daily
• I add new shavings daily

They are fed a mix of Scratch & Peck grower feed and organic all flock pellets (oyster and baked egg shells on the side bc I have a rooster and 3 chicks). They get fermented feed 2-3 times a week. Treats are VERY sparingly. They also have special organic chicken mix in the chicken pasture. Their waterers are cleaned and refilled every morning.

I looked at sand, but for everything, I'd need at least 2 cu yards of sand - heavy and expensive. We live down a long first road, so deliveries would be tricky.

This is a relatively new problem, and I think it has to do with the duckies who turn everything into a soggy mess. I can separate the ducks eventually when we redo our fencing, but that's still months away, unfortunately.

Any advice for how to stop bumblefoot from becoming a permanent problem???

Do you have any nails or metallic sticking out? I'm not really how else to help I'm sorry

 

[Still-learning]

I can only speak to chickens...Short Answer...You won't...
They're natural born scratchers...Most backyard chickens are bantams with small soft feet...
We went down the Isa Brown with tough big feet route...Purcased as pullets...Nine months later and we gave the 3 of them away to a good home...Sad but necessary...They were great friendly quite girls but they were also a yard wrecking crew...
Not one sign of Bumblefoot though...

 

[Still-learning]

As I was writing this I was watching our Pekin girls sort through our backyard lawn for Lawn Grubs (A destructive common pest on the east coast Australia at this time of the year)...
I just fed my girls and it looks like the grubs lost...Girls weren't that hungry and hardly a blade of grass disturbed...
Don't be afraid of Bumblefoot...Watch ya flock and learn how to treat it...
I not so long ago posted about treating it on another related topic...

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I can't remember but I know you've mentioned it before. What breed of ducks do you have?

 

[Quatie]

Ducks unfortunately are meant to spend most of their time on water. So their feet are more prone to it. More grass and softer areas in the run will help more. I have it creep up occasionally too. We are trying to control some blackberry in the yard. Nasty stuff like that will cause it. Rocks, which you really can't entirely get rid of, are hard on their feet. I know the mountain grounds can be a bit more firm, so there is not a lot you can do about that. Your Pekin will also be more prone to bumblefoot.

I can say Muscovy are less prone to these issues. They are a tree duck, so they have tougher feet. They are also much more methodical in their movement.