Rooster's feet

[MarlaMac]

Good morning.

My rooster's right foot looks big and puffy.

It has been this way for a few months. We kept checking for bumble, but there is never any lesions.

Does this look like the beginning of gout?

My chickens free range the entire day.

They are feed Kalmbach non GMO flock maker. 2x a week they get some of the girl's bounty. I cook four eggs splash them with olive oil, and add probiotics. Then, whatever bugs/plants they find while they free range.

They also get some sort of melon (usually watermelon) on really hot days (+90 degrees). On those hot days, I also trickle water in the shadow of the coop for them to stand in before going to roost.

I do not add anything to their water. The water is RO water.

Any thoughts are appreciated.


Thank you.

 

[MarlaMac]

Edit: the four eggs. 2x weekly are shared among the 21 of them. 1 rooster, 1 cockerel (needs a home of his own), 13 layers and six 13 week pullets.

Also note, that toe - the one that looks bent backwards - was broken when he was young ~ 10 weeks old (he got it caught in some chicken wire).

 

[Bawkbok]

That looks uncomfortable. I don't know anything about swollen feet so I cannot offer any advice.
Given you've had no responses yet I'm going to solicit help from some of the experts here to hopefully assist you. While waiting for their assistance, what you have done to aid your guy? Did you ever soak his foot in epsom salts to see if it would reduce the swelling? Could he have perhaps gotten his foot caught in some fencing or other injury?
How high up are the roosting bars? A hard landing from a high jump can create foot injuries.
Is he acting normally in all other behavior, foraging, etc.?

@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous @coach723 - thanks for your help.

 

[coach723]

Do his feet seem to bother him? Any limping, not wanting to move around as much, not roosting? Where it looks larger, is it hard, or soft?

 

[MarlaMac]

That looks uncomfortable. I don't know anything about swollen feet so I cannot offer any advice.
Given you've had no responses yet I'm going to solicit help from some of the experts here to hopefully assist you. While waiting for their assistance, what you have done to aid your guy? Did you ever soak his foot in epsom salts to see if it would reduce the swelling? Could he have perhaps gotten his foot caught in some fencing or other injury?
How high up are the roosting bars? A hard landing from a high jump can create foot injuries.
Is he acting normally in all other behavior, foraging, etc.?

@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous @coach723 - thanks for your help.

Thanks for your reply and questions.

He acts normal and doesn't favor the foot. Roost bars - he can walk straight onto one, but prefers the highest bar which is two jumps up, The first jump is about 17 inches the 2nd about 15 inches. When he comes down in the morning, he jumps down to both. I have thought about padding the roost bars, but I don't know if that would work or perhaps slip causing even more issues.

Haven't done epsom soaks.

 

[MarlaMac]

Do his feet seem to bother him? Any limping, not wanting to move around as much, not roosting? Where it looks larger, is it hard, or soft?

His feet do not seem to bother him. No limping, moves around quite well. Free ranges with his girls, goes straight to roost at night, scratches for the girls when he finds a tasty treat. I felt of his foot this morning, and I didn't notice that it was hard or soft, just felt like the other foot. It was warm, but so was the other foot. Felt our cockerel's foot while we were at it, it too was warm, so I don't think anything is amiss there.

I will feel again tonight and see if I can feel hard or soft.

 

[Bawkbok]

It sounds like your roost bars are of a good height so that shouldn't be the issue. Is the floor of the coop hard surfaced or padded with shavings, bedding, sand, dirt?
Since it has been going on for months, I don't know if soaking would help but perhaps it couldn't hurt if he would stand for it.
I believe there may be information on this site relative gout. You might want to use the search bar in articles to see what you can find on gout. It seems like there is one. I'll see if I can find it and post it here.

 

[MarlaMac]

It sounds like your roost bars are of a good height so that shouldn't be the issue. Is the floor of the coop hard surfaced or padded with shavings, bedding, sand, dirt?
Since it has been going on for months, I don't know if soaking would help but perhaps it couldn't hurt if he would stand for it.
I believe there may be information on this site relative gout. You might want to use the search bar in articles to see what you can find on gout. It seems like there is one. I'll see if I can find it and post it here.

Thank you. The floor is laminate flooring. But I put yoga pads down to help cushion any falls.

Here is a picture of the set up. The roost bar lifts up and out of the way during the day. At night the lay box walking plank lifts up out of the way. I have the far side of the roost bar wrapped in jute b/c the girls were sliding down the bar.

 

[coach723]

Your set up looks good for not having any really big jumps. I've had roo's, particularly the larger ones, with thicker toes, particularly as they get older. It's never really been a problem. It may just be from carrying the extra weight, I've also wondered if they could be from small hairline fractures over time and the callus that forms when they heal. It doesn't look like gout at this point, and if he seems to be fine, comfortable, and doing all normal things with no limping or obvious discomfort, then there may be nothing wrong. I would just monitor it as you would any bird, make sure it doesn't become something else.
An unrelated question.....how long has the silver bubble wrap insulation been there, and have you had any issue with them pecking and eating it? Just wondering as everything I've tried like that someone will start pecking it and eating it, and then it's a group party of destruction. Door weather stripping, pipe insulation, etc. Mine ate 3 feet of foam (like pool noodle) pipe insulation off a hose riser once. They also ate a 2 foot square section of foam core board. I haven't tried that bubble wrap stuff though.

 

[MarlaMac]

Your set up looks good for not having any really big jumps. I've had roo's, particularly the larger ones, with thicker toes, particularly as they get older. It's never really been a problem. It may just be from carrying the extra weight, I've also wondered if they could be from small hairline fractures over time and the callus that forms when they heal. It doesn't look like gout at this point, and if he seems to be fine, comfortable, and doing all normal things with no limping or obvious discomfort, then there may be nothing wrong. I would just monitor it as you would any bird, make sure it doesn't become something else.
An unrelated question.....how long has the silver bubble wrap insulation been there, and have you had any issue with them pecking and eating it? Just wondering as everything I've tried like that someone will start pecking it and eating it, and then it's a group party of destruction. Door weather stripping, pipe insulation, etc. Mine ate 3 feet of foam (like pool noodle) pipe insulation off a hose riser once. They also ate a 2 foot square section of foam core board. I haven't tried that bubble wrap stuff though.

Thanks for the comments. I will just monitor him then and make sure it doesn't progress into anything.

The bubble wrap has been on for 3 summers. They haven't really pecked at it. I think there is one little area where I had a broody w/ eggs confined. I think she got bored, but didn't do any big damage.

But, my chickens don't spend any time in the coop at all. They go in to lay eggs and roost. Other than that, they are outside in bushes and trees.