SCABBY BROWN BUMPS ON BABY CHICKS FEET.....LOOKS LIKE BUMBLEFOOT

[Mary Courtney]

The picture shows an example of what was on all the feet of the week-old chicks I recently purchased. I noticed it when I got them home, tried to pick it off, but it was as hard as concrete. I wondered if it could be a parasite of some kind. I searched the internet in vain.....no pictures of this type anywhere. That's why I decided to put this up so other Newbies could figure out what it is if it happens to them.

It turns out it's a combination of poop and food that's so adhered to the foot that if it's not cleaned off the chicks can lose nails, parts of toes, etc.

Using warm, soapy water I wet their feet well and GENTLY began to pry it off. It literally had encased the ends of some of the toes so they looked deformed.






I contacted the breeder and they said it was dried on poo and food. I was skeptical, but agreed to try their warm water and soap cleaning instructions. Sure enough, it worked. It was very hard and I had to chip it off, but it DID come off. I finished off by using a child's toothbrush to clean out all the crevices before rinsing.

These chicks also came with pasty vent. I knew enough to know that pasty vent is life threatening, so I cleaned them off the moment I saw it.

The moral of this story; handle/observe your chicks enough to know if they show signs of anything unusual. And to breeders, I highly suggest you keep your chicks clean. It will benefit you in the long run by fewer losses of chicks AND customers!!!

 

[Vicki B]

I just picked up 3 chicks a week old. They all have this exact thing. I was searching and came across your post. The pictures look like I took them myself. I tried a warm rag and water and couldn’t get it off and was afraid because they’re a little bloody. I’ve only had them a couple hours I am going to go back out and try to get it off better. Their bellies were all crusty to I washed them off with a rag

 

[coach723]

Rubbing some vegetable oil (doesn't matter what kind) onto the gunk and letting it sit awhile, it may help soften it up so that you can get it removed. You can use a q-tip. It may take several tries to get it all removed. I would go slow and not force anything so that you don't damage those tiny toes. Any place that bleeds you can apply some plain neosporin (no pain killer) or triple antibiotic ointment, again with a q-tip. That also may help soften some of it up. Make sure the chicks don't get wet or chilled while you are cleaning them up, if they get wet make sure they get completely dry.

 

[Vicki B]

Thank you so much! I will do that tomorrow. I got a lot off but didn’t want to stress them so I figured I would work on it again tomorrow.

 

[dawg53]

That's how foot pad dermatitis gets started, people keeping chicks/birds on wet soiled litter....too lazy to clean it. I'm glad you all saved the chicks from FPD, as well as their environment, and were able to clean their feet.

 

[Ohthatchick]

I’ve had my chick for 2 days and picked her up and saw this. Couldn’t find anything on internet until I clicked on “images” and your image popped up. I soaked my chick’s feet in apple cider vinegar and rubbed the black scabs off. I will keep an eye on it and hope we get past this. I really thought it was bumblefoot (new chick mum). Thankfully, I was incorrect