Securing chickens during treatment

[NancyNurseCxMama]

I know we all are familiar with the "wrap them in a towel" routine when we have to treat our birds or clip their nails or whatever. Yep, the towel thing works great unless you have a tremendously flappy bird that is determined to get out from under that towel come hell or high water.
During an episode of several of my hens having bumblefoot last summer I came upon what I consider a fabulous way of securing them safely.
I bought an infant swaddling thingie. I bought the one by "Swaddle Me." Trimmed off the bottom part and it was a perfect fit. I guess you could leave the bottom part on but I was soaking the girls in an epsom salt bath and didn't really care for the sopping wet load of extra cloth.
Grabbed the hen, placed the swaddler over her and secured the velcro tabs. Turned her over to trim nails, address the bumblefoot, etc. Worked perfectly!
Just thought I would pass this on---hope someone finds it useful!

 

[Ryder]

i have a hen that has buble foot how can i fix it becasue she has it on both feet and I feel so bad for her becasue i have not had the time to take care her?

 

[Eggcessive]

i have a hen that has buble foot how can i fix it becasue she has it on both feet and I feel so bad for her becasue i have not had the time to take care her?

Ryder, it would help to start a brand new thread of your own here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/create-thread

That way, we won’t hijack this thread and you will get more advice.

 

[coach723]

Interesting! May have to pick one of those up and give it a try. The towel does come off of those that spaz!

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

There are many helpful threads here on how to treat bumblefoot.
Basically, I stood them in a basin full of warm water and epsom salts for at least twenty minutes. Then I dug out the bumblefoot with an exacto knife and tweezers---if you are lucky you will be able to grab a big yellow "kernel"---this only happened with one of my girls. I applied a mixture of Neosporin ointment and Vetericyn Gel with a little gauze pad and then wrapped it with vet wrap. Depending on how bad the bumblefoot looked, I changed the dressing anywhere from daily to every other day.
The girls were amazing patient during the procedures but, being prey animals, I understand that they do not show much emotion when in pain---survival mechanism.
They are all fine now and fully recovered.
Bumblefoot can be caused by so many things but it is important to check their environment for possible causes, especially if your birds are confined to a run. Mine are and after observing them closely for a while I saw that the ramp going up to the coop was a possible cause of bumblefoot. It was steep and the little "steps" that were on the run were ragged and rough.
I have replaced the ramp with a smooth plastic step and since then, no bumblefoot!
Hope this helps---good luck with your flock!

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

Interesting! May have to pick one of those up and give it a try. The towel does come off of those that spaz!

Yep, that was my issue. DH was having a helluva time holding onto some of the more rambunctious girls. With the swaddler I can grab one of them myself and not have to deal with telling anyone else what to do, lol.
Just toss the swaddler over a hen, lift them up and secure the velcro. One and done!
Seriously, sometimes you have to readjust a bit but by then the hen is pretty much resigned to it. And damn they look kinda cute in those baby prints!

 

[sylviethecochin]

An old, grey, stretched-out men's sock with the toe cut out worked pretty well for me. Cheap, too. I managed to fit it on an RIR rooster, though I doubt it would work on anything larger.

Your method is definitely prettier!

 

[MissChick@dee]

I know we all are familiar with the "wrap them in a towel" routine when we have to treat our birds or clip their nails or whatever. Yep, the towel thing works great unless you have a tremendously flappy bird that is determined to get out from under that towel come hell or high water.
During an episode of several of my hens having bumblefoot last summer I came upon what I consider a fabulous way of securing them safely.
I bought an infant swaddling thingie. I bought the one by "Swaddle Me." Trimmed off the bottom part and it was a perfect fit. I guess you could leave the bottom part on but I was soaking the girls in an epsom salt bath and didn't really care for the sopping wet load of extra cloth.
Grabbed the hen, placed the swaddler over her and secured the velcro tabs. Turned her over to trim nails, address the bumblefoot, etc. Worked perfectly!
Just thought I would pass this on---hope someone finds it useful!

 

[NancyNurseCxMama]

An old, grey, stretched-out men's sock with the toe cut out worked pretty well for me. Cheap, too. I managed to fit it on an RIR rooster, though I doubt it would work on anything larger.

Your method is definitely prettier!

Whatever works---go for it!

 

[Aunt Angus]

GENIUS. Love it!