Sudden death during bumblefoot treatment

[Wil781]

I had him cradled on my arm on his back, not upside down holding him by his legs. I'm not sure if this could be part of the cause?

His bumble foot infection was not bad at all - just very small scabs. It makes me feel even worse about the whole thing because I don't even know if it was bad enough to warrant treating him - I just wanted to be thorough and do the whole flock. I know there are set up factors that need to be changed. We are currently in the process of moving to a new property and I am designing my chicken set up there from scratch. I am going to have lower roosts (~2 feet off the ground) and use pine shavings for bedding rather than straw. All my birds free range and are fed lots of scraps and fresh vegetables along with layer feed. The bumblefoot problem started when I adopted some older hens from a questionable environment - I noticed they had it soon after we brought them home. That was a couple years ago now and I just recently noticed a lot of my younger chickens have it too. It is fairly minor in most of them too so I am treating with Tricide Neo and hoping this fixes it. Like I said they free range so I doubt they are vitamin deficient, but I am adding vitamin supplements to one of their waterers (and extra sunflower seeds to their diet) anyway.

Here is a picture of Adrian in happier days. He was such a good boy. View attachment 1533846

What a handsome boy, so sorry for your loss! I know how you feel I lost a hen this morning she had a liver issue but she had lost so much weight when I thought she was eating she was pretending so as to not stand out to the others that she was sick, so yes I feel this is my fault for not acting quick enough. I am still learning but at the sake of my flock.

God Bless!

 

[DobieLover]

It sounds like he was as beautiful on the inside as he was on the outside. So sorry you lost him this way.

 

[Shadrach]

Apart from the stress which is considerable for an upside down chicken (in the chicken world only dead things lie on their back.) as Criticalcious mentions there is a risk of inhalation of liquid into their lungs and, the heart gets put under pressure from other organs.
As a rule, don't hold a chicken upside down.
He was a lovely looking rooster.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Ah he was definitely beautiful!

Accidents happen... please don't blame yourself. You were dong the best you could with the information you had, trying to take care of your birds and no one can fault you for that.

I think aspiration would result in a coughing or choking type motion or sound followed by a slow death... from the aspirated fluid growing toxins inside the lungs with some crackling sound in the breathing.

Asphyxiation... possibly.

Bumble foot is really not something that can be caught from another. There must be an injury to the individual. So that likely isn't the source.

Moving is hard work. I hope your new property and set up work out fantastically for you!

 

[erkmos52]

Thank you for the clarification. It's difficult to get at their feet to treat them when they are being held right side up, and I thought that holding them on their backs was soothing! I won't be holding them that way anymore. I certainly learned that lesson the hard way.

I know everyone says bumble foot is not contagious, but couldn't it be that the infected chickens harbor a more virulent form of staph, which is deposited onto perches and surfaces that the other chickens step on, and then the other chickens get it into small cracks in their feet? With free ranging chickens, it seems like minor foot injuries from time to time would be unavoidable. It's just strange to me that so many of my birds have it and they seem healthy otherwise.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Thank you for the clarification. It's difficult to get at their feet to treat them when they are being held right side up, and I thought that holding them on their backs was soothing! I won't be holding them that way anymore. I certainly learned that lesson the hard way.

I know everyone says bumble foot is not contagious, but couldn't it be that the infected chickens harbor a more virulent form of staph, which is deposited onto perches and surfaces that the other chickens step on, and then the other chickens get it into small cracks in their feet? With free ranging chickens, it seems like minor foot injuries from time to time would be unavoidable. It's just strange to me that so many of my birds have it and they seem healthy otherwise.

Bumble foot does not mean staph automatically... and would think you might need to test to confirm staph?? Yes I agree with you that staff in and of itself is highly contagious to an open wound AND that free ranging presents many chances for a scratch, poke, or cut to develop.

Bumble foot is a generic term, as far as I know that refers to any injury to the foot which causes pain. Maybe it has to be infected to be considered that...

I have never yet had to treat... though I did consider digging out what I think is a small scab (plug) from one hen's foot that has been there. But it was just a scab... no oozing, swelling, redness, or heat to indicate an infection. And to me the little scab is guarding the flesh while her own body heals it up... I truly don't know and am here to learn as well share what info I do have. It hasn't caused her any problem and I don't want to make one.

I also take this stance on other injuries including 2 different birds (a duckling and a chick) that got scalped. Our bodies do this amazing thing called healing (science reality) which include producing antibodies to fight infections. I am nervous (anxiety is a beast) to make things worse and don't like the added stress to the already injured bird. They did experience awesome recovery. I watched for fly strike and any signs of infection setting in, at which point I would likely have taken measures to try and help. Thankfully I didn't have to. Each situation is unique though. Just ALWAYS do your best.

Anyone who needs help... gets some (treat amount) scrambled or boiled smashed whole egg as they are 34% protein, 64% fat... but highly palatable, easily digested, and loaded with other nutrients including amino acids and some selenium.

I also choose the route of probiotic support. While I don't think it does much for those who don't need it... I do believe it helps those who aren't balanced.. a LITTLE fermented feed, yogurt, buttermilk or something like that... antibiotics kill the good stuff too.

Know that I am not saying you are doing anything wrong... just sharing what I do is all... Not saying it's right either! It works for ME.

If I had much bumble foot... I *might* try treating one at a time and keeping them confined during treatment while they heal up. Starting with whoever is worst of course. So I could keep them away from infection, provide the extra nutritional support, limit their movement so they CAN heal. Man I just hate when injuries keep getting bumped! Anyways, just brain storming ideas that might be helpful.

Hang in there and keep trying your best!

 

[Varie]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Hugs for you. Try not to carry that guilt, accidents happen. Gives us chances to keep learning.

 

[Kathy Golla]

I cradle my hens all the time as you do for vet treatment.
It’s so hard to know what might have happened. Don’t stop being you.
So sorry for your loss.

 

[roosterhavoc]

This afternoon I was treating my 4 year old Lavender Orpington rooster for a minor case of bumblefoot. I had soaked his feet (he seemed a little stressed but no worse than normal for that situation) and I had him flipped over and was trying to dislodge the scabs from his foot pads so I could dress and bandage them. He started twitching and shaking so I flipped him back right side up, and he continued to twitch and flap and promptly died. I feel absolutely horrible - he was such a good rooster to the hens and we were very attached to him. Has anyone else had something like this happen before? I’m guessing it was a heart attack from the stress. I have other birds in my flock that I’ve been treating for bumblefoot and now I’m scared to do anything to them! Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you.

I know this is a few weeks old but some of these posts are crazy. Don’t worry you didn’t kill your rooster by cradling him to mess with his foot. More than likely he had something else wrong with him. I’d have over 100 dead roosters if even a fraction of the roosters I’ve flipped over to look at their vent dropped dead from that.

 

[DarkWater1929]

He was lovely, and obviously well cared for. I am sure that I would experience the same grief, regret and self-doubt that you seem to be feeling. I urge you to recognize that there is a lot of stress in even the most pampered chicken's life. Instinct instructs them that nearly every critter they encounter would like to have them for dinner. So, if stress, alone, could cause such a thing, chickens as a species would not be especially viable. I would imagine that, whatever underlying condition caused him to pass, it was just your bad luck that this small stress was the trigger. Had you not been treating him when it happened, it might have happened that same day, or the next, from some other upset. Then, he might have passed, afraid and alone. As it was, he knew that someone he could trust was holding him. He was not delighted, I am sure, to be on his back, but that discomfort was a mild annoyance. He passed, of natural causes, in your arms. Which of us could hope for more than that, on our departure day? Try to see that you made his end, albeit unexpected, easier than it might otherwise have been.
Hugs.