Just came across one of my girls in the coop--she's a year old White Wyandotte with very swollen toes on both feet and only one toenail on each foot. I wish I could take a pic, but the camera is currently broken. At first I thought it was bumblefoot, but it doesn't match the description and pics I've seen. The swelling is uniform on both feet--she just has little sausages for toes and no toenails (except one on one foot). Frostbite, maybe? I checked my flock and nobody else seem to have it, can't figure out if it's maybe a genetic problem that I never noticed amongst the 40 hens (unlikely) or if she's truly got a problem. She seems to be eating and drinking fine, sticking near the coop and can't scratch, obviously. Any ideas?
We live in North Central Massachusetts, have a flock of 40 chickens. They roam free on 1/3 acre, fenced in, and share space with ducks. The coop has a wooden floor (with linoleum covering it for easy cleaning) straw on the floor, shavings in the nesting boxes. The whole area has 3+ feet of snow, but the immediate area around the chicken coop and duck pen is melting, consisting of ice (lots of it, ugh!) and poop. I lay straw down on it occasionally for more traction and to "soak" up some of the ick.
We live in North Central Massachusetts, have a flock of 40 chickens. They roam free on 1/3 acre, fenced in, and share space with ducks. The coop has a wooden floor (with linoleum covering it for easy cleaning) straw on the floor, shavings in the nesting boxes. The whole area has 3+ feet of snow, but the immediate area around the chicken coop and duck pen is melting, consisting of ice (lots of it, ugh!) and poop. I lay straw down on it occasionally for more traction and to "soak" up some of the ick.
