The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[delisha]

ok, well, it had to be done...

I've been fighting bumblefoot on my one remaining red dorking roo for months now... he got stepped on (by the blind horse) and broke one foot, and i think the excess gimping caused problems with the other. first one toe, then I get that one healed and it'd go to the next... then went to the center mass of his foot... kept hoping it would come to the surface so I could do something about it, without having to add extra holes to him, but it wasn't to be...

meanwhile, with one foot infected and the other broken, he was putting a lot of weight on his hock (broke-foot side) while resting, and propping the foot up by his spur... interesting way to do it, but meanwhile the hock also became infected, but that was taken care of immediately and now he's just got a calloused area there. that spur also curves upwards dramatically now too... it'll have to be trimmed big time once the rest is back in shape.

his broken foot is back to normal now and he's been standing on it consistently, while his other foot kept getting bigger and bigger. but nothing was showing, so I picked a spot where the skin felt thin, used a scalpel blade to make about 1/2" long incision then enlarged it a bit more oval-shaped. got 2 huge lumps of ICK out of there, each about half inch across! bleh! don't think I hit any major blood vessels, since it was bleeding, but more oozing than anything when I was done poking and prodding and squeezing on him. hubby held him on his lap, and for the most part, he was a good roo. didn't complain. I think there might be more in there, but I couldn't get to it, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens...

after I was done getting what I could out, I packed it full of Neosporin and wrapped it well with a pad over the hole (top of his foot, not bottom, since that's where the skin was the thinnest) and secured with vet-wrap. afterwards, he hobbled around some, ate a late dinner and then went back to bed (hospital cage/brooder) all on his own. which is more walking than he's done in a while.

cross fingers that he heals up quickly... i'm sure he misses being an outdoor roo as much as his girls miss him. LOL

I want him OUT before he starts crowing again, if possible. that's the last thing I need my macaw learning!

Surgery is never easy...doing it is a necessity when you have chickens and farm animals sometimes. It helps to know how to do sutures too.

 

[fishermans wife]

ok, well, it had to be done...

I've been fighting bumblefoot on my one remaining red dorking roo for months now... he got stepped on (by the blind horse) and broke one foot, and i think the excess gimping caused problems with the other. first one toe, then I get that one healed and it'd go to the next... then went to the center mass of his foot... kept hoping it would come to the surface so I could do something about it, without having to add extra holes to him, but it wasn't to be...

meanwhile, with one foot infected and the other broken, he was putting a lot of weight on his hock (broke-foot side) while resting, and propping the foot up by his spur... interesting way to do it, but meanwhile the hock also became infected, but that was taken care of immediately and now he's just got a calloused area there. that spur also curves upwards dramatically now too... it'll have to be trimmed big time once the rest is back in shape.

his broken foot is back to normal now and he's been standing on it consistently, while his other foot kept getting bigger and bigger. but nothing was showing, so I picked a spot where the skin felt thin, used a scalpel blade to make about 1/2" long incision then enlarged it a bit more oval-shaped. got 2 huge lumps of ICK out of there, each about half inch across! bleh! don't think I hit any major blood vessels, since it was bleeding, but more oozing than anything when I was done poking and prodding and squeezing on him. hubby held him on his lap, and for the most part, he was a good roo. didn't complain. I think there might be more in there, but I couldn't get to it, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens...

after I was done getting what I could out, I packed it full of Neosporin and wrapped it well with a pad over the hole (top of his foot, not bottom, since that's where the skin was the thinnest) and secured with vet-wrap. afterwards, he hobbled around some, ate a late dinner and then went back to bed (hospital cage/brooder) all on his own. which is more walking than he's done in a while.

cross fingers that he heals up quickly... i'm sure he misses being an outdoor roo as much as his girls miss him. LOL

I want him OUT before he starts crowing again, if possible. that's the last thing I need my macaw learning!

I had to do the same surgery on my rooster about 3 weeks ago. It was a large bumblefoot, and affecting his walking. I was amazed at how calm he was during the long process. Unfortunately I never found a "nugget", but took a lot of what looked like infection out of his foot. I packed it with neosporine , gauze, then vet wrap. Every 3 days or so I took it off, soaked his foot in hot water and epsom salt, dried and repacked./ wrapped. It is amazing how fast it healed. I am keeping one last round of vet wrap on for another few days to make sure it is 100% even though I am not sure we got all the infection, as there was so much blood, and it was our first time doing this. He has a small bumble on his other foot, and I think that one will much easier to deal with. I will tackle that one next! All that to say, they heal so much faster and better than you think they will! Mine went right out with his girls after he was bandaged up and he has done great. Good luck!

 

[aoxa]

Sometimes they do..I let my chickens decide what they will or will not eat. I have all kinds of things planted and growing that some say are toxic to chickens. If they eat something and die, it was a stupid chicken and not one i want to reproduce. I had a chick once that loved to eat any thing shinny. I did not go around removing all shinny things. I tried to grow it out to 4lbs but had to butcher early since it tried to eat a box of nails. I don't do stupid.

Almost every chicken will eat styrofoam. They are so weird.... What is it about styrofoam???

 

[armorfirelady]

I want him OUT before he starts crowing again, if possible. that's the last thing I need my macaw learning!

I hope he does better. Poor guy has had a rough life. I have been battling bumblefoot for awhile. I don't treat it anymore since it seems I might of got all the gunk out.

And I laughed when I read your last sentence ......I couldn't imagine a macaw learning to crow........that would be horrible unless of course the macaw only did it when you wouldn't it to. But so funny as well......

 

[Rnbwbrite1207]

Almost every chicken will eat styrofoam. They are so weird.... What is it about styrofoam??? 

One afternoon my birds ate a hole through a styrofoam kick board that fell out of our pool before we even knew it had fallen out. Couldn't have been more than forty minutes. I don't understand, why styrofoam either.

 

[Sally8]

Almost every chicken will eat styrofoam. They are so weird.... What is it about styrofoam??? 

I just lost a chicken that I think was from eating styrofoam. They managed to make a hole to get under the porch where we had put recycled sheets of slab styrofoam and the dog pulled a couple down. The chickens thought it was lunch, I guess. By the time I found it, it looked like it had snowed.

 

[Pozees]

I hope he does better. Poor guy has had a rough life. I have been battling bumblefoot for awhile. I don't treat it anymore since it seems I might of got all the gunk out.

And I laughed when I read your last sentence ......I couldn't imagine a macaw learning to crow........that would be horrible unless of course the macaw only did it when you wouldn't it to. But so funny as well......

Macaws only speak/make learned noises when the mood strikes them ... and almost never quietly I had a friend years ago who said his macaw learned to tell another bird to shut the blank up. Never heard it myself so can't swear to it, but I can imagine it.

 

[lazy gardener]

Tonight I was mowing lawn and my grand daughters came running to me crying that the chick was stuck under the arm. How were we going to get it out? Thankfully, my DIL was taking pictures. lol. A third chick hatched nearly a week after the other 2. I had put the egg in the incubator, so after the chick was fully dry I stuck it under her and so far she's taken to it too. I was worried today, being day 1 that it was too cold for the new born. So far, so good.

Loved your comment about stupid!!

Sometimes they do..I let my chickens decide what they will or will not eat. I have all kinds of things planted and growing that some say are toxic to chickens. If they eat something and die, it was a stupid chicken and not one i want to reproduce. I had a chick once that loved to eat any thing shinny. I did not go around removing all shinny things. I tried to grow it out to 4lbs but had to butcher early since it tried to eat a box of nails. I don't do stupid.

 

[aoxa]

I just lost a chicken that I think was from eating styrofoam. They managed to make a hole to get under the porch where we had put recycled sheets of slab styrofoam and the dog pulled a couple down. The chickens thought it was lunch, I guess. By the time I found it, it looked like it had snowed.

Are you sure it's from that? My birds have eaten plenty and never fell ill. Now I make sure not to have any around at all.

One afternoon my birds ate a hole through a styrofoam kick board that fell out of our pool before we even knew it had fallen out. Couldn't have been more than forty minutes. I don't understand, why styrofoam either.

It's a chicken thing. Maybe the texture?

 

[aoxa]

Have you guys ever heard of a chicken's vestibulo-ocular reflex?

I have never heard of it until yesterday and find it absolutely fascinating!

Pay attention to the head. It stays stable while the body is moved. Mercedes Benz did this commercial, and I think it's the best car commercial of all time hands down.

ETA: Make sure you have sound!