I bought several WCBP a few years ago from a breeder who had so many birds I was dizzy trying to see through them all. She was trying to sell as many as she could because she was ill and just needed to get numbers down, so she could keep some and be able to take care of them.
One of my hens had a horrible case of Bumble Foot. The sores where all over her feet, between toes and there was an infection up the legs. This had been my first flock buildup after not having chicken for several years. I had never seen anything like it and at first just thought they were callused, but the second day I noticed this hen was not walking well.
I read BYC a couple of years before I actually joined. I found lots of info on here and treated it myself. I didn't have to do any cutting, but I did a lot of soaking and lots of different meds till she was better. I went through a lot of gloves and did a lot of squeezing once the sores finally softened up enough.
My husband was a surgical nurse and when he first saw my hen's feet swore up and down she needed to be culled, but knew how much I had to save her. He'd come in and look over my shoulder and ask what I was doing and when I'd tell him, he'd smile and say "You're doing the right thing Baby" and walk off. He always had to make sure I wore my gloves which I'd ask him how stupid he thought I was and just go about my business.
I think it was close to two months before this bird fully recovered. It was smelly and nasty to deal with, but she fully recovered.
I did go back to the breeder who promptly returned my money although I hadn't asked for it back. She was upset and embarrassed, because for months she had been barely able to move enough to feed and water and a little cleanup. We walked her area and found 4 more, not bad since she had so many, and helped her treat them.
When we went out to buy my birds there was a man there who didn't know chickens, but had crated up the amount of birds I wanted to help her out. He had no idea about checking feet or anything else, but the next time I went out, he showed up and apologized to us. We kind of felt bad for both of them. They ended up being very nice people, one trying to help they other and things happened. She did call the Ag department and had her flock checked for several things before she offered any more for sale and they were all very healthy other than the few with Bumble Foot. They did mention that it was possibly caused but wire cuts that were from the hardware cloth apron on the inside of the huge run. She had aprons on both sides. There were outside roosts that were close enough that if they landed just right they could land on the wire protruding from the ground.
Sometimes all it takes is a little patience and some extra care and things work out. I couldn't kill this hen. I had to help her. And she loved the foot soaks. I used a plastic tub and when I'd set it out to dry in the sun she would knock it over and stand in it and talk to me, like she was really for her pedi.
I hope everything helps for you soon and that roo does the job you bought him for.
Do be careful since you're pregnant! That stuff is pretty nasty.
Oh and somewhere on here about many a year ago, someone put up a thread about curing this and I can't find it. It was very informative and gave a lot of detail and the method had been given by a vet with much less work than the usual. I have such a hard time searching this forum for some reason.
If you bought this bird from a breeder who sold him this way and actually put him in the shipping box this way, you need to do something about them.
