What to do???

[AlanaK]

I am a new chicken owner, as of February 2015. We have 5 hens, 2 of them (a red sex link and a golden sex link) have developed bumblefoot. I had no idea what it was until I started researching it on various chicken blogs and books. I have been preforming "surgery" almost everyday for the last 2.5 weeks. The one hen (red sex link) seems to be improving. But the other is getting worse. I don't want to kill them myself, what should I do? Does anyone know how to take care of a chicken with this issue. It is so bizarre to me that they got it. We have a clean coop, it's dry, their roost is low enough to the floor of the coop that they aren't jumping far, can this be a genetic thing? Should we not eat their eggs? Can anyone help?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It isn't genetic. It is usually from a cut or scrape on the foot pad and then staph bacteria enters the wound. Staph is everywhere there are chickens. The newest techniques are not to do surgery unless there is a hard nugget in there.
It's better to soak the foot is warm Epson salts, then use an antiseptic like iodine, then wrap the wound with gauze and vet wrap.


http://www.oocities.org/gymnogyps_gray/bumblefoot2.html
http://ouroneacrefarm.com/bumblefoot-treatment-tricideneo/

Make sure they have clean and dry bedding.

 

[AlanaK]

Thank you so much! I am going to pick the Tricide up and try it. I found the article here on BYC about the surgery. But I am glad that if it happens again a simple 5 minute soak will do the trick. I felt so bad doing the pulling of pussy stuff out of their feet. So sad.

Thank you for the info!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A one time 5 minute soak won't do the trick.
It will be a 5 minute soak daily for weeks.
It is one of the toughest things to treat.

 

[AlanaK]

I understand that. I just meant that a 5 minute daily soak is a lot easier than what I was doing with the Epsom salt soak/dig, soak/dig, adding neosporne and guaze then wrapping routine I have been doing daily.