Yup, we have Bumblefoot!!

[ValerieLovesChickens]

I would consider 2 inches insufficient and jumping from the roost they might hit the bare ground which can lead to bumble foot when little stones or else will be pressed into their feet.

How many inches of bedding should we be using: coastal hay? Large pine flake?

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

4 now with the BF... I am so sad and disheartened. These poor birds. It is probably our fault. Being new chicken owners is hard. We have hit EVERY wall this year.

 

[LaFleche]

How many inches of bedding should we be using: coastal hay? Large pine flake?

I use softwood shavings about 20-25 cm in winter.

 

[LaFleche]

4 now with the BF... I am so sad and disheartened. These poor birds. It is probably our fault. Being new chicken owners is hard. We have hit EVERY wall this year.

Don't feel disheartened, we all were beginners once and learned from experience.

What exactly do you feed them? Sometimes a vitamin deficiency can contribute as well and there are some breeds more prone to bumble foot than others.

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

I use softwood shavings about 20-25 cm in winter.

We live in Texas, about an hour south of Ft Worth. Our temps vary from 40s to 80s the winter. But we will definitely use 2 foot of bedding. As I understand how too little could have caused this. I would rather have too much than not enough. Thank you. *hugs of thanks*

 

[Vickischics]

Valerie, as beloved chicken owners and keepers, most of us do our best to properly care for our chickens. Although we do get disappointed with ourselves, we must remember "We do the Best was can"!
Being on the BYC forum will not only educate you throughout the changes, our highly skilled forum people that I call "Experts" like @LaFleche will teach you how to care for the issue with advanced personal and textbook knowledge.

 

[kjorgey]

I listened to a couple vet podcasts on roost bars and all the vets recommended at least a 2 inch diameter, rounded off roost bar. Why? It is a more natural fit to the chickens feet. Anything less than 2 inch diameter or too large can cause bumble foot. There may be splinters coming off of the perch imbedding in their feet, especially in moist, humid environments which will raise the grain of the wood. I clean and dry my roost bars off at least 2 X a month with a vinegar solution and I check for splinters on their ramp. Do your chickens get to free range during the day? Confinement may be an issue too. You need to keep a thick bedding. Jumping off the perch to the floor in the coop is where many injuries or splintering can occur. I have oak bark mulch supplied by local arborists (free) in our run. A thick covering of that protects from the rocks underneath as they scratch. I think you are on the right track with their care. But splinters are an issue and inspect your roosts carefully and try switching to a rounded perch that is nice and smoot. Look at homedepot in the scrap wood bin for stair rails. That is what I used. Very hard wood, and rounded already.

 

[Chickens are fun]

4 now with the BF... I am so sad and disheartened. These poor birds. It is probably our fault. Being new chicken owners is hard. We have hit EVERY wall this year.

Hi! I’m new to the site and chickens and totally agree! It’s way harder than we expected.
We just treated our Barred Rock pullet that came to us with BF, and we just didn’t know what it was.
Thanks to non-invasive suggestions on tillysnest.com, we soaked her foot in a warm Epsom bath for 20 minutes, and the “plug” came right out of the bottom of her foot with a very gentle effort. We cleaned it with Vetericyn and Hen Healer and wrapped it. So far, she seems to be doing much better and it was an easy, non-surgical, no bleeding process!


Now, I wonder if anyone has any idea how long it takes for the literal hole in her foot to heal so it won’t refill with debris?

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

Don't feel disheartened, we all were beginners once and learned from experience.

What exactly do you feed them? Sometimes a vitamin deficiency can contribute as well and there are some breeds more prone to bumble foot than others.

Thank you for the kind words and encouragement. We just did #5, she was in a lot of pain, bright pink and very swollen.
We use Bryant brand products from our local feed store. We live way out in the country. The gal there said it is Chick-Grow-Lay. These pullets are aged 7 to 8 months old. We were told to feed them this until 1 year of age. They have access to calcium and grit.
They get fresh fruits and veggies, and Bryant scratch for treats. They free range in the evening for about an hour, anywhere from 4 to 7 days a week. Depending on what we have going on here. We have a LOT of daytime hawks. This is the only time it is safe for us to accompany them for some grazing outside the run.

 

[ValerieLovesChickens]

Hi! I’m new to the site and chickens and totally agree! It’s way harder than we expected.
We just treated our Barred Rock pullet that came to us with BF, and we just didn’t know what it was.
Thanks to non-invasive suggestions on tillysnest.com, we soaked her foot in a warm Epsom bath for 20 minutes, and the “plug” came right out of the bottom of her foot with a very gentle effort. We cleaned it with Vetericyn and Hen Healer and wrapped it. So far, she seems to be doing much better and it was an easy, non-surgical, no bleeding process!


Now, I wonder if anyone has any idea how long it takes for the literal hole in her foot to heal so it won’t refill with debris?

Thanks for sharing this information and pictures. Unfortunately none of our blackheads want to come out easily yet. So we will wait with the drawing salve 24 hours, and get them out tomorrow.

I too would like to know, how long it takes to heal once removed. I've read and watched videos thatsay 1 to 6 weeks. so I have no idea. Does it depend on the severity of each case perhaps??