4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[beckib]

Hi Guys, its been some time since i last logged on, although i frequently use the site for reference and keeping up to date

Hendrix has been limping quite badly for a couple of days. i immediately took a look and found what seemed to be a very small cut/graze on her left foot pad. I have been bathing it with salt water as the many have advised on existing posts, but because she is no better this morning i decided to google bumblefoot and to my horror the images i have seen look just like Hendrix's foot .

I am going to try to find a vet for her today/tomorrow, on a previous enquiry my existing vet said said that they would look at her but they are not bird specialists. I'll give them another call, afterall it was ages ago.

I wondered if you guys had any experience/advice re bumblefoot. I'm a bit worried, she's a great hen loads of character and Yolko seems to be missing her company plodding around the garden as all she wants to do is sit and be quiet.

[Olly]

Sorry, no experience of it - if you search on here you'll find a few posts about it. It will need antibiotics though so you're right to find a vet.

 

Have a look on here because it might mention what other people's vets used to treat it, and if yours isn't a bird specialist then it might be useful to have some suggestions.

 

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

[beckib]

Hey thanks for that. I haven't found any specific names of treatment, but it seems that anitbioics are definitely the way to go. On the posts i did find most of them mentioned swelling, well Hendrix's foot isn't actually swollen, and the sore almost looks like a verruca (not sure if spelt that right ).

Also catching Hendrix twice a day is not going to be easy. It will be easy at night as i will turf her out bed, as you know thats when they are most docile. But in the morning the first thing she does is normally goes for a very large poo(sorry )! im sure i would upset her a great deal if i caught her before she had done this any suggestions???

[Flo]

Hello

 

My gingernut Luci had bumblefoot just after we got her. It looked like a small blister on the bottom of her foot and she was limping a lot.

 

We took her to the vet and had to give her a 7 day course of anitbiotics as well as a twice daily foot bath! It was a bit tricky at first but you soon get the hang of it.

 

The antibiotics were administered using a syringe - I held her under one arm and with the other put the syringe to her beak and gently squeezed the antibiotic into her mouth. For the foot bath, I filled a shallow dish with the iodine/water solution. held her from above and dunked her in. She wasn't too impressed at first, but if you hold her fimrly it is really quite easy.

 

It was a bit tricky doing it at 6:30am before work but by the end of the week I was a bit of a pro!

 

Good luck with it and I hope Hendrix is better soon

 

Flo

[beckib]

Hi Flo,

Thanks for the reply.

Thankfully my normal vet can see Hendrix this afternoon, they are not bird experts, but they say that they can treat most common bird ailments.

Catching her has been a little bit easier recently as she is so slow and unsteady, but i still hate upsetting them More so cos i am currently treating Yoko for scaly legs too.

They are both very wary of me right now as i keep giving them sweetcorn and then catching them, i'm sure they just think i am being mean

I know its for the best though and hopefully not for long

 

I'll keep you all updated on the outcome of the visit to the vets.

 

Thanks for the support

[SillyClucker]

is bumblefoot caused by a vitimin deficiency or a physical injury?

[beckib]

Well we have been to the vet and he confirmed that Hendrix does have Bumblefoot. He has given me me some Baytril to fight the infection and some oral anti inflammatry. He did say that it appears to be in very early stages and that we should treat her for 7 days. She also had an injection so by the time we finished she was not a happy bunny (or chicken).

 

Anyway, when we got home i gave her first daily dose of 6 drops of AI, which apparently tastes very bitter and really smells like smellingsalts, but she is so greedy and i had no problems giving her it on a sliced up grape.

 

I have just got them up and she seems a little brighter today, still limping but i think it may have improved a little, i will have to see how she gets on throughout the day. I now have to give her first of her twice daily Baytril and her AI.

 

The vet never actually told me if i should bathe the wound,. might have to give him a call???

 

He did tell me it can be contagious, but he had never seen it spread through a flock. I have also found out it is an infection that normally originates from an open wound and then gets infected and ulcerated.

 

I do hope shes feeling better soon.

 

BTW he confirmed that i am doing the right thing treating Yolkos scaly leg with surgical spritis but he did say if it doesn't improve they can give them an injection that speeds up the killing of the parasite. so if it doesn't get better soon i will be taking her to the vet too!

 

Anyway, thanks to all you good people for the support.

[Faye&Ant]

Well we have been to the vet and he confirmed that Hendrix does have Bumblefoot. He has given me me some Baytril to fight the infection and some oral anti inflammatry. He did say that it appears to be in very early stages and that we should treat her for 7 days. She also had an injection so by the time we finished she was not a happy bunny (or chicken).

 

Anyway, when we got home i gave her first daily dose of 6 drops of AI, which apparently tastes very bitter and really smells like smellingsalts, but she is so greedy and i had no problems giving her it on a sliced up grape.

 

I have just got them up and she seems a little brighter today, still limping but i think it may have improved a little, i will have to see how she gets on throughout the day. I now have to give her first of her twice daily Baytril and her AI.

 

The vet never actually told me if i should bathe the wound,. might have to give him a call???

 

He did tell me it can be contagious, but he had never seen it spread through a flock. I have also found out it is an infection that normally originates from an open wound and then gets infected and ulcerated.

 

I do hope shes feeling better soon.

 

BTW he confirmed that i am doing the right thing treating Yolkos scaly leg with surgical spritis but he did say if it doesn't improve they can give them an injection that speeds up the killing of the parasite. so if it doesn't get better soon i will be taking her to the vet too!

 

Anyway, thanks to all you good people for the support.

 

Hi Beckib,

 

One of my girls has been sitting in the nest box for the last couple of days, shes really hot, losing feathers and all the signs of being broody which we have been trying to sort out! Anyway to get to the point I noticed her toe is really swollen this morning with a little down brown graze and after reading your post im convinced she has Bumblefoot. I was going to leave it for a couple of days but im now going to phone the vets this morning and hopefully get her on some antibiotics

 

Just wanted to say thanks for your post, its been really helpful

 

 

Faye x

[Faye&Ant]

Sorry,

 

Forgot to say hope that Hendrix will be ok

 

How rude of me

 

Faye x

[beckib]

Thats whats great about Omlet, you get lots of help and support

 

It helped me to google bumblefoot and look at images, most of them are of guinea pigs but its exctly the same.

 

You must get her treated as it can get worse and they get very lame very quickly. Hendrix was ok, no signs at all, when she went to bed and then she was lame by the time she got up the next day!

 

I hope she's OK, i would be interested to know how she gets on.

 

Take care

Becki

[Faye&Ant]

Thanks Becki,

 

I have an appointment with the vet at 1.15 so will let you know

 

Faye x

[beckib]

Hi Faye,

How did you get on, hope she's ok let me know when you get the chance? You never said what your girls name is.

 

Hendrix is much better, still limping quite alot, but she really is alot better and happier.

Its a fine art getting the medicine down her, but as long as Yolko is out of the way its ok.

 

Best wishes

Becki

[Faye&Ant]

Hi Becki,

 

Sorry I didn't get back to you yesterday, Im glad Hendrix is on the mend. Is Yolko pecking her?

 

We took 'Helen' (aka little brown one) to the vets and she did confirm that she had bumblefoot but luckily it was really early so it wasn't a big problem. We got some anti flammatory medicine for that which she has to take in a syringe once a day down her throat - is this what you had to do:?:

 

Also im not sure if I mentioned before but she has also been broody and pecking her chest feathers, and although the vet said this was not a problem, she was concerned she had a tender tummy and thinks she may have egg peronititus . So we have also got to syringe twice a day some baytril down her throat .

 

On top of that she has lice which I was mortified at as we are so good at keeping our girls and their house clean, although apparantly if they are poorly they are more prone, so to sort this out she had an injection into her stomach (she was so good with all this and shes only a little pekin bantam)

 

To finally top the day off she got bullied when she went back into the garden by the top hen Thats why I was interested in what you said about Yolko, has she always been bullying Hendrix or only since her being poorly

 

I have now kept her seperate overnight and keeping a watchful eye on them while they are in the garden. I got nothing done all day yesterday

 

The poor little thing took it all so well and fingers crossed in 7 days the cheeky little nutter will be back to her usual self.

 

Sorry for the long reply, just had to too much to say.

 

Thanks for the bumblefoot diagnosis though as I was really going to leave it a couple of days and she most certainly would have gone downhill

 

Faye x

[beckib]

Hiya,

Sorry for the delay, been really busy over the weekend.

You really have your plate full dont you!

Hendrix has to have 1 lot of Anti Inflammatory (6 drops) and 2 lots of Baytril per day. I usually inject it into little pieces of grape, making sure that Yolko is shut in the conservatory so she can't steal it. Its much less stressful for her as she is very nervous of me right now. It does the trick and so far she has been ok.

I hope Helen(or little brown one) gets better soon, its a good job you took her to the vet isn't it! Chickens really aren't the easiest of creatures to treat either are they?

I haven't really had a problem with bullying, but Yolko is certainly making the most of Hendrix being under the weather, its normally Hendrix who is top dog Yolko is now first in line for any treats and is always in the house looking for s"Ooops, word censored!"s of food in the kitchen or sunbathing on the conservatory carpet

Day 4 of Hendrix's treatment and she is doing very well, although i suspect that we may have to continue with the Baytril as she still has a limp when running, but its hardly noticable whe she is plodding along.

Anyway like i said a really hope your little hen gets better, hopefully you can see an improvement already, she must have been on her medication 4 days now???

 

Thanks for your support

 

Becki

[Faye&Ant]

Hi Becki,

 

Im sure Hendrix will be top dog again in no time, and hopefully lose her limp.

 

Helens doing great, no more bullying and lice free. She has a little lump on both feet but it doesnt seem to bother her. Just need to snap her out of being broody

 

I have been bribing her with treats after the medicine and she doesnt struggle so much now, just kind of looks at me and says get on with it and then flies off my lap with a dignified squawk and bottom in the air

 

Anyway - keep me updated with Hendrix and her poorly foot

 

Faye x