Bumblefoot…
It is a pretty common thing that happens to backyard flocks ?
The chickens feet are typically soft and actually really smooth
Because they do everything on their feet… ?
They jump around a lot, they run everywhere, they jump on each other even when they’re playing…
They can get a foot injury
Whether it’s a cut, a scrape, or it’s just from jumping too much…
Too much pressure because of the weight of their body…
They can get a sore on the bottom of their foot…
Which can turn into what’s known as bumblefoot
Most people don’t realize that there’s a problem until the chicken has a dark brown/black kind of scab on the bottom of their foot
It’s really important that you treat that because it’s actually a staph infection ?
And if you don’t treat it, then it can run up the foot into the leg, into the bones
And it could actually even kill the chicken
There are two schools of thought to treating it…
There’s surgery ? and there’s natural ?
I kind of do a hybrid of the two.
Surgery would be taking a scalpel
Cutting the scab off
And pulling out all of the infection
Then wrapping the foot
I don’t do it that way
So here’s how I handle it
I don’t really like the idea of cutting into a healthy foot
Yes, it has an infection, but I’d rather just not cut into it
I get a plastic tub that is probably six inches deep
I got a rock of some sort … either an actual rock from outside or a landscape stone
I purchased a landscape stone only because it’s flat on the top
I put that rock in the bottom of the plastic tub because hens don’t like plastic
They can’t grip on it with their feet and they feel like they’re not stable
So I put the landscape stone in there just for them to stand on
Then I fill the tub with water until it’s about an inch above the rock and regular epsom salt just like for people
I give her a saltwater soak for her feet for about 20 minutes
This softens that scab on the sore
It’s really not a problem to keep them occupied to stand there for 20 minutes
My girls actually like to watch stuff on my phone, particularly social media…I just scroll around and different movement keeps them entertained for the 20 minutes
Then I take them out of the epsom salt bath, dry their feet off
And then usually I can just pull the scab right off
If you pull slow and steady, the infection will come with it
An infection in a chicken isn’t liquid and oozy like it is for people, it’s harder
Not even like cottage cheese, it’s more like a hard nodule
If you’re really careful, you can pull the whole thing out
Then once I get that all cleaned out good I use Vetericyn (it’s an antiseptic spray) to keep it clean
Then I put Green Goo on it (a natural salve) that will help with healing
For bumblefoot specifically, I then use Bumblefoot Remedy from Moonlight Mile Herb Farm
I’ll put a couple of drops on the bumblefoot itself, on the sore
And then I’ll put about eight to ten drops of the Bumblefoot Remedy in her mouth
I’ll do that every day until it’s healed
After I put the bumblefoot remedy on the sore, then I wrap it because I don’t want the Vetericyn or the Green Goo to rub off
I kind of glop the Green Goo it on and I want it to stay there until it absorbs into the sore so that it helps it heal
In order to keep it there, I put a little piece of gauze I cut from a gauze pad, then hold it on with vet wrap (stretchy wrap that sticks to itself)
If it’s summer time when they’ve got ice out there and they’re going to be getting their feet wet…
I use waterproof first aid tape on top of the vet wrap just to try to keep it dry so that everything stays on
That’s my natural treatment
It does take a little longer to heal
I would rather it take longer, and be natural, than to have to do surgery
I hope this help you to identify Bumblefoot and learn how to treat it
If you have any questions, definitely pop them in the comments below and I’ll get back to you.
Remember … Be The Organic U – Feed Your Soul
#BeTheOrganicU #organic #homestead #sustainability #agriculture #coops #farming #gardening #chickens #backyard #eggs #farmlife #homesteading #permaculture #bumblefoot
