Wednesday 25 July 2012

Bumble Foot!

Gaahh, I can't believe it!  I've never had to deal with it before, I secretly hoped I wouldn't have to. 


Mabel AND Betty have, what looks to be the early stages of bumble foot.  I'm devastated.  There are many horror stories of how to deal with it yourself on the net, none of which I fancy undertaking, so I'm off to the vets tomorrow to see what they have to say.  Obviously if it comes to the crunch, then I will do what I have to but I won't be looking forward to it!


Bet has been a little off colour of late, I had thought it was due to her early moult but then I noticed that Lucy was attacking Mabel's head.  Mabel is at the top of the pecking order and Lucy at the bottom, so I knew something was a foot but I didn't think it would be literally!  


I had a quick check of Mabel, as chickens will attack sick of injured flock mates. She was a little bit not herself as she has just been broody but otherwise she seemed to be in good health.  I was puzzled somewhat until I noticed her slightly limping and checked her feet.


Mabel's bumble foot.  Notice the tell tale black 'plug' on the pad of her foot.
(Excuse Mabel's soggy undercarriage.  She'd been cooling off in a bath, it's very hot in the UK at the moment!)


Bumble foot, on BOTH feet!  When I checked the others I found out Betty has it also, again on both feet.


I have no idea what could have caused it.  Rough perches, impact damage from jumping from high places (unlikely with these two) hurting their feet on something sharp or rough.  None of these issues spring to mind, the perches are smooth, they don't leave the ground hardly at all, the garden is safe and well tended for the girls.  Both feet, on both of them, I mean it's not like it's catching.  I am at a loss.


I will keep you updated on their hopefully non-invasive treatment and progress x


.....


6 comments:

  1. Oh no! That sucks. I'm going to go out and check my girls today. Poor little honeys. Keep us updated on their progress please!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will do Kelly. Hope yours ladies are Bumble Foot less! x

      Delete
    2. They are clear. Phew! I'm glad I have not had to address this issue as of yet.

      Delete
    3. Great news Kelly! I wouldn't have looked until I saw Mabel limping. I will now include bumble foot check in my weekly hen health check!

      Delete
  2. So sorry you're dealing with this! I've actually done the bumblefoot surgery on several of my girls, but it wasn't really successful and kept coming back. My hen Buttercup has bumblefoot right now, but she's not limping so I'm going to just let it be.

    Good luck and let us know how everything goes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The whole thing confuses me. There seems to be different remedies and end results for Bumble Foot. I was most concerned when I read the word fatal and that just sent me into fits of worry. It's a learning curve the girls are putting me through I guess!

      Thanks for your comment, it's good to hear experiences from other people xxx

      Delete