Boo-Boo’s and Funky Stuff
This is Honey; the 10 lb cross-breed Buff Wyandotte, Copper Maran chicken.
In the photo Honey is standing in a huge 5 gallon pot. Yes, my sink is also huge. I had my hand gently on her back so she’d know I was there. The explosion of feathers, feet and claws I’d anticipated did not happen.
She was quite calm, which is still something I am not use to. If a huge thing came and picked me up carried me into some weird enclosure, and plopped me down into a big pot of warm water, I’d come unglued. However, she didn’t, and I’ve seldom had any hen that did. I’ve had the girls for almost four years now. Still no real ambivilant behavior when I soak a hen in warm water.
I’m only guessing that it has something to do with sensory overload, so they just usually relax into a passive mass of fluff.
Honey was limping on a foot when I fed the ladies this morning. I picked her up and upon closer inspection I see she has a big black growth on the pad of her foot. It’s not swollen or puss filled, but it is most certainly a thick black scabby looking something stuck there.
I tentatively tug at it with my nail and see it’s attached onto the skin. Deciding it needs to come off I take Honey into the house for a good soaking in Epsom Salts and warm water. I took oodles of photos, but mostly because I thought she’d blow up…
I laid her on her back on a towel and was ready to cover her head, but of course I snapped a picture of her on her back first. Then covered her head so she’d relax as I worked on her foot.
I hate to show you her foot but here’s the picture.
This condition is called (in the chicken forums) Bumble Foot. Some of the situations are way worse than this, with puss filled pockets. Honey’s was not that bad.
After a long soaking of about 20 minutes I gently pried off the scab. It took a bit of doing, and it did bleed a little bit, but she is no worse for wear. It stopped soon after I took it off.
I cleaned it off with Betadine and then used a good topical antibacterial dressing. The kind which does not have any pain additives. Analgesics are bad for chickens. After this I wrapped her foot with Vet Wrap and put her in a private recovery area so others wouldn’t peck at her wrapper.
The prognosis is good. She stayed in the enclosure a few days and she’s not limping anymore. The bandages came off and the old wound area looks clean and closed up neatly. Now she gets to go play with her other friends.
I can’t help but wonder what in the world is going to happen next…
Here’s a picture of Honey’s Eggs. I love how different they are each day. Sometimes almost copper and other days a more natural brown egg color. I actually dated each one as they were laid, so I could take note of the daily color changes.
I call eggs “Magic”… They are Amazing!
life with chickens 