Gout, Bumblefoot or ?? Treatment? See photos

[Sutremaine]

Keep an eye on her toenails. They're on the long side, and they'll only get longer if she has soft footing for her gout.

 

[SonomaLadies]

Keep an eye on her toenails. They're on the long side, and they'll only get longer if she has soft footing for her gout.

I will - thanks for the reminder. Cutting nails will be another chicken "first" for me.

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: Trimming claws is easy. You will need a big towel, some guillotine dog claw trimmers, some stypic bleed stop powder or corn starch, (I use corn starch) and an alcohol wipe.

Towel up the bird and lay them in your lap on their back, feet up and their head at your belly. When the claws are really long like hers are, the blood vein is really close to the end of the claw. Some of your birds claws are going to need about 3/8ths or a bit more trimmed off. You can't just lop this all off at once because she will bleed heavily. So you will need trim her claws weekly, tiny bits at a time. Each trimming will cause the blood vein to retreat up the claw.

They will no doubt bleed a bit on this first trimming and maybe the second as well, so have your cornstarch ready. Just trim off about a 1/16 of an inch. If it bleeds, wipe the end with your alcohol wipe and then with a big pinch of the corn starch, pack the end of the claw really well. This will stop the bleeding. If it bleeds through, repack it. The claw will stop bleeding in a moment. Trim all of her claws in this fashion. Let her lay in your lap for a minute or two after all bleeding has stopped. Leave the corn starch on there and you can put her down somewhere clean for a while. The claws won't infect if she is in a clean area for an hour or so. They harden off quick.

Repeat this each week until the desired length is reached. Compare her nails to your other birds that have normal length claws. Then you will probably have to trim them every 8 weeks since she is not doing any scratching with her tender feet.

Good luck and keep us posted!!

 

[SonomaLadies]

You read my mind - just the advice I needed!

 

[lovechickens23]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

That is not bumblefoot but yes it is Gout. Gout is very hard to treat once they get this. And some birds are just prone to it as well. Gout is a form of arthritis and effects them just as the standard arthritis would. They get this swelling, inflammation, pain, etc...as the uric acid is deposited in the joints of the feet. It can also effect organs as well.

I have an very old male quail with gout. He has been living with this for over 3 years. I have found that Apple Cider Vinegar in the water, (1 tablespoon ACV to 1 gallon of water changed and made fresh daily) really helps with pain and inflammation. In the winter especially, I turn on an Infra Red heat lamp for him for about one hour and he loves to bask in it. It helps increase circulation and reduces inflammation and gets his stiff joints moving on those cold days.

Tart or sour cherries....these are used by humans to help remove the uric acids in the joints. My quail loves these and they seem to help.

Reduce the bird's intake of protein. So find the lowest protein chicken feed you can find and then cut it even more with scratch, corn or millet. Add something to bring the protein down even more. Feed only treats like veggies, fruits, greens...no mealworms or meats.

These techniques have helped my quail continue to live on. He hobbles around quite a bit and his feet are gnarly, but he still gets around, enjoys going out into his run each day and still comes for his greens and veggie treats.

They can live a decent life if you control the diet. Of course if your bird starts to suffer badly, it is always advised to put them down.

Good luck and I hope you can relieve some of her issues!!

Hi can u help me your information is very good.my rooster has gout never had this in chickens. He had it for seven munths now at first thoughr it was bumble feet but he didnt have black scab. Tryied everything. He is eating chick starter feed low protine now and takeing vitamin in his water I do feed him vegies I feed my hens other rooster leanyea feed ia that ok for roosters? Its not layer feed. I use to feed them just scratch feed might go back to that. Here his pic of his feet

 

[lovechickens23]

Hi can u help me your information is very good.my rooster has gout never had this in chickens. He had it for seven munths now at first thoughr it was bumble feet but he didnt have black scab. Tryied everything. He is eating chick starter feed low protine now and takeing vitamin in his water I do feed him vegies I feed my hens other rooster leanyea feed ia that ok for roosters? Its not layer feed. I use to feed them just scratch feed might go back to that. Here his pic of his feet

 

[TwoCrows]

View attachment 1220700

Oh I am so sorry your boy has gout! Yes, he looks like one of my males that passed on last year. There are a few things you can do to help him, but nothing will cure this.

First, very low protein, 10-12% protein, even less some days. LOTS of veggies, greens, some fruits too. Low fat grains like millet, milo or corn. Etc... Don't starve him, but keep the protein down to a dull roar.

Apple Cider Vinegar in his water will help with inflammation, kill pain, and the crystals that get into the joints. 1 TBS ACV per gallon of water, make a new batch daily. Dont use this water every day, 3 or 4 days a week, maybe every other day?

Tart Cherries. These things are used on humans with gout as they do a super job of breaking down the process and uric acid that is responsible for the gout. Breaks down the crystals in the Kidneys too, where it has a tendency to build up as well. Tart Cherries can be hard to find however you can usually find this stuff ground up at herb and health food stores. Even Walmart carries it in their vitamin aisle. You could mix it in food, possiblely the water. I usually shoot meds under the birds tongue via baby food so I know they are getting the meds.

These are what I have used to ease the pain and continual gnarling of the toes and joints. You can definitely slow it down, even improve it a bit with these tips. Some birds can respond well and heal fairly well.

Good luck!

 

[lovechickens23]

Thank u how do u know witch charries are tar and witch ones are sweat how do u tell? Is some human meds ok for chickens? Right now iam useing for him a human natural medicine post to help gout and swklon I only give him few drops its liquid I tryied to see if it's safe for chickens but nothing says it. I think it is safe cuz its made with natural stuff. I will try the charries stuff dont worrie I wont starve him he is on chick starter feed with low protein.... And do u mean rugalar cherries or cherrey vitimens cuz u said its near the vitimans

 

[lovechickens23]

 

[lovechickens23]

Do u mean something like that?