[plumseverywhere]

'cuckoo' my daughters latest cochin cockerel is limping a bit. there is a small 5pence piece sized red area that I can see. The limp is not drastic and its not impaired his ability to wake me up at 4.30am but I just wondered if it could be bumblefoot perhaps?
now this cockerel is HUGE and although I wouldnt' say he scares me, as such, I'm not too keen on picking him up to prod more but I'm guessing that I probably need to, don't i? oh bum, I do, I know.

[daddymatty82]

yes you do need to investigate  may need to act on it fast

[plumseverywhere]

Thanks Matt. any idea's what it might be? i've googled and come up wiht bumblefoot which looks nasty 

[NormandyMary]

Hello. Please dont think Im being bossy, but please please please get the cockeral to the vets as soon as possible. A few months ago I lost my beloved cockeral Monty to Bumblefoot, and I blame myself as, through ignorance, I left it too late to get it treated successfully. He had courses of antibiotics and I had to perform regular surgery on his foot, cutting it open to get the poison out. Despite all my and our vets efforts, he died. It was so very sad as he had been living in the house with us for weeks on and off for his treatments.
I wish you all the luck in the world with the poor little man. Once you start to handle him, he will be putty in your hands.

Mary.

[plumseverywhere]

Thank you Mary. I will get him seen. he only replaced 'coco' my 8 yr olds xmas pressie (also cochin cockerel) last week so can't bear her losing yet another so quickly.

[northfifeduckling]

mine had a swollen and slightly inflamed foot last year and it healed by itself, must have been a litlle injury. I'm not saying that you should not investigate! 

[plumseverywhere]

  thanks northfifeduckling. that has actually made me feel a bit better because try as i might, i cannot catch this cockerel to get a good look or take him to the vet. not just cos he's huge but because he's still mighty fast, even with a limp    am waiting for him to get dozy at dusktime and will try then.  if anything he's limping less today and when i chucked in some cucumber earlier he didn't hesitiate to run for it 

[northfifeduckling]

it's best to pick him out of the house when it is getting dark and examine with a torch. He won't put up that much resistance then. Hope it's nothing serious! 

[Brahma girl]

Hi, hope you don'r mind me joining in, bumblefoot although not very nice can be cured if caught early. Its like us getting pressure sores (can be seen in people who lay in one place too long) first catch your man, it would be best if there were two of you - he's fast so use a large blanket or duvet, you will have to throw it a few times but you will get him. Once caught  one of you should hold him firmly under the arm - the other person should clean his foot and look for hot spots this may present with a rosy red mark which can run between the toes, so feel between them. Do they feel hot or curl under? If they do he will antibiotic if you don't have any you will need to get them from a vet. As the cells under the pad are braking down like an abcess. If it's just a wound bath with antibacterial wash use veterinary wound powder. check daily. Really hope this helps

regards Nadine
Norfolk Brahmas

[plumseverywhere]

Thank you Nadine  I will catch him when he's a little more dopey and have a good look...LIsa

[NormandyMary]

How's your cockeral today Lisa?

[plumseverywhere]

He's so much better! we had a good look an there were no wounds. hubby and i are both ex nurses so used our memories on how pressure sores would look (thanks for tip Nadine!) and there were no hot areas and he didn't appear bothered when it was touched.
anyway next day (yesterday) he was running about totally normally again. so...will keep an eye on him and if needs be attempt to take him to vet. - unless they'd be happy with a  photo, description and not have the actual bird attend? - he is very huge LOL.

[plumseverywhere]

cuckoo got better...then he started limping today so I managed to catch him and have another look. this time there was a black mark under his foot. vets at 6pm to be told "not classic bumblefoot, possibly penetrating wound from standing on something.." but either way these antibiotics will help clear whichever it is.
so...twice a day I have to squirt baytril into this massive cockerel and fingers crossed he will get better. credit to him, he was a gent all through the examination just sat being stroked and didn't poo on the vets table - way to go cuckoo!! 

[northfifeduckling]

so good you gave it a go, plums!
Mine is so big but a real gentle giant when picked up at night  I was surprised at the little scared noises he made when I dusted him yesterday, bless...