Best Antibiotic for Bumblefoot?

tulie13 · Jul 28, 2012

I have pulled plugs of cheesy stuff out of the feet of 2 of my hens and they are segregated from the rest of the flock right now. I want to give them an oral antibiotic in addition to the ointment on their feet. I have some penicillin, some Sulmet, and some Aureomycin. Which is best for this situation? I'm thinking penicillin, but I'd like to get some confirmation/feedback.

THANKS in advance!

speckledhen · Jul 28, 2012

None of those will do any good for bumblefoot, nothing oral, sorry. They are just too weak to do a thing for a staph infection. Even injectible penicillin isn't that useful, though you could inject a double dose for a few days if you like.

I don't give antibiotics for bumblefoot any longer because none of them have ever done a bit of good, no more than just treating it mechanically/topically and getting the gunk out and pushing antibiotic ointment plus silver sulfadiazene cream into the hole and wrapping it up.

lizablair · Jul 28, 2012

my vet gave my turkey two different antibiotics at one time and after treating bumblefoot spots ...surgery..he had me make a thick paste with betadine and table sugar then put it on a thick padding of cotton ,,apply to foot and wrap gently with vet wrap....the bumblefoot is gone and so are the briars and any other thing that can cause an injury...

speckledhen · Jul 28, 2012

lizablair said:
my vet gave my turkey two different antibiotics at one time and after treating bumblefoot spots ...surgery..he had me make a thick paste with betadine and table sugar then put it on a thick padding of cotton ,,apply to foot and wrap gently with vet wrap....the bumblefoot is gone and so are the briars and any other thing that can cause an injury...

Well, the problem is that you can't sanitize and chicken-proof 5 acres of mountain land, much of which contains that nasty cow vine/greenbriar stuff, plus sharp rocks by the ton. Some chickens are more prone to bumblefoot than others; some never get it; and they all walk the same acreage. The heavier birds tend to get it more than the lighter ones, generally.

When you have a certain few hens who have chronic bumblefoot, you cannot keep injecting them with antibiotics-they'd glow in the dark! I used to say that about my Violet, who had bumblefoot most of her life, on and off. We did antibiotic after antibiotic and none of them did any good whatsoever, no better than just packing the foot after removing whatever cheesy gunk we could get out. That was years ago and I learned my lesson. I don't give injectible antibiotics unless I feel the infection may be going systemic or is especially nasty, and I mean like most of the pad is gone when you remove the mass.

theoldchick · Jul 28, 2012

My version of the betadine wrap is to use epsom salts with betadine. This is an excellent drawing paste and is also used to treat hoof abscess in horses.

Good point about oral or injectible antibiotics. Once the body walls off the infection such things are not necessary. However, antibiotics will help with any secondary infection.

Kacey's Krazee's · Jul 29, 2012

How do you keep the ants off the foot if it's treated with sugar? We have so many ants here, I live in central east Texas. Fire ants being the worst.
I have heard of the sugar treatment, but didn't do it for that reason.

I had 2 hens that had bumblefoot. I soaked their feet in epson water, rinsed their feet, and then did a soak in Tricide-Neo. It's used for fish, with bacterial infections. It needs to be mixed with distilled water, and then used a gauze pad and athletic tape to make a bandage. I treated them 3 times a week, for 2 weeks, and their feet healed beautifully.

Best Antibiotic for Bumblefoot?

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