Bumble foot?????

[chickngal98]

Can a hen have bumblefoot without a scab? I have a hen that she limped for a few weeks with no visible deformities, and then two nights ago I saw that her pad of her foot was swollen. I have researched bumblefoot on here and really don't know if she has it 100%. She doesn't have a scab on the bottom. I have soaked her foot in epsom salts and tried to drain some of the infection off to make it more comfortable for her. What other ailments are there with the feet of poultry? I am thinking of opening up her foot surgically tonight, once I pick up a few things from the farm store for the surgery, but I am wary of doing that if I am not for sure that it is bumblefoot. If there isn't a scab to remove, how am I suppose to know where to begin the surgery? Help!

 

[terryg]

I have just taken care of a hen with bumblefoot. I'll be writing up a post about it on my blog within the week. Bumblefoot will be obvious - very swollen, even between the toes. Chicken pads are tough and it's unlikely you'll get it to burst by just soaking. Have you scrubbed the area? There should be a dark "plug" which you can pull off and then squeeze the infected matter out. Not for the squeamish! If no plug, just cut in the center. From my experience, there will be a large and hard mass inside. Can't miss it. Do keep an eye on my website - I'll have more up this week. (BTW, I tape the bandage on with duct tape. Not silver, though, dark, brown is best to keep the other hens from pecking.)

 

[chickngal98]

Thank you! What happens if we decide not to treat it? Could it get worse?

 

[janinepeters]

Could you post some pics? I think it would be a very, very bad idea to do any cutting unless you know it is bumblefoot. Bumblefoot is basically an abscess which results when a cut on the foot becomes infected. If you cut her and it gets infected, she will probably develop bumblefoot, whether that's what she has now, or not.

If it is bumblefoot, and it goes untreated, it probably will not heal on its own and may indeed get much worse. But before it gets worse, I would try the much less invasive TricideNeo soaks before cutting or picking at anything. It is an antibiotic used to treat ulcers on koi fish, but also found to be effective in some cases of bumblefoot, perhaps the milder cases, especially. The treatment is very simple - dissolve the antibiotic in DISTILLED water, soak for 5-10 min a day for at least a week. The scab eventually falls off on its own, and underneath will be healed.....if the treatment succeeds. I have done this, and it worked wonderfully for me.

 

[chickngal98]

Yes, I will post a pic later on this evening when I get ahold of her again. It is in the triple digits here right now and I don't want her stressed out. Please let me know what you think of it once you see the pics...thanks for your insightful advice. Id rather try a non-invasive form of treatment first.

 

[chickngal98]

Ok, so, I bribed her with grapes...haha
What do you think?

 

[janinepeters]

In the bottom pic, is that a scap at the lower right part of the swelling, or is it just a shadow? Did you check between the toes?

When you say in your 1st post that you "tried to drain some of the infection", how did you do that?

 

[chickngal98]

its a smooth dark area of skin, nothing to pick at....I just sanitized a needle and tried to drain any fluid from this site

 

[chickngal98]

I got her at the end of May, the same day she injured it or something because she was limping all over later that afternoon. I assumed she tried to fly up in the rafters in the coop and fell and got hurt...it never looked this bad until two days ago. She limps, but she is active...she runs everywhere (just kind of hops), has a great appetite, lays eggs, drinks plenty of water....when it first happened, she was very secluded and kept to herself...now she is out with the rest of the gang out in the yard...so that is why I am leary about it being bumblefoot...
Could it possibly be a broken foot with just a lot of swelling?

 

[janinepeters]

Well, I don't know what to say. My hen's dark spot last year was fairly subtle, and some of the pics online are, too, but I really couldn't say for sure based on the photos. She probably does have it - I don't know of anything else that would cause such a large swelling. There are many people here who would advise surgery, but from all the posts here about failures and recurrences after surgery, I personally would not do it. I would try TricideNeo soaks first, and if that doesn't work, I would take her to a vet. They have experience in doing surgery, and if they haven't much experience with bumblefoot in particular, they at least have experience with other surgeries. There is a reason they do 4 yrs of vet school.

Others may jump down my throat now, but it pains me to see so many posts on this problem, people repetitively cutting into their chicken's foot with no anesthetic. I don't know if vets use a local anesthetic for this, but if they don't, there is at least a greater chance that they will succeed the first time around, especially if you do not muck it up first by digging around and making it worse. Digging an abscess out of a foot without an anesthetic has to be painful. It is obvious they have pain receptors in their feet. If they didn't, then bumblefoot would not make them limp, and they would not withdraw the foot when another bird pecks it or when you accidentally step on it.

Good luck, and let me know if you would like any advice on TricideNeo soaks.