Bumblefoot hole can't clear pus

[deacons]

I never really knew what people meant when they described "cottage cheesy pus" until working on this foot. Definitely the thick, clotted looking kind at this point (aside from the one day of liquid pus shooting everywhere!).

Thanks for all your advice- I'll definitely be back to update on where we go from here.

 

[deacons]

I talked to the vet this morning. Our plan is that I will continue on as I've been doing through tomorrow, when the antibiotic runs out. We'll have her go over the weekend without the antibiotic and just cleanings/bandage changes. If there is no marked clearing of the pus by Monday morning, I'll bring her back in to see him and he will do the culture. Then we can decide if we want to do a different antibiotic, one of the wet-dry bandaging strategies recommended by some posters here, or something else.

Wouldn't it be nice if it cleared up over the weekend? I doubt it, but that's what I'm crossing my fingers for!

 

[lovemy6hens]

I only use the epsom salt foot bath when the wound has scabbed over. That is probably not a big factor, but worth a try.

 

[deacons]

Hey everyone, we have a new and somewhat worrying development today. She is acting really odd. She doesn't want to stand up- She CAN stand up, but quickly lays down. Even her favorite treats don't seem to be a big enough draw to move. This is the first day that not much has interested her food wise, she hasn't eaten much at all. I've checked her feet and legs, and they're a little warm, but I think that's because she's been laying on them all day. They aren't red or flushed or anything. She still has some abrasions/scabs around her right ankle that trace back to when it seems like the bandage was too tight. There's a scale or two that looks a little oddly colored. But I don't see her legs or feet turning flaming red or black or anything like that.

Her poop is oddly colored- a little greenish tinged, btu the only thing she really ate today was a handful of blueberries, so that could explain it.

I don't know if this is just the result of being in a cage for 10 days without much movement? I let her out in the garage with a buddy for a couple of hours. I'm not totally sure how much she moved around as I closed the door and left them in there, but when I went back to see them, she was laying down with her friend nearby.

Hmmm...I don't like this development at all...

Edit to Add: Her bottom feathers are actually pasted with some thick yellowish/greenish poop. I wonder if the antibiotics are starting to be rough on her system? I technically have one more dose and should probably give it, but can also see if she'll eat some scrambled egg with a dose of probiotics in it to start building the good bacteria back up. Poor girl.

 

[deacons]

She seems quite a lot perkier today. I think she had something intenstinally bothering her there for a day, but still not really sure what. I have a bowl of grit in the crate with her, but I think that may be partially it. And, she seemed to avoid her pellets on a day I didn't feed her scrambled eggs, so I'm not sure if she just didn't have enough in her "stomach" on the 2nd-to-last day of antibiotics. Anyway, yesterday afternoon she got out and spent some time with the flock. Her bottom feathers were so messy I let her go with them to their favorite dustbathing spot, which she enthusiastically indulged in.

And even better news, after the dustbath I cleaned her feet and changed bandages. The awful looking blister she had between her toes had a fairly ominous looking blackish scab, and yesterday the whole huge scab peeled right off, leaving only smooth, healed skin underneath. For awhile I thought it may be more than a blister and actually another bumbled full of infection, but it's not! So happy about that. The abrasions around her ankle also continue to heal well. The whole foot and leg were very cool to the touch, not swollen and not red.

The actual hole in the footpad does still seem to have some pus around the edges, but I think there may actually be some granulation tissue forming down in the hole. It's the first time I've seen something that looks a little different down in there, but I'm not 100% sure I know what I'm looking at.

I think my plan is to give her some more time with the flock during the day today (she also just seems much happier to be around them than alone), do another bandage change tonight and then determine what to do about the vet tomorrow. But fingers crossed this may be moving in the right direction.

 

[marneypoo]

After a round of antibiotics it's a good idea to give some probiotics.

 

[deacons]

After a round of antibiotics it's a good idea to give some probiotics.

Yep, she's getting Probios with her morning scrambled egg. Spoiled girl.

 

[deacons]

Things have been going pretty well!

I found a picture I took ~3 weeks ago, the day I took her to the vet:



Same foot, here's a picture from last night.


As you can see to the left of the picture, the nasty blister between her toes is gone. I'm not sure if it was a blister from bandages that were too tight, or if it was another "bumble" trying to form. It developed a hard, nasty looking scab, but earlier this week, I bumped into the scab will redoing bandages and it simply popped off, leaving clear, healthy skin underneath. I had been aggressively coating it in Povidone Iodine gel for a few days, alternating with sprays with Vetericyn gel. So that feels like a huge victory!

The bandage abrasions on her "ankle" are also healing well. They are scabbed over, just need more time. But the pieces of the scab that have come off have left clean, fresh new skin underneath as well. You can see a little of that towards the bottom of the picture- some smooth skin, some still scabby.

So that leaves us with the actual hole in the middle. After near daily soaks, bandage changes, and packing with alternating Povidone Iodine gel and Vetericyn gel, we finally got to a place where goopy pus was gone. It seemed like overnight, between Sunday and Monday, the hole was packed in with what looked like new tissue. Monday, it got this coating over the surface that wasn't quite a scab, but more like what I think is fresh new skin. In this picture, I know it looks suspiciously like a layer of pus. And at first I wasn't sure if that was the case. But after gently poking and prodding at it, I do think it's regenerating skin, not infection.

She's in much better spirits too. She's spending full days outside with the flock, and then I bring her in as the rest of them are roosting to clean the foot and change the bandages, then put her in her hospital crate overnight. The foot is cool to the touch, skin is normal color (not flushed), and she's not limping or laying down excessively. I'd still like to see the ankle abrasions fully healed before letting her roost overnight, and I think we've still got some time for that to be fully healed. But overall, I feel good about her progress. I did not end up taking her back to the vet since the hole seems to be filling in with healthy skin, but it's always an option if needed.

 

[enola]

Congratulations!

 

[deacons]

Thanks @enola ! We still have some healing to do, but I think things are going in the right direction.