Bumblefoot surgery - with pics and "how to"

[seminolewind]

Those pictures are awful. But necessary. I'm glad your vet took an interest. Those bumblefoots are gross. One thing I've found helped is soaking in epsom salts, especially afterwards for a few days to help draw out the nasty stuff.

 

[Jimtherunner]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

 

[Connemara]

She got it back last week. I was checking her over to make sure she was okay because I had a fair idea I hadn't got it all because her foot was still an odd shape and sure enough, this time there was a black scab and I removed it and there was another kernel. I know it's going to be a long process with Bumble, as it was a bad case and I can tell there are areas that I cannot get into. I'm pretty sure that because of the extent of the infection she has limited use of her toes. There seems to be tendon damage but she can still feel them because I tested all toes with a blunt object and she retracted her foot, but did not clench her toes.
She does not seem to be in any pain though and is still laying happily.
On the subject of antibiotics, I haven't given her any this time because of the high risk of re-infection. I don't want any staph to build up an immunity to the antibiotics and she has no heat in her foot so I'm going with this game plan at the moment.

Sadly I also found one of the new girls had a black scab on her foot and removed it to find not the usual yellowy kernel but a stringy clear jelly like substance, which was a pain to remove with tweezers. Not sure if the difference in gunk is because it's fresh infection and I've caught it before the kernel stage, or whether it's to do with the breed. Looking at pics on the net, it seems if you have a meat type bird they have yellowy chunks and if you have a rangier skinny bird (this one is a wyandotte hybrid) it seems to be opaque like a jellyfish!
As for doping them before surgery, Bumble appears to be the only bird I've seen on here that likes to actively watch me digging away in her own foot! I don't cover her (in fact, I didn't cover the wyandotte to be honest, I just stuck her head in the crook of my arm). Bumble happily sits in a propped up position, taking an extremely active interest and occasionally will tell me she wants more treats. For her it's like eating popcorn whist watching E.R. lol. Sometimes she holds the cotton wool buds for me

 

[April Smith]

Thank you Ruth for the wonderful help and pics. I have a rooster and he has had this awful problem for a little while now, I didn't know what it was until I found this web sit I done the surgery on him this past Wednesday and some of the swelling has went down but I am not sure if I got it all out, it was a pretty big spot on the bottom of his foot and when I got the cheesy yellow matter out I cleaned it up and wrapped it. But his toes I believe have it as well they don't have a scab but they are puffy and stick straight out he don't bind them they don't even sit flat on the ground I was just unsure weather or not to do the surgery when there is no scab I also have been giving him tetracycline for infections please help if you can. April

 

[Connemara]

Thank you Ruth for the wonderful help and pics. I have a rooster and he has had this awful problem for a little while now, I didn't know what it was until I found this web sit I done the surgery on him this past Wednesday and some of the swelling has went down but I am not sure if I got it all out, it was a pretty big spot on the bottom of his foot and when I got the cheesy yellow matter out I cleaned it up and wrapped it. But his toes I believe have it as well they don't have a scab but they are puffy and stick straight out he don't bind them they don't even sit flat on the ground I was just unsure weather or not to do the surgery when there is no scab I also have been giving him tetracycline for infections please help if you can. April

My hen doesn't bend her toes either but that is most likely to be nerve/tendon damage. I believe that a long term infection can eat away at the tendon sheaths, causing limited use. Mine can feel her toes, ie if you poke each toe with a blunt instrument, she will retract her whole leg, not just the toe. She still walks ok but prefers to sit at night rather than roost, so I let her have a straw bed and she prefers this to the perch, although they can and will perch on the one leg.
Also, if you look back at my pics, you will see that she never had any scab at all and yet there was a lot of cheesy pus!!
I had to go into the scab daily and fish out more "kernels" and it didn't come clean for nearly two weeks and even then I knew that there was probably more, as the top of between her toes felt fatter than before. her toes are splayed out in a crooked fashion but she doesn't seem to be in any pain. I was kinda hoping the gunk would migrate down to the original incision site over time but this time I am going to give it time to heal and then make a judgement call on whether to take her back to the vet to open up above her toes - I'd prefer it if she doesn't have too many open wounds all at once as it's harder to bandage and keep clean when it gets wet - although I vetwrap her foot the once, then I cut a piece of plastic bag (the supermarket kind), place it underneath and then put vetwrap over that too to try to minimise the damp/dirt getting in.

 

[Connemara]

I found one of the best tools for the job was a fat bodkin (or wool needle), I insert the eyed end and use it to fish out any hard lumps out of reach that I can't get tweezers in to

 

[April Smith]

Thank you Connemara, I have been letting his last surgery heal up before I go back in. His was this stringy yellow matter it was pretty difficult to get out with tweezers so I will try the needle next time, I don't think I got it all out the first time. I have been doing more looking online and I read that you can give them a foot bath in the tetracycline and it will help , did your vet say anything about that? I have just been using Epsom salt cause I was unsure.

 

[brandyK]

Please help me!!!!!!! I don't know if this is bumblefoot or not. He doesn't seem to be in any pain but its getting worse by the day. I'm so new to chickens that I don't know what to do. If someone could please tell me what this is and how to help my rooster I would great,y appreciate it. Here are some pics.

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[brandyK]

 

[brandyK]