Bumblefoot- week after scab removal

[Slugg3r]

Hi everyone, I used to have an account here a while back but seemed to have lost my login information.

I have a rooster who is a week into recovery from a bumblefoot scab removal on both feet, a vet performed the scab removal.

Rooster was born around 2020 (two years old), breed is a polish candy corn.

Noticed on 11/30/22 that one of my roosters feet looked slightly bigger than the other, no limping, no favoring one foot, no redness. Flipped him over, found the bumbles, both feet, one bigger than the other, but around the size of pencil eraser tops.
Soaked feet in warm water and Epsom salt for about 10-15 minutes each day until I took him to the vet on 12/02/22 (three days after original discovery)

Scab removal happened on that following Friday 12/02/22.

He has another vet visit next Friday on 12/16/22 for a checkup on his feet.

But until then I am curious on the opinions of other chicken owners about how his feet are doing, and if they are progressing good after a week of cleaning, and SSD cream.

Pictures of original bumblefoot:

Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of the original bumblefoot, both were about the size of pencil eraser tops, one scab was bumby in appearance , while the other scab was more smooth in appearance, both scabs were black in color.

Pictures of scabs after removal:

Since the vet did the bumblefoot removal, I totally forgot to get pictures right after the scabs were removed .
I trust the vet did a good job at getting all the infection out (besides removing the scabs, she did a good amount of foot squeezing) , I live in the Midwest, and farm animals are pretty common around my area, the vet also knew exactly what bumblefoot was.

Pictures of both feet one week after bumblefoot surgery with new scabs:

Foot one:
On the outer edge I think I see new skin starting to form around the scab . This foot was the one that had the smoother scab on it.

Foot two:
This was the foot that had the bigger bumble that was more bumpy in appearance. It’s now smooth instead of being lumping, and bumpy.

Any opinions on these scabs would be most appreciated! I just want to make sure the new scabs are healthy, and he’s on the path of recovery.
Treatment will continue for the next three weeks until the skin is fully healed.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post!

 

[rosemarythyme]

They both look good to me, clean and not swollen. Depending on how it heals the scabs may need to be removed and the area re-treated later on, to remove any remaining infected material, but for now it looks good.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

They do look pretty good but the pad of the second foot looks a little inflamed to me... is he on oral antibiotics? Also wondering if you're keeping his feet bandaged?

 

[Slugg3r]

They both look good to me, clean and not swollen. Depending on how it heals the scabs may need to be removed and the area re-treated later on, to remove any remaining infected material, but for now it looks good.

Nice! And I’m planning from now to do weekly foot checks
if I notice his foot not going back to 100% after a few months(I know bumblefoot can take a while to fully heal), he’s going straight back to the vets

 

[Slugg3r]

They do look pretty good but the pad of the second foot looks a little inflamed to me... is he on oral antibiotics? Also wondering if you're keeping his feet bandaged?

That’s great to hear!

I noticed that too today, I’m wondering if it because I’ve been doing daily cleaning with iodine (I know frequent use in the same spot, can cause dry skin) I’m going only do SSD cream, and stop the iodine and see if it clears up.

Yes, right now he is on amoxicillin, three times a day.

I’ve been wrapping his feet, though since this is my first time dealing with bumblefoot (and wrapping a chicken foot), I’m not sure if I’m getting the bandages tight enough?

I’m really scared about cutting off his circulation, and losing a toe.
On vets request, he’s currently an indoor rooster until his next vet appt on the 16th.

Since im not the best at wrapping chicken feet, I’ve been making sure to keep his area (size of a small bathroom) clean, and dry.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

That’s great to hear!

I noticed that too today, I’m wondering if it because I’ve been doing daily cleaning with iodine (I know frequent use in the same spot, can cause dry skin) I’m going only do SSD cream, and stop the iodine and see if it clears up.

Yes, right now he is on amoxicillin, three times a day.

I’ve been wrapping his feet, though since this is my first time dealing with bumblefoot (and wrapping a chicken foot), I’m not sure if I’m getting the bandages tight enough?

I’m really scared about cutting off his circulation, and losing a toe.
On vets request, he’s currently an indoor rooster until his next vet appt on the 16th.

Since im not the best at wrapping chicken feet, I’ve been making sure to keep his area (size of a small bathroom) clean, and dry.

Sounds like he's in good hands and on the way to recovery!

And you're right, really don't want to wrap the foot too tightly. My method is to wrap so it's "not loose" rather than tight and because vet wrap is sticky you can just press on the edges a little bit to ensure it won't fall off. Also foam corn pads are quite useful to keep the chicken's weight off the scab... heals a lot faster ime with the pads rather than some gauze or something. And if you haven't read this article I think it's worth a look: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-correctly-wrap-a-chickens-foot.77028/

 

[Slugg3r]

@rosemarythyme @Razzlefrazzle

I forgot to mention in my original post, he’s been drinking great (I’ve been adding rooster booster to his water because he’s on the amoxicillin)

He eats like a pig, he eats flock raiser crumbles, has grit, and to take his medicine I’ve been using delectable squeeze ups for cats.

And the occasional meal worm to get him to let me treat his feet lol

His poop looks perfect, crop is filling and empty like normal.

Alert, walks, and jumps, like he has nothing wrong with his feet.
He especially enjoys trying to jump up on my shoulder, anytime I try to clean his area lol. (I’m trying to restrict his movements as best as I can, so his feet don’t suffer more damage)

He is going through a feather molt for the up coming winter months, so I’m sure that’s a bit stressful for him.

I think that everything, sorry, Just wanted to add a bit more information I left out in the original post

 

[Slugg3r]

Sounds like he's in good hands and on the way to recovery!

And you're right, really don't want to wrap the foot too tightly. My method is to wrap so it's "not loose" rather than tight and because vet wrap is sticky you can just press on the edges a little bit to ensure it won't fall off. Also foam corn pads are quite useful to keep the chicken's weight off the scab... heals a lot faster ime with the pads rather than some gauze or something. And if you haven't read this article I think it's worth a look: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-correctly-wrap-a-chickens-foot.77028/

I heard about the cord pad trick, but I did have a few questions that didn’t seem to be mentioned in the original thread, can you still add the SSD cream with corn pad on?
And do you put the sticky side against the skin of foot, like you would on a human, or on the vet wrap?

I have seen that article, I think my other issue is (besides not wrapping tight enough) , I try to be as quick as I can, because I know when he’s wrapped up in a towel (covering his eyes) I know he’s stressed out, and I try to hurry way to much, so my wrap jobs turn out not so awesome :/

When he was a small chick, he had a weird episode were I think he got overstressed, or maybe overheated? And he basically fainted, being a new chicken owner, I thought he died on me, thankfully he woke up after a few minutes.
But ever since then, I’ve babied him because I hate to stress him out, and don’t want to risk him fainting again.

 

[Slugg3r]

@Razzlefrazzle

When I wrap him in a towel, could I place him on his belly, with some mealworms in a bowl in front of him ? I feel like if he was eating a tempting treat, while I was working on his feet, it wouldn’t be such a stressful event for the both of us lol

 

[seminolewind]

I have done alot of "surgeries" on bumblefoot. I'm glad your vet knew to squeeze the kernal out. Those scabs look like healing. Personally, I bandage if there's an open sore, and wet bandage if something needs to come out. After everything is closed up-like yours, I just put them back in the yard. She should be out and about hardening up those soles again.

You should see the scabs looking like they're improving like getting smaller. There should be no swelling. He sounds really healthy to me.

Hope this helps.