Bumblefoot

[Attila the Hen]

Sometimes it's just the scab with nothing underneath.

I would apply antibiotic and keep it wrapped for 4-5 days to keep it clean. The hen I had was limping and it was really obvious. Another had black spots on her feet but she seems fine and I have left her alone. I am beginning to suspect that many chickens get it and owners don't know it unless the bird starts limping or they are looking for it. So, it's possible that many birds get over it on their own. Could be wishful thinking on my part.

 

[Al-D]

It seems to be healing fine-after just two days much better than I expected. It's wrapped with antibiotic so we'll keep an eye on it. It was and still is quite swollen.

 

[lovemy6hens]

 


I would apply antibiotic and keep it wrapped for 4-5 days to keep it clean. The  hen I had was limping and it was really obvious. Another had black spots on her feet but she seems fine and I have left her alone.  I am beginning to suspect that many chickens get it and owners don't know it unless the bird starts limping or they are looking for it. So, it's possible that many birds get over it on their own. Could be wishful thinking on my part.

I agree and my vet does too; some will resolve on their own.

I also agree with you that many more of us are noticing it. Maybe it's because we generally have smaller flocks and maybe we're handling them more often.  My chickens like to snuggle, so it's easier for me to notice small changes.

Although geared toward commercial production, this some good photos and information about bumblefoot but has GRAPHIC PHOTOS: Paws Quality and Foot Health: Causes and Solutions.  On page 12 it states, "Lactobacillus acidophilus increases incidence (biotin competition)."  From what I understand, a lack of biotin in their diet can make them more susceptible to bumblefoot (this page has a summary of dietary needs for poultry: Biotin).
The abstract of "Effect of Lactobacillus Inoculation and Antibiotic Feeding of Chickens on Availability of Dietary Biotin" seems to suggest it's possible (I can't access the full-text version), but everything is geared toward commercial production and I don't understand a lot of it.  Nearly all of the poultry feed available in my area contains probiotics.  Could that be a contributing factor for the increase in bumblefoot cases?  I don't know enough about any of it to judge.

 

[Woobsie]

I've treated bumblefoot on both chickens and ducks and my strategy is to put some polysporin on a piece of gauze over the bumble secured with vet wrap while keeping the bird confined to a small cage with a sheet over it. Every 3 or 4 days I change the dressing and clean the area with peroxide. It will get very soft after 2 weeks and I can scrape with a fingernail (use gloves! ) the scab off eventually or pop out the kernal. sometimes there is no kernal just a scab with flesh under. Flush with alcohol and bactinethen apply a generous amount of polysporin on fresh gauze held in place with vet wrap . change bandages and apply more gauze and polysporin every 4 days. This process should only take 5 to 10 minutes and is less stress than soaking the feet. The bird needs to be left to rest. You should notice the heat in the foot decrease over these few weeks. A hot foot indicates the bird should be on oral antibiotics but I haven't yet had a case of bumblefoot that the heat of the foot did not decrease....and I had a very bad case of duck bumblefoot with 4 large bumbles in both feet and he is fine now. I tried surgery but I find this method very effective and doesn't wear down the bird.
Vet wrap should never come off. A trick is to cut a 2 inch slit down the middle of the vet wrap in the end. Flip one side around and tie it as you would a sling bandage into a secure knot and it will be secure and never fall off!
A gravel driveway is especially bad for creating nicks on foot pads that allow the staph to get in. I removed them from gravel areas and the problem fixed itself for my chickens.

 

[Attila the Hen]

I'll add the foot should still be padded on the bottom (without antibiotic ointment) and wrapped after the wound has closed. That will continue to relieve pressure from the impact of walking and will help prevent the lesion from coming back. To help keep moisture out, put a piece of waterproof bandaging tape on the bottom. If the foot is wrapped right, the bandage shouldn't come off.

I'll go ahead and respond to my comment "If the foot is wrapped right, the bandage shouldn't come off."

Ha! Wrapping it right?! If anyone has detailed, step-by-step, illustrated directions for wrapping properly, please post. Sometimes I got it right, but most of the time I just got frustrated. I even made a model of a chicken foot and used a thin ribbon to practice wrapping it. That helped in theory. When holding a chicken by myself and trying to wrap her foot when she wanted to close her claws around the padding, it wasn't very useful. I guess I should have made a left foot and a right foot model. Maybe I would have been more successful.

She can be out with the flock as long as she's not getting her feet wet. The bandage needs to be changed as soon as it gets wet.

That's funny about the wrapping. I had the same problem. There is someone who has a youtube video demonstrating it. Sometimes I got it right. I wasn't so careful in the end when it wasn't an open sore.

 

[Attila the Hen]

I've been treating my hen for bumblefoot for about 2 weeks now & her sore is looking a lot better- I think the new tissue looks pink & healthy. She still has a fair amount of redness & swelling & warmth in the foot. I never have gotten a core/seed (term?) out of her foot like I did on her other foot. Do I need to keep digging? Or just keep doing what I'm doing? I've been doing Epsom baths every other day & changing her dressing. Using vetricyn & antibiotic cream. Seems to be healing except for the continued redness. Thoughts?

The foot looks good to me. I would simply put antibiotic gel on it and wrap it. Leave it a for a week and change dressings. That's all. It should heal by itself. I am finding that less is more.

 

[Attila the Hen]

I'm curious, did you separate her and how long did you leave the wrap on?

I'll chime in. No, I have not separated the bird with bumble foot. That is very stressful and not necessary. I left the wrap on for at least a week before changing it. It took a number of tries.

 

[dreamer5577]

BUMP

 

[enola]

Are any of these hens limping or otherwise favoring their feet?

 

[SeaderHausFarm]

I am just curious about why you are so opposed to surgically removing the scab and infected part but it's clear you are not interested in doing that. Are you opposed to using antibiotics as well? Lots of people go that route with cleaning and giving an antibiotic but that can be problematic in a lot of ways (eggs can't be eaten for a while, etc). There is a website with info on an herbal treatment.
http://walkaheadfarms.weebly.com/fa...blefoot-in-chickens-what-we-do-and-why-part-4
I've never tried it personally so I have no idea how effective it would be.

I have a hen right now with bumble foot and I did the surgery myself after soaking her foot in epsom salts for 5 minutes. After I removed the scab and the yucky stuff I irrigated it really well and used an antibiotic gel along with wrapping it. So far it looks great. Good luck...