Did I just do bumblefoot 'surgery' for no reason?

[My Three Chicks]

My 1 year old Ameraucana has had a sore (bumblefoot) on her foot for about a month. I've been keeping an eye on it but it hadn't improved and the round scabbed area looked like it was getting darker and more pronounced. Although there's no swelling and she's walking just fine and is completely acting normal.

After a lot of reading I decided the best course of action was to remove the scab (after an epsom salt soak). There was a little liquid (pus?) and a little blood. I didn't feel anything hard like a kernel (although I'm not really sure what I was doing).
So I cleaned her up - saline spray, vetericyn dousing, triple antibiotic on gauze - and vet wrapped her. (BTW it was my 1st time wrapping a foot and I'm by myself so was pretty proud we <me and the birdie!> were able to do it!).

That was last night. Tonight I cleaned her wound and rewrapped. A new scab is forming well.

But now I'm wondering what was the purpose of all that? I mean there was no apparent kernel, there was no swelling, the sore didn't seem to bother her in the least. Should I have just waited instead and see if it would have healed on its own, or progressed before doing the removal of the scab, etc? Seems like I didn't accomplish anything but setting her back with a new wound thar now needs to be wrapped and healed.

Just trying to learn. I'm still a sort of newbie 3 years in. Haven't deal with many injuries (thank goodness!).

 

[rosemarythyme]

I would have removed it, rather than wait to see if it worsened or not. Yes there'll be a new scab but if you soak it for the next few days and keep it fairly clean it should heal up cleanly much faster than soaking alone would have.

 

[Loving my girls]

Unfortunately the scab is not the problem, bumblefoot is like a dandelion in that it has a root.
The root is what must be removed.
This involves another operation and after removing about 1mm around the outside the scab (not just the scab) the root must be found and removed or as much as possible.
I recommend you read up on it as much as you can before starting.
You can look on youtube but be mindful of those who just want to make a video and don’t care for their birds as well as the informative videos.
Now the good news is that you have caught it early so you have a good chance of removing it as it won’t have grown too far into the leg.
Please don’t be freaked by my message, I hope it all goes well for you and if you need any further information just let me know as I have carried out this operation many times, both on my own hens and others,
Big hugz

 

[dawg53]

The only time you need to do bumblefoot surgery is when there's redness and swelling in the footpad, otherwise there isnt any infection and the scab will eventually disappear. I agree with Loving my girls, soaking the foot in warm epsom salts water for about 30 minutes draws up the infection in the footpad. Then cut into the scab and you have to squeeze the heck out of the footpad to force out the infection. If the infection doesnt come out, soak it again and squeeze the footpad forcefully again to remove the infection.
Once the infection is removed, flush the hole with Betadine and then pack it with Neosporin, then wrap it up. I use duct tape to wrap over the gauze and foot to prevent the foot from getting wet in nasty mudholes after it rains.
Then wait 5 days and then remove the duct tape and gauze. It should be healed, if not, repeat with Betadine and Neosporin and wrap it up for another 5 days. Done.
If the infection reaches the legbone, the infection will spread throughout the body and no amount of antibiotics will stop it, then death. I've done quite a few bumblefoot surgeries.

 

[My Three Chicks]

The only time you need to do bumblefoot surgery is when there's redness and swelling in the footpad, otherwise there isnt any infection and the scab will eventually disappear. I agree with Loving my girls, soaking the foot in warm epsom salts water for about 30 minutes draws up the infection in the footpad. Then cut into the scab and you have to squeeze the heck out of the footpad to force out the infection. If the infection doesnt come out, soak it again and squeeze the footpad forcefully again to remove the infection.
Once the infection is removed, flush the hole with Betadine and then pack it with Neosporin, then wrap it up. I use duct tape to wrap over the gauze and foot to prevent the foot from getting wet in nasty mudholes after it rains.
Then wait 5 days and then remove the duct tape and gauze. It should be healed, if not, repeat with Betadine and Neosporin and wrap it up for another 5 days. Done.
If the infection reaches the legbone, the infection will spread throughout the body and no amount of antibiotics will stop it, then death. I've done quite a few bumblefoot surgeries.

So at this point, should I remove the new scab and start all over and start squeezing? How do I know if the infection is fully out?

 

[My Three Chicks]

I would have removed it, rather than wait to see if it worsened or not. Yes there'll be a new scab but if you soak it for the next few days and keep it fairly clean it should heal up cleanly much faster than soaking alone would have.

Ok I can start soaking her when I clean and rebandage. Was planning in cleaning and rebandaging every 1 or 2 days.

 

[My Three Chicks]

Unfortunately the scab is not the problem, bumblefoot is like a dandelion in that it has a root.
The root is what must be removed.
This involves another operation and after removing about 1mm around the outside the scab (not just the scab) the root must be found and removed or as much as possible.
I recommend you read up on it as much as you can before starting.
You can look on youtube but be mindful of those who just want to make a video and don’t care for their birds as well as the informative videos.
Now the good news is that you have caught it early so you have a good chance of removing it as it won’t have grown too far into the leg.
Please don’t be freaked by my message, I hope it all goes well for you and if you need any further information just let me know as I have carried out this operation many times, both on my own hens and others,
Big hugz

Ok thank you. I've read that there is sometimes no kernel if the infection is caught early. Have you seen that that's the case sometimes? I hate cutting her up to find nothing...

 

[rosemarythyme]

I've read that there is sometimes no kernel if the infection is caught early. Have you seen that that's the case sometimes?

I check my heavier birds regularly as they're the ones most prone to bumblefoot so I rarely find kernels, nor see any appreciable swelling or limping.

If the scab is small it can just go away on its own without need for any treatment, but anything bigger than a couple millimeters I find it's better to just remove it, clean it, and it should heal up quickly.