We were out this evening making sure that all of the chickens went into the coop and I noticed a pullet that had flown up onto the top of the gate. We went to get her down and put her in the coop and I thought that I would look at her feet while we had her in hand.
She had a small, hard black spot on the bottom of one foot that was surrounded by more tissue that felt hard. I thought maybe she had a sticker or small pebble that had gotten lodged in the pad of her foot, so we took her inside and I managed to loosen it (it was really hard to remove).
Turns out it was the end of an inch long cactus needle that looked like it had been there for a while. When I pulled the scab off, a little bit of pus came out and the needle protruded through the opening. I pulled it out and washed her foot. There is a hardened area, like a callous built up around the spot, but I couldn't get any more pus out. just some clear, pinkish fluid.
I put some Neosporin on it and bandaged it and then put her in the coop. I'll keep checking it to make sure that it isn't getting infected, but should I do anything else? Does that calloused area mean bumblefoot or other problem?
Thanks for any help.
She had a small, hard black spot on the bottom of one foot that was surrounded by more tissue that felt hard. I thought maybe she had a sticker or small pebble that had gotten lodged in the pad of her foot, so we took her inside and I managed to loosen it (it was really hard to remove).
Turns out it was the end of an inch long cactus needle that looked like it had been there for a while. When I pulled the scab off, a little bit of pus came out and the needle protruded through the opening. I pulled it out and washed her foot. There is a hardened area, like a callous built up around the spot, but I couldn't get any more pus out. just some clear, pinkish fluid.
I put some Neosporin on it and bandaged it and then put her in the coop. I'll keep checking it to make sure that it isn't getting infected, but should I do anything else? Does that calloused area mean bumblefoot or other problem?
Thanks for any help.