How I'm Treating Bumblefoot without cutting/surgery

[Woobsie]

Can you put her alone in a small cage covered with a sheet? Sometimes confining a sick hen for 1 to 2 weeks with unlimited food and drink with occasional snacks in a warm spot will help give her a break to fight infection. Keep her in a quiet spot and the sheet over the cage will allow her to rest. I would put a fresh bandage on her foot covering the spot with polysporin and let her rest. Might want to contact the vet about the meds...she might need another? Not sure

 

[Attila the Hen]

Can you put her alone in a small cage covered with a sheet? Sometimes confining a sick hen for 1 to 2 weeks with unlimited food and drink with occasional snacks in a warm spot will help give her a break to fight infection. Keep her in a quiet spot and the sheet over the cage will allow her to rest. I would put a fresh bandage on her foot covering the spot with polysporin and let her rest. Might want to contact the vet about the meds...she might need another? Not sure

I appreciate your input. I did put her in a large dog kennel today after I bathed and wrapped the foot. When I checked on her she had torn the cage up, spilt the water and was hopping mad. I interpret this as not feeling too bad. However, I think your advice is good. Putting her inside for a week or two since its getting cooler is what I will try. I have to take a cat to the vet tomorrow and will see if someone there can make a suggestion (may even call and see if they will look at her since I'll already be there)
The past week has been a nightmare of trying to get amoxicillin and pain meds in her. She actually vomited after a day of amoxicillin so I stopped it. Never knew a chicken could vomit.

She's out now and I won't be able to catch her. I will keep an eye on her and bring her in tonight.
thanks again for your suggestions.

 

[lovemy6hens]

I hope your cat's vet will be able to offer some helpful advice!

The easiest way I've found to give our girls medicine is to put it on a small piece of bread if it's a liquid. We've also put drops of medicine into plain, cooked macaroni for those who won't eat pieces of bread. A tablet can be broken into small pieces and a small piece of bread smashed around it (small enough to swallow with being tapped on the ground by the chicken in an attempt to make it smaller.

 

[Attila the Hen]

I hope your cat's vet will be able to offer some helpful advice!

The easiest way I've found to give our girls medicine is to put it on a small piece of bread if it's a liquid. We've also put drops of medicine into plain, cooked macaroni for those who won't eat pieces of bread. A tablet can be broken into small pieces and a small piece of bread smashed around it (small enough to swallow with being tapped on the ground by the chicken in an attempt to make it smaller.

Thank you. We are at the point where she won't eat anything I offer. I have to walk away before she'll eat it. It was the antibiotic that upset her. I am using Maloxicam. It's a small pill and I put it in bread after crushing it to a powder today. That didn't work so I tried a tiny piece of cheese. I think she got it because she seems better now. Interested in food and walking pretty well. I'll still see if the vet can help.
thanks again for your suggestion.

 

[Woobsie]

The smaller the cage the better for making them feel safe and calm. When we treated injured wild birds it was always recommened to have a small cage, no larger than 4 times the size of the bird so that they had no choice but to rest and put enough food out for only having to disturb her 1x a day. The less stress the faster they heal. Good luck with the vet!
My moulting hens are very standoffish but weightloss isnt usually noted until the end of the moult.

 

[Attila the Hen]

That's good information. Even though she seems fine now I think I'll have her rest. It's always a matter of deciding which is more stressful-separation from the flock or keeping up with the flock.
I think I will keep her in tonight and re-assess in the morning. I'm thinking the reason she's so slow to leave the coop is because the Maloxicam has worn off. I don't want to keep her in too long because she needs to adjust to the coming cold weather. I do too.

 

[Attila the Hen]

I FAILED. I took the chicken to the vet since I had to go anyway and she lanced it--something I couldn't do. Not sure what the prognosis is. The doctor said these infections often go to the bone and she could still die. The doctor also said she was very impressed at how well I had managed the other foot which is now completely healed.
Was given antibiotics and told to keep her in a dry enclosure for at least 5 days. For us that's inside.
I hope I haven't given anyone misinformation or false hope. If I hadn't gone to the vet I would have continued treating and hoping the bumble would come to a head.

 

[lovemy6hens]

You did not fail, @Attila the Hen! You're taking excellent care of your hen.

Your experience will be helping a lot of people struggling with how to treat bumblefoot. There are so many ways to treat it and what works for one chicken may not necessarily work for another chicken in the same flock. It's overwhelming!

Please keep us updated!

 

[Attila the Hen]

You did not fail, @Attila the Hen ! You're taking excellent care of your hen.

Your experience will be helping a lot of people struggling with how to treat bumblefoot. There are so many ways to treat it and what works for one chicken may not necessarily work for another chicken in the same flock. It's overwhelming!

Please keep us updated!

Thank you. The hen is doing well. I'm letting her sleep in the coop tonight. I think recovery is best in the natural environment. I did learn one VERY important thing from this and that is how to administer liquids like the antibiotic. I have used a syringe in the past to water down a sick bird and basically ended up just dribbling water near its beak. I was afraid it would aspirate. The vet showed me how to give fluids and it was hard to watch but now I know how. The syringe ( a large one) went down her neck almost the full length of the syringe!! Tomorrow is her last dose thank goodness. I hate doing it.
In future I won't wait around for a sick bird to drink medicated water. I'll make sure it gets the water now I know how to do it.

 

[lovemy6hens]

Could you please describe in more detail how you did the syringe?

Doing it right seemed absolutely impossible, but was easy after I finally got it right. It was hard for me to watch too and I can't describe it in a way that seems helpful. Watching and doing are very different things for me and I need a diagram for anything and everything.

Here is my incredibly poor description which I hope will somehow help someone as desperate as I was:
Hand over chicken's head from the back, thumb & index finger very gently touching the corners where the beak connects to the head. That combination opens the beak and prevents the head from going back. Administer with thin syringe held in other hand. You're right; it has to be deep enough and at the correct angle.