Trouble with a foot

[BarnGoddess01]

One of my hens (1 year old Red Sex Link) has a problem with one of her feet. It started over a month ago. I noticed a bit of swelling between her toes a few days before she became quite lame on the foot and there is heat. I could not find any obvious injury. I wondered if it might be bumblefoot. I still don’t know that it isn’t. I started by soaking her foot in Epsom salt and Betadine then wrapping her with Animalintex (a poulticing product made for horses, primarily, boric acid) and Vetrap (cut into narrow strips). I did this for a couple of weeks. I also tried adding Polysporin. The best results seem to come from the Animalintex alone – re-applied as a cold, wet poultice every 12 hours. I was able to leave her foot unwrapped about 10 days ago. But the swelling has returned over the last couple of days and this morning, she is lame again, with heat. She has carried on with all her chicken things throughout – laying eggs, foraging and roosting with the other hens, running, dust bathing. Completely normal except for the foot. I don’t have access to an avian vet but my large animal vet would likely provide me with meds if I could present a compelling case. Anybody have any ideas? Pictures follow:

 

[Aframechickens191]

My first thought when reading this was that its probably bumblefoot....but after I finished reading I dont understand how her foot could still be like that

usually with bumblefoot you can see a scab on the sole of the foot. if you cant see any obvious injury on the outside, must be something internal; maybe she pulled a tendon/ligament? Right now one of my wyandottes is recovering from a dislocated hip joint and is limping even though ive separated her and given her a few "massages" to help keep it back in place, so is it possible she could have knocked something out of place? the irritation from walking etc. could explain the swelling if that was the case.
I hope her poor foot gets better; keep us posted

by the way, I like your belt buckle

 

[BarnGoddess01]

A little more info: The foot seems fine as long as I keep the big, cushy bandage on - lameness is all but gone and the swelling stays down. It almost acts like arthritis. Can a relatively young hen get arthritis? I'm wondering it if might be a strain/sprain/blow injury to the joint above her toes because there does seem to be swelling in that joint as well. None of the other hens or roosters have any issues at all. There are what appear to be calluses on the bottoms of both of her feet. I thought those might be scabs at first, thus, my thought that it was bumblefoot. Is there heat with bumblefoot? However, the other chickens have those calluses too and no trouble with their feet. Thankfully, she's a good patient and doesn't give me any grief at all about applying and removing her bandage/poultice. I hope we can figure this out though because twice daily creation of a chicken boot takes a bit of time!

 

[BWchicken]

Can you post pics of the bottom of the feet? I'm thinking the callouses you mentioned are very possibly bumblefoot scabs (bumblefoot scabs do look a bit like callouses). And if you do a search on here for bumblefoot, you'll see pictures of that swelling between the toes exactly like yours. Bumblefoot is an infection (usually staph) inside the foot and when it gets bad, it would definitely feel hot to the touch. Please do post pics of the bottoms of the feet, and many folks on here can likely tell you if it's bumblefoot or not and then discuss treatment if it is (or isn't) bumblefoot.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Thanks for responding! At first I did soak both feet in an effort to soften the "scabs" and get them off, however, no amount of soaking (10 minutes, twice daily, following by bandaging) seemed to even loosen them. I'm curious to hear what you think.

The foot with the larger callus/scab is NOT the one with the problem ....

 

[Sjisty]

Looks like bumblefoot to me. I would soak the foot and remove the scab. I did that with one of my hens that I caught before it got out of hand, and the "bumble" came right out with the scab. Then I applied sugardine (sugar and betadine mixture) and wrapped the foot for a couple of days. She had no problems and is fine.

Edited to add: The top of her foot stayed swollen for about a week, but she wasn't lame and did not appear to be in pain. The swelling finally went away. This was about 5 weeks ago and all is well with her.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

Ok. So I'm back to bumblefoot so now the question is - HOW do I get that scab/callus on the bottom of her foot to soften up and come off. I've tried soaking. Didn't even begin to help. In fact, when I picked at it after soaking, her foot bled which surely can't be right. So I'm wondering - has anyone tried Dr. Scholl's corn and/or callus removers? I've got a few small ones left over. Thought I might try one of those. I know they work pretty well for me! Active ingredient is Salicylic Acid (40%). What do you think?

 

[viktoriacl]

You need to cut it out. Use a sharp razor or utility blade. Put Ruth in the search field. You will get all you need from the expert! Dont bother trying so soften it. It needs to be cut out and make sure you get the hard things in their out! The first pic looks like their might even be some right under the surface of the top of the foot. I bet if you make a small cut right at that white area on top you will be able to get the stuff out that doesnt come out after you remove the scab on the bottom. Good luck! She will be just fine!

 

[AnnainMD]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/LC-disease-chicken-bumblefoot-surgery.php

 

[AnnainMD]

And another one: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=399017
I hope this helps, I also hope I can avoid having to do this. Good luck!