Trying to remove bumblefoot from rooster. No kernel or anything—what do I do?

[Harun]

My family and I have tried to remove our rooster’s bumblefoot, but the scab is so thick, and no matter how dig we deep, there’s no pus, no kernel, or anything—just blood and only blood. I’m honestly at a loss and stumped on what to do. Anything would help at this point.
Thanks

— Harun​

 

[AidKD]

Have you tried soaking it in epsom salt water? When my rooster had it I soaked his foot then applyed some Silver Shield gel to it. It cleared up within a couple of weeks.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

My family and I have tried to remove our rooster’s bumblefoot, but the scab is so thick, and no matter how dig we deep, there’s no pus, no kernel, or anything—just blood and only blood. I’m honestly at a loss and stumped on what to do. Anything would help at this point.
Thanks

— Harun​

Pictures would be helpful, but if you think the infection has been dealt with (no pus or kernel somewhere in the foot pad) the problem might just be that the scab can't heal while the rooster is walking on it all day. If that's the case, I find the donut shaped corn pads that you can get at the pharmacy to be helpful. If you can place it around the scab it keeps some of the pressure off of it and allows it to heal in about 1-2 weeks (in my experience). If you use those you need to also wrap the foot with vet wrap to keep it from falling off, but as long as it stays dry you can then leave it on the foot for a few days at a time. The scab should start to dry up and loosen on its own and after about a week or so it will come off and there should be fresh skin underneath. I keep the foot wrapped for a couple days after the scab comes off because the new skin is very fragile and prone to reinjury, but once the skin toughens up a little and as long as there really is no more kernel in the foot pad to cause a scab you should be in the clear.

 

[Harun]

Have you tried soaking it in epsom salt water? When my rooster had it I soaked his foot then applyed some Silver Shield gel to it. It cleared up within a couple of weeks.

Yes, we soaked his foot for an hour and it was still super tough to get past the scab

 

[Harun]

Pictures would be helpful, but if you think the infection has been dealt with (no pus or kernel somewhere in the foot pad) the problem might just be that the scab can't heal while the rooster is walking on it all day. If that's the case, I find the donut shaped corn pads that you can get at the pharmacy to be helpful. If you can place it around the scab it keeps some of the pressure off of it and allows it to heal in about 1-2 weeks (in my experience). If you use those you need to also wrap the foot with vet wrap to keep it from falling off, but as long as it stays dry you can then leave it on the foot for a few days at a time. The scab should start to dry up and loosen on its own and after about a week or so it will come off and there should be fresh skin underneath. I keep the foot wrapped for a couple days after the scab comes off because the new skin is very fragile and prone to reinjury, but once the skin toughens up a little and as long as there really is no more kernel in the foot pad to cause a scab you should be in the clear.

Unfortunately I’m not with him right now, but as soon as I am, I’ll share some images. There are pictures on the previous threads I have on him though, the swollen and apparent bumble is actually on his middle toe. We didn’t remove any kernel or pus because we didn’t manage to see any. All we saw was blood, so we just patched him up for the night. That’s why I’m confused if it’s bumblefoot or not—for all of the pictures I’ve seen on bumblefoot, the bumble is always on the toepad, or the “sole” of their foot, but he’s got swelling and a big brown scab on his middle toe. But I don’t know of any other foot infections that it could potentially be instead.

 

[AidKD]

Unfortunately I’m not with him right now, but as soon as I am, I’ll share some images. There are pictures on the previous threads I have on him though, the swollen and apparent bumble is actually on his middle toe. We didn’t remove any kernel or pus because we didn’t manage to see any. All we saw was blood, so we just patched him up for the night. That’s why I’m confused if it’s bumblefoot or not—for all of the pictures I’ve seen on bumblefoot, the bumble is always on the toepad, or the “sole” of their foot, but he’s got swelling and a big brown scab on his middle toe. But I don’t know of any other foot infections that it could potentially be instead.

I'd definitepy like to see a picture when you can get it! My rooster had bumblefoot and it was on the pad of his foot and a few toes also.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

I found your old threads and will link them here for anyone else interested:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rooster-with-bumblefoot.1554236/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rooster-with-bumblefoot-yes-its-still-there.1570234/

From the last photo it looks like the infection is still present and getting worse. If possible I would get him to a vet who can clean out the wound and put him on some antibiotics. If that's not an option I would use the sugar-iodine paste to try and draw out the infection. It takes a while and requires a lot of cleaning and wrapping, but can be effective. You can also see if you can order some oral antibiotics online which might help.

 

[Harun]

I found your old threads and will link them here for anyone else interested:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rooster-with-bumblefoot.1554236/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rooster-with-bumblefoot-yes-its-still-there.1570234/

From the last photo it looks like the infection is still present and getting worse. If possible I would get him to a vet who can clean out the wound and put him on some antibiotics. If that's not an option I would use the sugar-iodine paste to try and draw out the infection. It takes a while and requires a lot of cleaning and wrapping, but can be effective. You can also see if you can order some oral antibiotics online which might help.

Does it need to be a vet who specializes in poultry or fowl? I live in Land O' Lakes Tampa Bay, and I don't know of any in the area

 

[Harun]

I'd definitepy like to see a picture when you can get it! My rooster had bumblefoot and it was on the pad of his foot and a few toes also.

This first picture is of his left foot, which seems to have a smaller bumblefoot infection:
The second one is the bigger concern though. Keep in mind that the purple color is not from the infection, but the blue kote we put on it. There also seems to be a yellow spot, which wasn't there before:

 

[Harun]

More images: