26 wk. old K. Campbell hen--suffering from....b-foot? (Update:NOW PICS

[nettie]

to get her to eat you can try making her duck soup... add either her feed or dog food to water and mash it up til it's soupy... see if she'll drink that. It sounds like a foot issure more than an egg issue...

 

[jmc]

pics of tops of both feet follow.

Bottom of good foot

Bottom of bad foot, distance

Bottom of bad foot, close up

So is this b-foot? I think infection is now all over body since she can't really vocalize and won't even eat

any further advice/verdicts on the pics?

 

[chickensioux]

http://www.avianweb.com/bumblefoot.html

Putting this on both threads for you. Good luck and don't give up yet.

 

[jmc]

I am opening her foot today.

Hopefully not in vain.

Responses to above questions still much welcomed.

 

[chickenbottom]

ide say bumble foot but the scab isnt black so im not sure

 

[keeperofthehearth]

I'd say bumble foot by the pic. I've seen it before in 2 of my chooks.
Avia charge is a good start & I'd keep her on it until she was well or as I do, free choice daily year around. If you can, injectable antibiotics for 3 days. Keep her quiet and foot clean and she still may pull out of it. It does sound systemic if she isn't eating. Offer her some thawed fresh frozen peas. Unless they are truly at deaths door, I have found both chooks and ducks don't turn them down & peas are chalk full of good things for them.

May the Good Lord guide your hand if/when you open up her foot. May HE give you the insight and skill to care for her and may HE heal her if it be HIS Gracious WILL.

 

[nettie]

yep that is bumble foot alright...
my ming mei had the same thing.

The puss in the foot is not liquid like you'd imagine, it's solid like cheese. The whole plug has to be cut out and then bandaged and kept clean. If you want her to fully recover with as few hold ups as possble, it's be best to keep her inside while she heals. here's what i did with my duck when she had bumble-

I had the vet cut out her plug because she is an indoor pet, and i was not comfortable doing it myself.

Each night i gave her a bath in the tub, lukewarm water, high enough for her to get off the foot for awhile and float. After about an hour i unplugged the tub and let her preen for about 15mins.

Then i took her out and put her in a same container that was just bg enough for her to stand in, maybe 4 inches deep. I added warmer water, espom salt, and enough bactine (iodine) to make the water light tea colored. I had to kinda hold her in the water, and watch her the whole time to make sure she didn't drink the water. I let that foot soak for 5-10 mins.

After wards i put her on a towel on my bed and wrapped a little hand towel around her to help dry her off (she's spoiled, she only liked one blue towel, it was like her robe, lol). I then had my roommate help me hold her down on her back so i could grab her foot. I used a q-tip to put a good amount of neosporin on the bump. then I put a corn calous cushion (looks like a donut) or a piece of gauze wrapped in a circle like a donut, and i held it over the swollen part. I then put a big water proof bandaid over the whole thing. To keep the band aid on, i used water proof medical tape to tape it around her foot.

She also had antiboitics. I gave her a pill at that time, which normally involoved me shoving it down her throat because the sneaky thing figured out i was hiding it in her tomatoes and picked it out.

Then i put her into a wood box (though a rubber made one should work just fine too), that was lined with shavings/pellets and a towel over the top for comfort. Over the towels i put a couple puppy pads to help collect poop. The towels will get poopy and gross, so use old towels or buy some cheapy 1.50 ones from walmart. I changed the puppy pads one or twice a day depending on how gross they got, or how often ming mei tried to eat them, lol. I changed the towel every 4-7 days, put in another towel and washed the other (i rotated between two towels).

For her food and water, i used a small food dish, and a coffee mug. In her water i put poultry vitamins i got from the feed store. I think it was like 5-6 bucks for the powder... i put a tablespoon into a gallon of water and i filled her coffee mug up from that gallon whenever needed. I also got brewers yeast (niacin) from walmart, crushed up the pills, and sprinkled it on her food.

My box was about 2x4 feet, so it limited how much she could move. I did this for about 3 weeks straight until the would closed up. After that, i still put neosporin and a bandaid on each night, but i let her back in the main pen with her buddy victor.

I also switched from shavings to using horse stall pellets only. They had to be sprayed down with a water bottle so they expand into saw dust, but it reduced the likelyhood she'd cut herself again and get bumble again... Bumble is a staph infection (usually) that infects a foot with a small cut or wound. usually the ducks foot gets cut or scratched, and they walk around in their own poop or other dirty/germy material and the infection gets in. It's very hard to get rid of if your duck stays outside during her healing. My duck healed right up and hasn't had a problem since.

 

[jmc]

Thank you!!

I am opening the foot TOMORROW instead. (Lord have mercy)

I am going to try to force feed her by pouring small doses of watered-down h-cooked egg, worms and feed into her bill.

she is really losing weight.

eta:

Should I open both areas or is it just the top one that should be opened?

 

[nettie]

you might have top force feed her a bit. My duck wouldn't eat either... though she seemed to want treats, like peas an corn. You can try giving her some yummier foods to see if she'll eat. (you can find a whole list by clicking the link in my siggy).

If she won't eat or you have a hard time forcing her, you can try making the mashed/soupy version of her food and use a fishtank tube (pretty much a clear plastic bendable tube, you can get some mostly likely from a pet store). You can also use a big straw. Suck up a little of the mash through one end ( obviously not all the way up, unless you want to eat duck feed, lol), hold the end closed with your finger, then hold her down, open her beak, stick the tube down in her bill and release. This should help get some food in her tummy.

If she won't drink, it's probably a good idea to do this same thing with water... that would be a good time to add some poultry vitamins to make sure she gets what she needs.

 

[nettie]

open both... you'll need to get the infection out of both areas... She'll be really sore and won't walk for awhile, but at least you'll get it done and over with in one sitting, rather than dragging it out forever.