Advanced Bumblefoot

[Billy_WitchDoctor_Dot_Com]

Hello BYC!

My Ancona hen, Sergeant Pepper, has been fighting a case of Bumblefoot since last December. She’s about 18 months old. (That’s her in my profile pic at around 5 weeks; she’s my favorite!)

For fear of causing more harm than good I opted to take her to a local avian vet to have the bumble corn removed. The vet removed some of the infection then requested I bring her in for a follow-up in 10 days. I did, and since the initial visit I have been back for four more treatments roughly every other week or so. At home, I give Sarge an epsom salt foot soak and change her bandage every other day. At each bandage change I apply Silvadene ointment prescribed by the vet.

The problem is that the infection has only continued to progress over the last couple months of treatment. As you can see in the pics, the infection has moved from the pad of her foot to the area between her toes, and continues to advance up the foot toward her leg. The lesion on top of her foot is where the vet made an incision two visits ago since the mass is now too far away from the initial point of infection on her foot pad. I had to suggest this approach(?), and the vet agreed.

From everything I’ve read the infection will persist so long as any of the plug remains in the foot, so it’s imperative to get all of it out the first time. When I ask the vet about this she says Bumblefoot can sometimes take a long time to treat. Ok, she’s the expert. But after so much time with no improvement (in fact it’s only gotten worse) I am losing faith in the vet and the costs of vet visits are really piling up. I’m embarrassed to say how much so far, and the vet can’t give me a timeline as to how many more treatments will be necessary.

Does anyone have experience with such a stubborn case of Bumblefoot? I could really use some advice. Is it hopeless at this point? After each treatment the reduction in mass of the plug is hardly noticeable. Why can’t the vet simply pull out all of the infection? Thanks for your attention!

 

[RubelliteRose]

I'm so sorry that you are going through all this.
I have had a mixed bag with bumblefoot in my flock. Most of my flock has never had bumblefoot. Some have developed bumblefoot and had it clear up on its own without me intervening. Some have developed bumblefoot that cleared up after one or two treatments. And one poor girl has had bumblefoot that has persisted for several months and several treatment rounds. Like yours, her bumblefoot has moved between her toes, but I find that to honestly be easier to treat than the bottom of the foot. I will admit that I wasn't aggressively treating her bumblefoot at first and I did allow her a break from treatment while she was molting. I treat bumblefoot myself vs going to the vet. I do an Epsom salt soak first then wrap her in a towel and lay a washcloth over her eyes so I can work on her foot. Using a mix of blunt and sharp tweezers, I remove the scab and try to work out as much of the core as I can without damaging the healthy tissue in her foot. Originally, I was using triple antibiotic, but that did not seem to clear up Wanda's bumblefoot. I am now using silver honey that seems to be working better. Hoping this latest round of treatment worked
Hopefully your girl will start to heal as well! As to why the vet can't pull out all the infection, chicken pus is not like human pus. It is more solid, waxy and harder to remove completely. You have to balance removing every last bit with doing more damage to the foot. Hopefully, your vet was able to remove enough this last time that her own immune system will be able to kick in and wipe out the remaining infection. Can you still feel a solid lump in her foot? The swollen tissue can take a while to deflate and heal even after the infection is gone. If you decide to work on her foot yourself, I found these pages to be helpful
https://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment-html/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/#post-23973555
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-surgery-with-pics-and-how-to.236649/

 

[Debbie292d]

By the hole in the sole of her foot, it appears the vet did get the corn out, but must have left some in for it to spread like that. I honestly never heard of it spreading after removal and I've read tons of success stories of home treatment for bumblefoot.

I'd think she needs an antibiotic since it's spreading. This is a staff infection so is not good to be doing this!

Is this something you could call the vet to get one prescribed for her over the phone, like if you're very persistent about it even?

The way it has come out the side of her foot, also now needs to be removed. Why don't you try some drawing salve on that first though? I know of PRID that works well. You could soak her foot like you have been, dry it off, smear it with PRID, then cover it loosely with gauze and vet wrap or something similar.

I would opt to try that for a day or two and see how it looks before I'd take her back to the vet.

There are also antibiotics you can still get. I know you can get Amoxicillin online, in the form of AquaMox (aquarium fish antibiotic), which is more of a broad-spectrum type. I'd still try get your vet to prescribe something without charging for an office visit.

 

[Billy_WitchDoctor_Dot_Com]

I'm so sorry that you are going through all this.
I have had a mixed bag with bumblefoot in my flock. Most of my flock has never had bumblefoot. Some have developed bumblefoot and had it clear up on its own without me intervening. Some have developed bumblefoot that cleared up after one or two treatments. And one poor girl has had bumblefoot that has persisted for several months and several treatment rounds. Like yours, her bumblefoot has moved between her toes, but I find that to honestly be easier to treat than the bottom of the foot. I will admit that I wasn't aggressively treating her bumblefoot at first and I did allow her a break from treatment while she was molting. I treat bumblefoot myself vs going to the vet. I do an Epsom salt soak first then wrap her in a towel and lay a washcloth over her eyes so I can work on her foot. Using a mix of blunt and sharp tweezers, I remove the scab and try to work out as much of the core as I can without damaging the healthy tissue in her foot. Originally, I was using triple antibiotic, but that did not seem to clear up Wanda's bumblefoot. I am now using silver honey that seems to be working better. Hoping this latest round of treatment worked
Hopefully your girl will start to heal as well! As to why the vet can't pull out all the infection, chicken pus is not like human pus. It is more solid, waxy and harder to remove completely. You have to balance removing every last bit with doing more damage to the foot. Hopefully, your vet was able to remove enough this last time that her own immune system will be able to kick in and wipe out the remaining infection. Can you still feel a solid lump in her foot? The swollen tissue can take a while to deflate and heal even after the infection is gone. If you decide to work on her foot yourself, I found these pages to be helpful
https://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment-html/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/#post-23973555
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-surgery-with-pics-and-how-to.236649/

Thanks for the links and taking the time to respond! I will check them out. I did research how to treat it at home when this all started but I was too anxious about hurting her with my inexperience so opted for the vet. However, it may well come to that.

Yes, the mass between her toes is rock hard, but the pad of her foot where the infection started is now soft and pliable like her healthy foot.

It’s all very frustrating and I’m worried because I’ve read Bumblefoot can be fatal if the infection gets into her leg bones. Anyway, it’s reassuring to hear from someone who has had a similar experience, so thanks for that!

 

[Billy_WitchDoctor_Dot_Com]

By the hole in the sole of her foot, it appears the vet did get the corn out, but must have left some in for it to spread like that. I honestly never heard of it spreading after removal and I've read tons of success stories of home treatment for bumblefoot.

I'd think she needs an antibiotic since it's spreading. This is a staff infection so is not good to be doing this!

Is this something you could call the vet to get one prescribed for her over the phone, like if you're very persistent about it even?

The way it has come out the side of her foot, also now needs to be removed. Why don't you try some drawing salve on that first though? I know of PRID that works well. You could soak her foot like you have been, dry it off, smear it with PRID, then cover it loosely with gauze and vet wrap or something similar.

I would opt to try that for a day or two and see how it looks before I'd take her back to the vet.

There are also antibiotics you can still get. I know you can get Amoxicillin online, in the form of AquaMox (aquarium fish antibiotic), which is more of a broad-spectrum type. I'd still try get your vet to prescribe something without charging for an office visit.

Thanks for the advice! I will order some PRID. Do you think I should still apply the Silvadene along with the PRID, or just the PRID? I also have vetericyn and triple antibiotic (without pain relief).

I already have some aquamox in the chicken first aid kit. I haven’t used it before so I’ll go start reading threads about dosing.

 

[Debbie292d]

Here's dosage from @casportpony.

The Silvadene is for the sole of her foot I presume as the side of her foot isn't open yet. That was where I more meant I'd use PRID was on the side to see if it pulls it out, but for the bottom, yes, I'd put Silvadene first, then PRID.

I'd consider the Silvadene the same as the triple antibiotic but since your vet prescribed it, I'd use it.