Antibiotic advise please

[Mrs Howey]

I have a rooster thats has a bad bumble foot infection. I discovered it on May 8th when he became non weight bearing on 1 foot. I started him on antibiotics (baytril 10) May 12th because he really wasnt looking well. Hes on day 10 today and I'm not confident that the infection is fully gone. His foot is still slightly swelled and hes still non weight bearing on it although the past 2 days its seems he's been in noticeably less pain and has started hopping to get moving around by himself. Do I continue with the antibiotics for a few days more to make sure the infection is completely gone or do I take him off them since 10 days is up there in terms of medication length? I have also been giving him a little Greek yogurt to help with his gut health during the duration of the antibiotics.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have a picture of the bumblefoot or the footpad? Baytril or enrofloxacin is a very good antibiotic. It should be given to chickens for 5 days. What dosage have you been giving? Have you tried to open/remove the scab and squeeze out the yellow waxy core? Usually that has been all I have done, and most have recovered without antibiotics. Before that, I would recommend soaking the feet in warm Epsom salts or water with Betadine. Every case is different of course.

 

[Mrs Howey]

I do have some pictures so i can monitor the swelling and any changes in his foot. I've been soaking him as long as he will tolerate with epson salt and i spray his foot down with vetericyn. I was able to get a bit of the scab off a few days ago. It's pretty hard so its taken longer to remove than i would like. I use .6 ml baytril to 16 ounces of water and theres been around 2 to 4 ounces left when i mix up new water each morning. I initially ordered in antibiotics as a just in case measure but by the time they arrived on the 12th he had steadily declined. He couldn't stand, his face was pale, and a discoloration started inbetween his outer toes on top of his foot. I'll add more pictures to the post when I have access to wifi later.

 

[Mrs Howey]

First picture is from may 9th. 2nd and 3rd are from may 15th before and after i scrubbed it with a qtip and cotton pad doused in vetericyn. And the rest are from today. The picture in my previous post is from the 9th as well. He did break his outer most toe when he was 5 weeks old so his foot anatomy is off a bit. Its normal for the outer most toe and his middle toe to just about be touching.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you can lift the scab off, a lot of squeezing may get the waxy core out of the foot. I have usually done the surgery to open the scab , because I didn’t like the time it took to soak the feet. Some people use other methods, such as applying a paste made from sugar and Betadine povidone iodine, applying a 2x2 dressing, and vet wrap dressing. Change it every 2 days. That can soften the scab. Your rooster has a pretty bad case of scaly leg mites as well which may be adding to his pain. It is treated by applying vaseline or other thick oil to the legs and rubbing it under them twice a week. Eventually, new scales will begin to grow in to replace the old ones.

 

[Mrs Howey]

Thank you. I thought the lifting and scales falling off was due to the swelling of his foot since it did get swell to the point he had large gaps between his scale. i noticed the scales started falling off earlier today. I'll apply some vet rx or Vaseline to his legs and feet after his soak tonight.