Bad case of bumblefoot?

[lenanjer]

Thank you all in advance; this is my first experience with a sick chicken. Per my research, it appears my chicken has bumblefoot, which apparently I have to surgically remove. I have posted pictures. Could you please confirm and offer any suggestions? I don't want to make a mistake if I can help it. I have been researching and have found directions to remove, although this all seems very daunting.

 

[Rose the Legbar]

You are correct, that is bumblefoot.

 

[Lillith37]

You may not need to do surgery. Soak the foot in a warm epsom salt bath and use tweezers to try to remove the scab. It may take several soakings to soften enough. Someone on these forums suggested to wet a cotton ball with water and a little bit of Castile soap and then wrap the cotton ball to the bumble scab using vetwrap. Then leave it for half an hour and then try to remove the scab. Said it worked amazingly.

Often when the scab comes off, the plug will come out too. You may need to gently dig around in the abscess to find all the bits of plug if it doesn’t all come out. There is also the kind of bumblefoot where rather than a solid plug, the material is soft and stringy. This second type is harder to treat.

If you get the plug out, pack the wound with antibiotic cream — or you can pack it with sugar and use a dropper to drop betadine in. Cover with gauze, wrap up, and check/change the dressing with some degree of frequency depending on how wet the weather is. You want the wound to stay clean whilst it heals.

If the scab comes off and you have the stringy kind, try using something like an epsom poultice, magnoplasm, PRID, medi-honey etc to draw out the infection and inflammatory tissue. Apply the ointment, cover with gauze, and change daily.

A third option is to use a salicylic wart patch over the scab, cover with the waterproof plaster, then wrap with vetwrap. Change daily. Eventually the skin will soften around the scab and you should be able to lift the whole thing out.

If you see blood, that indicates healthy tissue. Don’t ever dig/cut into bleeding tissue. You risk introducing a secondary infection.

If you’re using tweezers, make sure they are sterilised. Also make sure you wear disposable gloves.

I find treating foot wounds to be easiest either at night after they roost or early morning before they go outside. They are easier to catch and handle during their “nighttime”.

 

[lenanjer]

Thank you so much.

 

[Eggcessive]

I usually do not treat bumblefoot unless the chicken is limping, or if the area is red and swollen. Soaking the feet daily to soften the scab, so that it can be removed, and the solid pus squeezed out, is a common treatment. Some use Povidone Iodine or Betadine mixed with sugar into a paste, and put that on the foot with a 2x2 pad dressing on the foot for 2-3 days, and repeat. That sometimes reduces it. TriCide Neo, a key fish product is also used by some to soak the feet. I have always done the surgery in the past, since it was quick and over, but would probably try one of the less invasive methods now.