Bumble foot or something else

[chickaboo7]

my 7yr.old hen has what looks a boil on the top of her foot very swollen and pussy looking. after washing them I opened the boil. it drained a cream thick stuff. On closer look at the feet the bottoms have what looks like calluses. After a warm soak they started to come off. I removed them and they looked like pointed tacks but with the same pussy stuff. She now has a hole in the bottom of each foot. What is this? What can I do? I'll try any suggestions. She is the first chicken we ever had and we all love her so much.

 

[SpottedCrow]

Certainly sounds like bumblefoot...which is a staph infection...
You could put an antibiotic in her water.

 

[Flufnstuffs~FluffySilkies]

Thats to bad....

Do you have them on wire???

Glad you noticed and I hope she is on the mend.

 

[chickaboo7]

No wire She is in a shed with a shaved pine floor. she also roams my yard.
Is this contagious to chickens or people? Should I wrap it or put neosporin on it? what kind of antibiotic and where do I get it

 

[speckledhen]

Here is a link for you on the treatment of bumblefoot. She does need to have her foot treated and wrapped and probably she should be in a place where she cant roam or jump up and down for awhile.
http://www.featherfanciers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58

Looks like you have to register to view pages now on Feather Fanciers. Here's another link:

http://www.geocities.com/KelliAnn293/healthproblems.htm#BumbleFoot

Terramycin is not strong enough antibiotic for bumblefoot, although some people use it. You need Pen-G or something like that.

 

[poultryand bees]

After you have cleaned out the infection, soak the chicken's feet in warm salt water for about 5 minutes, then fill the cavity left by the removal of the infection with a triple-antibiotic ointment. Soaking the infection in salt water will help kill bacteria that is beyond the reach of whatever you are using to sqeeze out the infection (lots of Q-tips are good)

Since you only have the one chicken, I would wrap the foot in gauze and confine the chicken to a pet carrier or box with a screened lid for a few days. You may have to treat the foot several times this way for the infection to clear up - but I have successfully treated several chickens successfully this way.

Since bumblefoot can be caused by a splinter or something getting into the foot, be sure to keep your chicken run free of small pieces of metal or glass that can penetrate the pad of the foot.