Bumble foot

[TheCoop2971]

Hello,

I've got a Plymouth Rock who literally showed up to our home one day, and just stayed in our yard (we live in upstate NY without a fence). Never had a chicken before. We've had him now for about 5 years. A few weeks ago he started laying down most of the day and we noticed he had bumble foot, a pretty bad case, on both feet. We called our vet who gave him Cephalexin and Prednisone, and told us to soak his feet with warm water and Epsom salts for 10 minutes a day. We've been doing this for two weeks. The bumbles seem to be drying out, and one came off, but he's still laying down most of the day, and we noticed that his right knee still seems very red. The vet did say it could take 3 weeks for him to heal but I just want to make sure that we aren't missing something else. We've gotten so attached to this bird. Thanks

 

[TheCoop2971]

 

[Wyorp Rock]

His joint is swollen and looks like possibly infected.
If he's laying down all the time and the tissue is staying moist, this may be promoting infection and/or a pressure type sore.

You can try placing him in sling for short monitored periods of time throughout the day to get him more upright, to stay dryer and cleaner and to take pressure off the joint.

For the foot, I would still soak and get the foot clean. Swab with Chlorhexidine, let that dry, then wrap with vet wrap. Keep him on clean dry bedding. Take the wrap off daily, clean if needed, swab with the Chlorhexidine, let dry, then rewrap. Keep the wrap and foot dry.
See if the scabs improve in a week or so. I have good results letting them dry up with this method. Depends on the foot, the bird, the conditions, their health, etc. Every "case" is different.

 

[TheCoop2971]

His joint is swollen and looks like possibly infected.
If he's laying down all the time and the tissue is staying moist, this may be promoting infection and/or a pressure type sore.

You can try placing him in sling for short monitored periods of time throughout the day to get him more upright, to stay dryer and cleaner and to take pressure off the joint.

For the foot, I would still soak and get the foot clean. Swab with Chlorhexidine, let that dry, then wrap with vet wrap. Keep him on clean dry bedding. Take the wrap off daily, clean if needed, swab with the Chlorhexidine, let dry, then rewrap. Keep the wrap and foot dry.
See if the scabs improve in a week or so. I have good results letting them dry up with this method. Depends on the foot, the bird, the conditions, their health, etc. Every "case" is different.

Thank you very much! That makes sense. I'm not sure how long it usually takes bumbles to heal. Do you think it's worth trying to remove them?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you very much! That makes sense. I'm not sure how long it usually takes bumbles to heal. Do you think it's worth trying to remove them?

If you're going to try what I had posted, then you may not need to remove them. I've had them sort of dry up and come off on their own. I'm not a fan of digging into to the feet at all. For me, I've had good results keeping those feet really dry. You should be able to tell if they are going to dry up after doing this for about a week. Check the feet daily, if at any time they are getting worse, then let me know.

For the foot, I would still soak and get the foot clean. Swab with Chlorhexidine, let that dry, then wrap with vet wrap. Keep him on clean dry bedding. Take the wrap off daily, clean if needed, swab with the Chlorhexidine, let dry, then rewrap. Keep the wrap and foot dry.
See if the scabs improve in a week or so. I have good results letting them dry up with this method. Depends on the foot, the bird, the conditions, their health, etc. Every "case" is different.

 

[TheCoop2971]

If you're going to try what I had posted, then you may not need to remove them. I've had them sort of dry up and come off on their own. I'm not a fan of digging into to the feet at all. For me, I've had good results keeping those feet really dry. You should be able to tell if they are going to dry up after doing this for about a week. Check the feet daily, if at any time they are getting worse, then let me know.

Hi,

Just an update and I'm wondering what your thoughts are. I tried the sling with three different baskets, and even tried attaching the towel to the inside walls of his coop-- he jumped out of every one because he's really tall. The bumbles themselves seem to be drying out but his right leg seems strange-- he pulls it towards himself more and curls his toes in like he's in pain. I actually took him in to the vet who said -- based on observation, no testing-- that it might be a virus causing inflammation of the nerves, and gave us interferon to give him instead of antibiotics. We've been doing that now for about three days but I don't see much of a change. He still has his full appetite, crows all day, and is otherwise normal except he sits most of the day.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Some birds won't stay in a sling, they can't tolerate it.
It's good that the Bumble is starting to dry up.
Hard to know what's causing the swelling of the joint. Hopefully the recommendations of your vet will make a difference.