Bumblefoot Advice

[lavenderforluck]

Based on the photos would anyone think it has escalated to needing antibiotics or will the soaking in epsom and antibiotic ointment suffice for now? We have duoderm and Vetricyn to keep the wound clean as well.

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

Based on the photos would anyone think it has escalated to needing antibiotics or will the soaking in epsom and antibiotic ointment suffice for now? We have duoderm and Vetricyn to keep the wound clean as well.

Well, that could work.

 

[coach723]

Antibiotics don't usually help with bumblefoot, they will sometimes help if there is secondary infection from digging around in there. I would give it a week from when you worked on it before digging around again, give it time to settle down. Bumblefoot can sometimes be very slow to resolve. If swelling is reducing, then give it time. If it's getting worse, or there is obviously pus regenerating in there, then you will need to clean it out again. If you don't get all the gunk out, it will regenerate. You can still soak, which will help with swelling and can help healing, and change the bandages often. I usually change them every day until I know it's healing, and then go to every other or every third day. Bumblefoot is slow, and rarely a true emergency, but does need to be dealt with before it gets really bad. By all means, if you have a vet that sees birds, and you are worried, then have them treat her.

 

[Chicalina]

yes, agreed. I think other posters have missed that you've already removed the scab, dug around and got pus out. It will now be inflamed because of that surgery. It needs to settle down and heal before you try again or can see if you even need to try again.

It doesn't look as bad as you think. I've treated far worse without needing a vet or ingestable antibiotics. If she displays symptoms like lethargy, stops eating and drinking, hunched up, won't move etc or the foot seems red, swollen and hot higher up the leg, then you might need to get abx from the vet because those are signs the infection has spread. Right now it looks only topical to me.

If it were my hen, I'd spread antiseptic or antibiotic ointment on the foot, dress and vetwrap it and put her out with the flock. Then I would resoak, cream, wrap in 3 days time and do this again for a week or 10 days, then assess whether it needs further surgery (if I didn't get it all out) or is healed enough to leave open.

Separating her will cause more stress, so I'd only do this if really necessary. You can waterproof her vetwrapped feet with boots made of duct tape strips, then she can be on dirty ground and it won't matter.

 

[Desertvalleychickens]

yes, agreed. I think other posters have missed that you've already removed the scab, dug around and got pus out. It will now be inflamed because of that surgery. It needs to settle down and heal before you try again or can see if you even need to try again.

It doesn't look as bad as you think. I've treated far worse without needing a vet or ingestable antibiotics. If she displays symptoms like lethargy, stops eating and drinking, hunched up, won't move etc or the foot seems red, swollen and hot higher up the leg, then you might need to get abx from the vet because those are signs the infection has spread. Right now it looks only topical to me.

If it were my hen, I'd spread antiseptic or antibiotic ointment on the foot, dress and vetwrap it and put her out with the flock. Then I would resoak, cream, wrap in 3 days time and do this again for a week or 10 days, then assess whether it needs further surgery (if I didn't get it all out) or is healed enough to leave open.

Separating her will cause more stress, so I'd only do this if really necessary. You can waterproof her vetwrapped feet with boots made of duct tape strips, then she can be on dirty ground and it won't matter.

agreed.