Bumblefoot!!! equine thrush treatment???

[Sjisty]

I also had two chickens recently with bumblefoot. The first one had been limping for a couple of weeks before we found her. Her foot was very swollen and full of pus. I soaked her foot daily in Epsom salts and then lifted the scab off and expressed pus for about a week. Then I put her on an antibiotic for a week. After about 5 days on the antibiotic, along with soaking in Epsom salts, when I lifted the scab, out popped the plug! Within 2 days she wasn't limping any more. The swelling on the top of her foot took about 2 weeks to go away, but now she is just fine and actually this week has started laying eggs again.

The other chicken had just started limping. I looked at her and both feet had scabs on them. I lifted one off and the plug came off with it. The other one had a lot of what looked almost like damp sand like material. I flushed it and bandaged her for a couple of days. Within less than a week she stopped limping and seems fine. She didn't get antibiotics because there was no pus in her feet.

 

[DaniLovesChickens]

We tried that with the hen. I soaked her feet and then tried to cut the scab away. I wasn't able to pick at it and remove it. The knife didn't work very well.

I put neosporin and gauze on it. The next day the tape was coming off of one foot. My fault, I think I got neo on the tape. I went to redo it and the scab was back! That's what has me concerned and wondering if something would work better than neosporin. I would rather not dig in there if I don't have to.

 

[Sjisty]

I don't use tape. I use wrap. I'm not sure what it's called, but it's not sticky to anything but itself. I cut a strip about 4 inches long by 1 inch wide and then cut a slit in the middle for about 3 inches. I put a gauze pad on the foot and then wrapped this wrap around the foot and then in between the toes and a little way up the leg. It worked very well and the chickens were not able to get it off. Another thing I just remembered that I used was Sugardine (a betadine and sugar paste) on the spot of the bumble to help draw it out. I got the wrap in a neon orange so I could tell at a glance if it was on, but by the time they finished dust bathing and scratching, it was always covered in dirt. The foot stayed nice and clean, though.

 

[lurky]

Quote:
We soaked it a bit to soften it up, and we had a blade because we expected to have to do more from all we read on her.........we just used the edge of the blade to gently catch the edge of
the plug/scab and it came off pretty easily. Then just soaks to keep it clean. I think if its caught early enough, its easy like this. Mine was like this for about 4-7 days.

 

[DaniLovesChickens]

She has it on both of her feet. Her feet aren't horribly swollen so it's not a severe case, thank goodness.

I soaked her feet a couple of times but the plugs didn't just come off. I picked at it the first time I soaked it, when I was trying to figure out if she had bumble foot or not. When I brought her in the next day to really take care of it, I soaked it really well but it wouldn't pick off. I used the knife to try and cut the scab off but it wasn't coming off very well.

I was afraid to push too hard. I just kept steady pressure and used the knife and used scissors to cut off whatever I could cut off. There was no plug in there that I could see. Should I just have soaked again the next day and tried to get a plug? I had to wait to get a scalpel. I didn't want to bring her in again if I wasn't going to be able to take care of it.

She's one of the first hens we got. She was an adult, so she wasn't hand raised like the rest of ours have been for the last 2 years. She doesn't like to be picked up. I don't want to stress her out any more than I have to, ya know?

I never knew being a chicken mommy would be so much work!

 

[Sjisty]

I used tweezers. I just worked around the edges until they were loose enough and then just grabbed and lifted it off. I'm afraid to use a scalpel or scissors because if they jerk, I would probably cut something essential off, like a head, or my own finger! One of them came off pretty easily but the other I really had to work at.

After each treatment, they got a treat of scrambled eggs or corn on the cob, so they forgave me.

 

[ND]

About the horse thrush treatment... I would be very hesitant to use most equine commercial thrush treatments on a chicken's foot.
Koppertox, for example, is fairly 'caustic' to skin/flesh...and IF used on horses, it's very important to NOT get it on their skin/hairline at the hoof wall... it can blister and cause chemical burns.
I don't actually use any of the commercial equine thrush treatments on my horses at all (if/when they ever need it) because the vast majority of them will damage healthy tissue on the frog of the hoof... it will kill thrush usually, but unfortunately, it's not JUST limited to any infected tissue. (and thrush on horse's hooves can be fungus, OR bacterial...or often, both)

I would just be very afraid something like Koppertox (or however it's spelled) would be far too harsh and caustic on the skin of a chicken's foot...

 

[dsqard]

BTW the wrap stuff is called vet wrap. Most feed stores will sell it. I think you can even find it in Walmart around the place where they sell band-aids. The "human" stuff is usually cheaper.

They both are really the same stuff just packaged differently. Funny how "specialty animal" items are usually much more expensive!

 

[ChickenWisperer]

When my hen had bumblefoot from living in a wire cage all of her previous life, I punctured the abscess, got EVERYTHING out of it, sprayed it with blue-kote often, and gave her antibiotics. Checked it, got more stuff out of it as necessary. Worked like a charm, and it NEVER come back.

 

[DaniLovesChickens]

ND - thanks for the info about the horse stuff. I had read it and wondered.

Today is the day since the is cooler! I have lots of little tools (my dissection kit from college) that will help. My 12-year-old son has to help. My husband won't! He doesn't like "stuff like that". Plus, he just fixed the nest boxes for me last night and there is other "chicken stuff" I need him to do so I won't push my luck!

Speaking of luck, wish me some!!