Bumblefoot in VERY LARGE rooster

[TerriT]

Hi all,

I have searched on bumblefoot in here and have tried the various things told to do; however, I have an extremely large rooster and it’s impossible to get these things done even with my husbands help. He’s just too big and heavy. He’s not biting but will not hold still enough for us to secure a bandage over the prid. We just make a mess. Oh and I should have read the can of the fungicide spray I got because I now have purple everywhere I am soaking him in a large tub of water with epsom salt to keep it clean. He had this when we got him and we were pretty new to chickens so I hope it’s not gone on too long. We’ve not had him too long but I thought he was a meat rooster when I first got him Because of the way he walked. His legs were so thick. But after a lot of looking at different pictures, I believe he is actually a Rhode Island white. I don’t want him for meat. He has bonded with my 3 year old buff orpington So I hope we can fix him up.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to deal with with such a large boy? I will try to get better pics but I know it’s bumblefoot.

thanks

 

[RDchicken99]

Hi all,

I have searched on bumblefoot in here and have tried the various things told to do; however, I have an extremely large rooster and it’s impossible to get these things done even with my husbands help. He’s just too big and heavy. He’s not biting but will not hold still enough for us to secure a bandage over the prid. We just make a mess. Oh and I should have read the can of the fungicide spray I got because I now have purple everywhere I am soaking him in a large tub of water with epsom salt to keep it clean. He had this when we got him and we were pretty new to chickens so I hope it’s not gone on too long. We’ve not had him too long but I thought he was a meat rooster when I first got him Because of the way he walked. His legs were so thick. But after a lot of looking at different pictures, I believe he is actually a Rhode Island white. I don’t want him for meat. He has bonded with my 3 year old buff orpington So I hope we can fix him up.

Does anyone have suggestions on how to deal with with such a large boy? I will try to get better pics but I know it’s bumblefoot.

thanks View attachment 3304111View attachment 3304112View attachment 3304113

If you haven’t already been doing this, I’d advise you wrap his wings and head. Just drape a blanket over his face, loose enough that he can breathe, and wrap the excess around his wings, snug, but not too tight.
Chickens calm down when their eyes are covered, I think someone should invent a falconry hood for chickens, It would be so handy for us chicken-keepers!
Anyone have any input on whether or not they should remove the bumble? It seems like the prid has drawn it right to the surface, that wouldn’t difficult to remove at all.

 

[TerriT]

If you haven’t already been doing this, I’d advise you wrap his wings and head. Just drape a blanket over his face, loose enough that he can breathe, and wrap the excess around his wings, snug, but not too tight.
Chickens calm down when their eyes are covered, I think someone should invent a falconry hood for chickens, It would be so handy for us chicken-keepers!
Anyone have any input on whether or not they should remove the bumble? It seems like the prid has drawn it right to the surface, that wouldn’t difficult to remove at all.

Indeed! A chicken hood and easy to install harness might just do the trick! I tried a towel but it probably wasn’t big enough. I will try using a blanket instead and see if that helps. And you already asked my next question about removing the black pad. It has softened up some but I don’t want to hurt him. We haven‘t been too successful getting the prid to stick. I poked holes in some of my short socks in an effort to keep the cottonball attached to his foot but he struggles so much it’s been impossible to do. Oh and to add insult to injury, poor guy is molting like crazy so no matter where I touch him, he’s sensitive right now. He is just the sweetest guy too. I feel awful for him

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I agree, swaddle him like a baby and chuck a towel over his head. Scrape the bumble off after a soak and give it a few good squeezes until no more stringy puss is seen, give it a spray of peroxide (only use peroxide once as it can kill good tissue) this will bubble up anything else that's left, apply some vetericyn, then pack with neosporin and wrap, I like vet wrap (not to tight), check it in 3 days and repeat the above if it's not looking better

 

[TerriT]

I agree, swaddle him like a baby a chuck a towel over his head. Scrape the bumble off after a soak and give it a few good squeezes until no more stringy puss is seen, give it a spray of peroxide (only use peroxide once as it can kill good tissue) this will bubble up anything else that's left, apply some vetericyn, then pack with neosporin and wrap, I like vet wrap (not to tight), check it in 3 days and repeat the above if it's not looking better

I am going to soak him again really good to get that black pad as soft as I can and will swaddle him and cover his eyes. My husband will be the one doing the work as I hold my big guy and talk to him to keep him calm. If the pad is too hard or if he still struggles a lot due to pain, should we keep soaking for another day or two before trying again? or should we force it off? I really want that pus and junk out of it so he can start getting better but don’t want to hurt him or do more damage. He has this on both feet poor guy. Should we just do the worst one first or do both at the same time?

 

[TerriT]

I am going to soak him again really good to get that black pad as soft as I can and will swaddle him and cover his eyes. My husband will be the one doing the work as I hold my big guy and talk to him to keep him calm. If the pad is too hard or if he still struggles a lot due to pain, should we keep soaking for another day or two before trying again? or should we force it off? I really want that pus and junk out of it so he can start getting better but don’t want to hurt him or do more damage. He has this on both feet poor guy. Should we just do the worst one first or do both at the same time?

F.Y.I. He is being kept in a clean area now but I don’t think he was before we got him. I’m sure that’s how he got this.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I am going to soak him again really good to get that black pad as soft as I can and will swaddle him and cover his eyes. My husband will be the one doing the work as I hold my big guy and talk to him to keep him calm. If the pad is too hard or if he still struggles a lot due to pain, should we keep soaking for another day or two before trying again? or should we force it off? I really want that pus and junk out of it so he can start getting better but don’t want to hurt him or do more damage. He has this on both feet poor guy. Should we just do the worst one first or do both at the same time?

I would do them both. As far as the bumble goes, I've only delt with it once and after a good soak the scab came off with a little persuasion, just kind of work it from all sides.

 

[RDchicken99]

Indeed! A chicken hood and easy to install harness might just do the trick! I tried a towel but it probably wasn’t big enough. I will try using a blanket instead and see if that helps. And you already asked my next question about removing the black pad. It has softened up some but I don’t want to hurt him. We haven‘t been too successful getting the prid to stick. I poked holes in some of my short socks in an effort to keep the cottonball attached to his foot but he struggles so much it’s been impossible to do. Oh and to add insult to injury, poor guy is molting like crazy so no matter where I touch him, he’s sensitive right now. He is just the sweetest guy too. I feel awful for him

I am going to soak him again really good to get that black pad as soft as I can and will swaddle him and cover his eyes. My husband will be the one doing the work as I hold my big guy and talk to him to keep him calm. If the pad is too hard or if he still struggles a lot due to pain, should we keep soaking for another day or two before trying again? or should we force it off? I really want that pus and junk out of it so he can start getting better but don’t want to hurt him or do more damage. He has this on both feet poor guy. Should we just do the worst one first or do both at the same time?

Yes, soak him again. I’d say to get the bumbles off as soon as possible, once it’s nice and soaked it should come off with no issue. The quicker you can get it gone the quicker you can get him on the road to healing.
Unfortunately, it’s going to hurt when you remove the bumbles. But he’ll only go through it one time, and once you get them off he’ll feel a lot of relief. If you have to do multiple soaks, I would. However, with bumbles that big, I think just one 30 minute soak will do the trick. On removing them, I would just take them off as you see fit. If doing them both at once seems easiest, I’d do that.

Be sure to sterilize whatever tweezers you use to remove the bumbles. I like to soak them in a cup of rubbing alcohol. Bumblefoot is Staph, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.

 

[TerriT]

UPDATE:
we swaddled him and covered his head with a towel and it was definitely much easier to do stuff! The scab is still too hard though. My husband sanitized his tools and followed prep instructions after the rooster soaked for 30 minutes. He managed to get a chunk of it off but the poor rooster was screaming and very uncomfortable at this point. It was getting hard for me to keep him still so my husband slathered the pad in prid and we bandaged him back up. Will continue the process until we get those things off! With all this picking him up, I also discovered a large bump on his belly. I’m afraid of what this may be now .

 

[Auntiejessi3]

UPDATE:
we swaddled him and covered his head with a towel and it was definitely much easier to do stuff! The scab is still too hard though. My husband sanitized his tools and followed prep instructions after the rooster soaked for 30 minutes. He managed to get a chunk of it off but the poor rooster was screaming and very uncomfortable at this point. It was getting hard for me to keep him still so my husband slathered the pad in prid and we bandaged him back up. Will continue the process until we get those things off! With all this picking him up, I also discovered a large bump on his belly. I’m afraid of what this may be now .

Is it on his breast bone? You can use a scalpel, razor blade or similar to cut through the bumble. I'll see if I can find the video