Bumblefoot looking severe. Please help.

[coffeeaddict]

My hen was bitten by a Texas rate snake last week and this week she has a nasty case of bumblefoot. Not sure if it’s related to the snake bite on her leg. This is the first time I’ve dealt with bumble foot so feeling overwhelmed. I was told to NOT treat surgically, but to use Prid and wrap daily and to also use antibiotics Enrofloxacin or injectable penicillin. Enrofloxacin won’t be here until Wednesday. What can I do in the meantime to keep her from getting worse. She is not limping but she is not moving around as much (she’s an Ancona normally very active) and can’t seem to get on their low roosting perch anymore.

 

[HeritageFan]

Getting bitten by a rat snake ....
Has nothing to do w those feet IMO
If she were mine, as swollen as her feet are, I’d have her soaking (her feet) in a warm Epsom salt bath as long as she would tolerate it/ 15 min 2-3 x a day if possible.
I’d try to loosen the scabs and squeeze out any crud behind them after her soaks.

I would then wait until she dries a bit, spray w vetricyn, let that dry, and then apply a triple antibiotic that does not contain any painkiller.
Wrap her feet of you can to keep them clean.

Some people prefer to use a scalpel and cut into the sores after soaking - and then try to get the “core” out.

I prefer the less invasive method, but there is no wrong answer. Please do some research on the forums about “surgery” if you decide to go that route.

Please let us know what you decide and how she does!

 

[chickengr]

don't worry, it is not as bad. I had worse cases of bumblefoot and treated with doxycycline oraly.

 

[coach723]

I would do as @HeritageFan suggested. I always try to do it non cutting first. This is a good article:
http://www.tillysnest.com/2015/12/non-surgical-bumblefoot-treatment.html/?spref=pi
If you don't get all the gunk out the first time it will regenerate and you will need to do again until it starts healing. After you clean it out give it several days at least to see if swelling starts to go down.
Antibiotics help if there is a secondary infection from digging around, but the original infection is usually staph and doesn't respond well to antibiotics most of the time, unless it's a very small, shallow lesion. Yours look more than that.

 

[coffeeaddict]

Thank you everyone for the excellent advice! Discovered ten of my hens have bumblefoot. Most very mild but a couple are more severe.

 

[Lillith37]

If lots of your chickens have bumblefoot there might be something environmental at play. Too high roosts, the kind of substrate they’re on, etc.

 

[coffeeaddict]

If lots of your chickens have bumblefoot there might be something environmental at play. Too high roosts, the kind of substrate they’re on, etc.

I checked all the surfaces this morning , perches are totally smooth…. But I found a rough splintery bottom on their new auto door frame that was installed a few months ago. That combined with misting the coop during 105 weather might have caused this. Normally the coop is not wet but it was wet and muddy in a few spots this summer. Was trying to keep them alive in the severe heat.

 

[Lillith37]

I checked all the surfaces this morning , perches are totally smooth…. But I found a rough splintery bottom on their new auto door frame that was installed a few months ago. That combined with misting the coop during 105 weather might have caused this. Normally the coop is not wet but it was wet and muddy in a few spots this summer. Was trying to keep them alive in the severe heat.

Oh no, yeah maybe they scraped their feet on the splintery frame and then the wet didn’t help… but staying cool is important!

A member on here shared a trick for soaking off bumbles. Maybe you can try it?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumble-foot-soaking-trick.1597479/

 

[coffeeaddict]

The scab on the most swollen foot came off today and I saw a splinter inside. I pulled that out along with some stringy white stuff. It left a deep hole/cavity. There was not much bleeding. I packed the “cavity” with Polysporin and wrapped well. I’m not sure if I was able to get all the infection.

 

[coach723]

The stringy white stuff is pus/infection. Sometimes the stringy kind (as opposed to the solid kernal type) can be harder to get resolved. If that turns out to be the case and it regenerates, then I have had luck with treating that type with sugardine. See post #8 here for information on that, and a video on sugardine : https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/
It's good you got the splinter out, so maybe your door frame IS causing the issues. Hopefully it will heal up now. I paint my roosts and door jams where they walk, to reduce the risk of spinters.