diamondsilkies
Songster
Hi everyone!
Several days ago I noticed one of my serama girls was limping around and, under closer inspection, discovered that she has bumblefoot in both feet. I've somehow lucked out on the bumblefoot front all these years and have only ever had to deal with one other case (that I caught very early). I've been doing my research but just wanted to run a few things by everyone to make sure I'm not doing something wrong and to quell any doubts.
I do not have a strong stomach when it comes to this stuff, but am the only one available to do it, so I went for the less gory soaking method. I soaked both her feet in warm water with Epsom salts for around 10 minutes before attempting to pull out the 'kernels'. *next part might be a little gross* It didn't really come out in one chunk as I had read, but rather little bits and pieces. The scab/plug hadn't blackened yet, but instead was a sort of dark yellow translucent color that was a little soft. On the first foot, I was actually able to find the little piece of sand that I suspect caused the infection. Her feet still seemed very swollen, and when I gently pushed on the pad of her foot, whitish stuff came out of the hole. Initially, I thought that this was pus, and wiped it off with a tissue. I think I got all the pus out of the first foot, but when I tried the same technique on the second foot, the pus seemed....stringy? (for lack of a better word) and I worried that it was actually tissue inside the foot (she seemed more distressed during the second foot). I stopped the procedure, applied Neosporin to both feet, wrapped them with gauze, and secured with medical tape. I'm worried that I might not have gotten everything out. How would I know if there was something still in there? Does the suspected pus sound like pus or tissue? I'd be willing to do further surgery, of course, but would prefer a less gory method if possible. I'll attach pictures in the next post.
She has spent the last few days in my bathtub, which is lined with an old towel and pine shavings. She has access to clean water and her regular layer pellets, which she's been picking at. Yesterday I made her some scrambled eggs, which she ate about half of. The day of her surgery, she seemed very alert, standing, and eating. However, her appetite and demeanor have weakened over the past few days. She seems as if she's lost some weight and her comb is a sort of a red/purple color. Her breathing seems labored and she spends most of the day sitting, hunched over, sleeping. The swelling in her feet has gone down some, I've re-wrapped the bandages and applied a new coat of Neosporin. I don't know if she's stressed about being away from the flock or if she's in pain or if there's something else going on. Any recommendations for my next steps? Anything to watch out for?
Sorry this got a little long, just trying to include all the details. Thank you in advance!
Several days ago I noticed one of my serama girls was limping around and, under closer inspection, discovered that she has bumblefoot in both feet. I've somehow lucked out on the bumblefoot front all these years and have only ever had to deal with one other case (that I caught very early). I've been doing my research but just wanted to run a few things by everyone to make sure I'm not doing something wrong and to quell any doubts.
I do not have a strong stomach when it comes to this stuff, but am the only one available to do it, so I went for the less gory soaking method. I soaked both her feet in warm water with Epsom salts for around 10 minutes before attempting to pull out the 'kernels'. *next part might be a little gross* It didn't really come out in one chunk as I had read, but rather little bits and pieces. The scab/plug hadn't blackened yet, but instead was a sort of dark yellow translucent color that was a little soft. On the first foot, I was actually able to find the little piece of sand that I suspect caused the infection. Her feet still seemed very swollen, and when I gently pushed on the pad of her foot, whitish stuff came out of the hole. Initially, I thought that this was pus, and wiped it off with a tissue. I think I got all the pus out of the first foot, but when I tried the same technique on the second foot, the pus seemed....stringy? (for lack of a better word) and I worried that it was actually tissue inside the foot (she seemed more distressed during the second foot). I stopped the procedure, applied Neosporin to both feet, wrapped them with gauze, and secured with medical tape. I'm worried that I might not have gotten everything out. How would I know if there was something still in there? Does the suspected pus sound like pus or tissue? I'd be willing to do further surgery, of course, but would prefer a less gory method if possible. I'll attach pictures in the next post.
She has spent the last few days in my bathtub, which is lined with an old towel and pine shavings. She has access to clean water and her regular layer pellets, which she's been picking at. Yesterday I made her some scrambled eggs, which she ate about half of. The day of her surgery, she seemed very alert, standing, and eating. However, her appetite and demeanor have weakened over the past few days. She seems as if she's lost some weight and her comb is a sort of a red/purple color. Her breathing seems labored and she spends most of the day sitting, hunched over, sleeping. The swelling in her feet has gone down some, I've re-wrapped the bandages and applied a new coat of Neosporin. I don't know if she's stressed about being away from the flock or if she's in pain or if there's something else going on. Any recommendations for my next steps? Anything to watch out for?
Sorry this got a little long, just trying to include all the details. Thank you in advance!
