bumblefoot not healing well

[fuzzybutt love]

Goody, that link didn't work for me........ I am interested, send me a PM if needed. I would like to know what meds work the best. I love this hen enough to not eat her eggs ever again, if that's what it takes.

klmclain, i stopped with the peroxide when i started the first round of penicillin. I have been soaking still though, is it possible that it is re-introducing bacteria? Also, i think i got all the kernels out, but there may be a bit of necroptic tissue still between one of her toes. Will that heal?

 

[GoodyChickenShz]

Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. The link isn't working because it's using the period (".") at the end of the sentence. If you cut the URL (without the period), then paste it into your browser it should work. Let me know.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I think if they have had the bumblefoot for quite a while, like ours have, it is beyond soaking, even with the antibiotics in the soak. Have to cut the solid parts of the infection out, so it can heal.

i lanced above the bit between her toes that felt a bit solid maybe, and soaked it in a strong epsom salt solution, and i peeled her scab off and soaked again. Then i smeared a lot of neosporin on, wrapped, and had given her the 1 ml dose of the penicillin. She looked better, the area looked less pinky-red and also not warm to the touch. I am going to finish the 7 days of penicillin, i think the worm treatments can wait a bit.

The next treatment i made the iodine and sugar paste, and smeared it on, plus the 1 ml penicillin shot. I will get to see what it looks like in a couple days, unless i peek sooner. (Both my birds who have it also had a minor bit on their other foot, and it healed on it's own, possibly by stepping on my freshly bleached perches?) so i thought the idea might have merit.

I was speaking to my stepmom about dealing with the staph, she had some ideas since she has had to deal with the human kind. Since staph "learns" so quickly how to be resistant to a med, sometimes you have to rotate meds. When you rotate, they have to work in different ways, so you shouldn't use, say, amoxicillin after penicillin. She said once thy don't show a definite response to the current med, the bacteria are starting to adapt and you need to change it up before they get the chance. The fact that i had to increase the dose tells me i am nearing that point, and that even if the foot looks better and healed she will need some other kind of oral med to completely get rid of the staph so it don't come back.

 

[GoodyChickenShz]

Good luck. I'm not sure if I'm up for the intensive surgery/injection process again. It's extremely disruptive to me, the bird, and whoever ends up helping me. I might try the fish medicine soak.

 

[ejctm]

I have found that packing the wound with honey works when i ran out of ointment. It is brilliantly antibacterial and the sugar in it draws out the infection.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Update on the sugar and iodine mixture, all i can say is WOW! I wish i had pictures of the before and after. (don't put it on an open wound, or it will burn, being left on like this)
I left it on a couple days and today i took off the bandage. My girl before had pink on the bottom of her foot (EE) i thought was supposed to be there, turns out the bottom of her foot is supposed to be a dull yellow! So that means the foot that "healed itself" of the minor bumblefoot still had a bit in there, though there was no scab. Today i put the salve on BOTH feet and bandaged.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS for anyone treating bumblefoot in the beginning stages. (Or for one like mine, that just isn't healing well and has formed the non-bumble scab)

I decided to continue on with the penicillin shots, so this will be a 10 day course, starting at .75 ml and working up to 1 ml for the last 5 days.

 

[Novaleigh]

What a day! Poor White Tip. She is in my livingroom in her own private quarters. She has double bumblefoot (though only one is swollen, the other is not). I have been researching it frantically! Since virtually all medicines are perscription only...I took the surgery route. No puss was found. I have both of her feet in vet wrapping with lots of neosporin+pain relief. I also read that penisilin works great. So I gave her her first injection today. Cross your fingers!

 

[welasharon]

I fiddle around with my hen with bumblefoot in both feet. Could not see well enough to get it out on my own....tried the neo tricde (sp?) soak but it does not seem to be able to heal advanced bumblefoot. The stuff HAS to be removed for it to heal. I finally gave in and took mine to an exotic pet vet and for $120 she is now healed....finally. She healed in less than two weeks after I tortured her with it for a few months. Good luck!

 

[En Plein Air Farms]

Update on the sugar and iodine mixture, all i can say is WOW! I wish i had pictures of the before and after. (don't put it on an open wound, or it will burn, being left on like this)

could you clarify this? I'm picturing the bottom of the hen's foot, open sore because you've operated. At what point are you putting it on the wound?
Gold star on your forehead, you've really worked for your little girl.

 

[PoultryPedia]

I've collected some remedies I've seen for Bumblefoot on the Poultry Podiatry page on my website, if any of them may be helpful.

I hadn't heard of the iodine & sugar poultice, but it sounds like it really worked well! I'll try to add it to the site when I get a chance.