Bumblefoot not healing.

[Aunt Angus]

This is great info. If Bryony's bumblefoot comes back (fingers crossed it doesn't), I'll use sugardine, too.

 

[BlueHorse17]

That looks like it still has infection in it. I have a roo that has had very stubborn bumblefoot that is the type that has stringy/ribbony pus through the foot rather than a compact plug. It's much harder to treat it as it's much harder to get it really cleaned out well, it sometimes tunnels through the foot. My first go round with my roo it took over a year and multiple procedures to get it to finally heal, no fun for either of us. He was good for about a year and a half and then had bumblefoot again. Second time around I cleaned it out as normal, but then used sugardine to treat instead. Sugardine is used on horses for hoof infections and thrush.
I will attach a video on it below. Sugardine is made with plain white sugar mixed with betadine. Pack the wound with it, then cover and wrap. Since their feet are relatively small and not much is needed I just packed the wound with the sugar and then added 1-3 drops of betadine and let it wick in, worked better that way for me. I did this daily at the beginning, as time went on I was able to go to every other day. I covered the sugardine with Duoderm CGF bandages (you can get them on amazon - https://www.amazon.com/DUODERM-CGF-4x4-Box-187660/dp/B001V9JUVE/ref=sr_1_3?crid=IYP6SPAVMZ89&dchild=1&keywords=duoderm+cgf+4x4&qid=1612818908&sprefix=duoderm+,aps,624&sr=8-3) cut to size, they adhere to the skin but not the wound and hold it all in well. Cut to size you can get a lot of them out of a box of 5. Then wrap with vet wrap or co wrap bandaging. It also helps the wound to heal from the inside out, and not trap pockets of infection in there. It is not a quick process, it ended up taking about 5 months to get it to heal enough to leave bandages off. At first you may continue to see pus forming, so clean it out as best you can each time, reapply the sugardine, eventually the pus should stop forming. I don't have a before picture, but this is the foot after about 3.5 months of only cleaning and sugardine treatments (the dark part is just dirt-had just removed the wrap):
View attachment 2521962
You can see the original margins of the lesion outside the pink part, where the tissue has filled in, it was pretty large. Despite the length of time it took this was much quicker than his first bout and healed much better.
If this roo of yours is constantly having issues then once he's healed up you might want to consider birdie booties for him, to protect his feet.
http://www.hensaver.com/Birdy-Bootie.html
Lowering roosts and making sure he's not jumping down from things too high, since he's heavy, may also help.

Had a hen with this same issue a few months ago.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I have a hen who has been battling bumblefoot for months now. Same deal - I'll cut out what I can, pack her with gauze and ointment, and change bandage frequently. It'll heal up and then return a few months later.

Last time she had it, I also treated her with antibiotics, just because I was tired of dealing with it. It *seems* to have worked. She's been bumble free for a few months now. So far, so good (knock on wood). The timing of the healing foot and the antibiotics may just have been coincidental, though.

What type of antibiotics did you use? I have two hens right now that have bumblefoot and I picked a scab off one and wrapped her foot but the other scab I can’t get off. I am giving them both amoxicillin. I hope I am dosing them correctly. I am scared to do too much because I am going to have surgery and will only have use of one hand for the next 2 months in a couple of days.

 

[Aunt Angus]

What type of antibiotics did you use? I have two hens right now that have bumblefoot and I picked a scab off one and wrapped her foot but the other scab I can’t get off. I am giving them both amoxicillin. I hope I am dosing them correctly. I am scared to do too much because I am going to have surgery and will only have use of one hand for the next 2 months in a couple of days.

Oh no! I hope your procedure goes well!

I used baytril. And it worked, but she came down with bumblefoot again not too long after. I think she is prone to it because she's at the bottom of the pecking order and is chased around so much. Poor biddy. It's healing nicely this time because I have changed the substrate I use because of my ducks, actually. I have 2 ducks with bumblefoot- one has it BADLY. I switched to sawdust that I get by wetting bags of pelleted horse bedding. It is super soft. I mix a couple of bags into their shavings. Feels like walking on carpet.

I also got some advice from another BYCer (I think it was @cavemanrich ) who sent me a link to a post about Tricide Neo, which is used for treating infections in pond fish/koi. I've been soaking the 3 afflicted birds'feet in it nightly for a few days now, and I'm already seeing improvement in my chicken and 1 of the ducks. The duck with the really bad case isn't showing a ton of improvement, but she may just need more time. It might be something to look into for you since your dexterity will be compromised for a spell. It isn't super cheap, but it doesn't involve cutting into the bird's foot.

I mixed the Tricide Neo into a gallon of distilled water. I just soak their feet in a bowl with just enough of the stuff to cover the foot for 10 minutes. I look at their feet to see if there's anything I need to scrape/pick off. Then I wrap their feet again. I don't force off scabs. If they look ready to come off or if they're really soft, I'll remove what I can. But from what I read, you don't really need to do that with the tricide neo.

I wish I could tell you definitively that it works, but it's too soon to tell. Others swear by it, though. My internet is terrible tonight (satellite), so I can't upload any links. You can Google tricide neo or do a search here on BYC, if you're interested. Just a thought given your situation.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Forgot to say that I'm thinking about leaving Bryony's feet wrapped all the time (except in really hot weather or if the run gets muddy in heavy rain) just as a preventative measure. I'd do the same for the ducks, but they gotta swim.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Oh no! I hope your procedure goes well!

I used baytril. And it worked, but she came down with bumblefoot again not too long after. I think she is prone to it because she's at the bottom of the pecking order and is chased around so much. Poor biddy. It's healing nicely this time because I have changed the substrate I use because of my ducks, actually. I have 2 ducks with bumblefoot- one has it BADLY. I switched to sawdust that I get by wetting bags of pelleted horse bedding. It is super soft. I mix a couple of bags into their shavings. Feels like walking on carpet.

I also got some advice from another BYCer (I think it was @cavemanrich ) who sent me a link to a post about Tricide Neo, which is used for treating infections in pond fish/koi. I've been soaking the 3 afflicted birds'feet in it nightly for a few days now, and I'm already seeing improvement in my chicken and 1 of the ducks. The duck with the really bad case isn't showing a ton of improvement, but she may just need more time. It might be something to look into for you since your dexterity will be compromised for a spell. It isn't super cheap, but it doesn't involve cutting into the bird's foot.

I mixed the Tricide Neo into a gallon of distilled water. I just soak their feet in a bowl with just enough of the stuff to cover the foot for 10 minutes. I look at their feet to see if there's anything I need to scrape/pick off. Then I wrap their feet again. I don't force off scabs. If they look ready to come off or if they're really soft, I'll remove what I can. But from what I read, you don't really need to do that with the tricide neo.

I wish I could tell you definitively that it works, but it's too soon to tell. Others swear by it, though. My internet is terrible tonight (satellite), so I can't upload any links. You can Google tricide neo or do a search here on BYC, if you're interested. Just a thought given your situation.

Thanks so much for taking the time to give me all the information.