Bumblefoot Novice

[HopefulAcres]

What am I doing wrong? My Leghorn has bumblefoot on both feet. I have searched here and followed every tutorial on how to treat this. Soaked the feet, cut out the scab and what should be the core but no matter how much I squeeze nothing comes out. Her feet are still swollen. I tried using tweezers to pull stuff out but still can't find anything outside a few measly flakes. The hole is half a scalpel blade deep, I am worried that any deeper and I will cut tendons. I will be getting drawing slave but in the mean time, HELP! Thank you.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Could you post a picture?

 

[nessa.morg]

This is how I treated mine.

1. Get a shallow container and fill it with about two inches deep of warm water.
2. Put about 1 cup of epson salt in the warm water and stir till dissolved
3. Wrap your chickens body in a towel (this is so it won't be able to get away) and soak that foot for about 20-25 min.
4. Wash your hands really well then try to gently remove the scab. If your having trouble removing it, soak it for about ten more minutes then try to take it off again.
5. Then dry the foot and apply an antibiotic ointment or spray to the wound
6. Then wrap the foot in in a non-stick gauze and then in a wrap that will stick to itself
7. Make sure the wrap is tight but not to tight
8. Wash the foot daily every day after this with a mild soap and change the wrap daily

Since it is pretty swollen it might need oral antibiotics as well which mine did. You should talk to a local vet about it. Ill let you know what my vet prescribed my chicken so you can tell your vet. Make sure you don't get that foot dirty bc since you removed the scab it can get even more infected.



Ok so the antibiotics my chicken is on is called Clavamox (which is Amoxicillin / Clavulanic acid). My chicken takes 1/4 of a 625 mg tablet twice a day. About a week ago I actually ran out of the medicine and I was just able to get it again today but if I wouldn't have run out of it im sure it would've been healed by now.



My chicken also takes Meloxicam as an anti-inflammatory liquid medication. She takes 1 cc of it every three days to help with the pain and tenderness of the bumble foot.

 

[HopefulAcres]

Could you post a picture?

This was after I tried again this morning. It bled a lot today.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

This was after I tried again this morning. It bled a lot today.

@KikisGirls

 

[Kiki]

Nothing came out...zero pus?

Is the above picture of the same foot?

 

[HopefulAcres]

This is how I treated mine.

1. Get a shallow container and fill it with about two inches deep of warm water.
2. Put about 1 cup of epson salt in the warm water and stir till dissolved
3. Wrap your chickens body in a towel (this is so it won't be able to get away) and soak that foot for about 20-25 min.
4. Wash your hands really well then try to gently remove the scab. If your having trouble removing it, soak it for about ten more minutes then try to take it off again.
5. Then dry the foot and apply an antibiotic ointment or spray to the wound
6. Then wrap the foot in in a non-stick gauze and then in a wrap that will stick to itself
7. Make sure the wrap is tight but not to tight
8. Wash the foot daily every day after this with a mild soap and change the wrap daily

Since it is pretty swollen it might need oral antibiotics as well which mine did. You should talk to a local vet about it. Ill let you know what my vet prescribed my chicken so you can tell your vet. Make sure you don't get that foot dirty bc since you removed the scab it can get even more infected.



Ok so the antibiotics my chicken is on is called Clavamox (which is Amoxicillin / Clavulanic acid). My chicken takes 1/4 of a 625 mg tablet twice a day. About a week ago I actually ran out of the medicine and I was just able to get it again today but if I wouldn't have run out of it im sure it would've been healed by now.



My chicken also takes Meloxicam as an anti-inflammatory liquid medication. She takes 1 cc of it every three days to help with the pain and tenderness of the bumble foot.

I have been doing all that but still nothing is coming out. Vets here don't like treating chickens so they charge more and that is not in the budget. I have soluble doxycycline so that will have to work.

 

[HopefulAcres]

Nothing came out...zero pus?

Is the above picture of the same foot?

Yep no pus, liquid or thick nothing. Yes that is the same foot.

 

[Noellereagan]

@casportpony @R2elk

 

[staceyj]

@HopefulAcres I am sorry you are dealing with this.
I believe some breeds or individual birds are just more prone to bumblefoot. I keep a clean coop, run, and yard.
Two of my girls are buff Orpingtons. Neither has ever had the slightest blemish on their feet.
My other two are a different story.

I’ve had 2 Welsummers battling bumblefoot (on both feet!) this summer with no appreciable “core” on either of them.
On the one there was a dorsal lump between the toes on one foot like yours as well.
A week of soaking before exploring with a scalpel from the bottom but lacking a core I just scraped out diffuse infection two days in a row. Flushed with dilute povidine, Coated thickly with antibiotic ointment, padded and bandaged with vet wrap.

I was so frustrated by the end of the next week as the dorsal swelling had not improved at all and had to commit to cutting through to the first wound up into the top of the foot so the entire thing could possibly drain.

It wanted to close almost immediately which would have defeated the purpose of a second “surgery”.

The next day after soaking and flushing I improvised with a wide natural rubber
Rubberband cut to form a long strip.
This I inserted through the foot and tied loosely to keep it in place so it could act as penrose drain.
This time:
Daily I washed the foot well with hibiclens
then I flushed liberally with the dilute povidine
then used a needleless syringe to fill the space with veterycin gel,
padded and bandaged.

The makeshift “drain” was left in place for 5 days.

Day six I removed it and continued to flush and fill the channel until it closed on its own over the next 3-4 days.
Finally after many many weeks it is almost completely healed.

Now I am soaking and peeling away at the scab coating with veterycin gel padding and bandaging every 3 days. I think I may have to do it two more times. I’m almost there.

The only other thing I’ve changed is my roost to a flat 2x4. (Sanded of course)
Instead of a 2x2. My girls seem to love it.

I am wishing you the best.
Treating bumblefoot takes a lot of patience.