Bumblefoot or just a puncture wound?

[BeccaSmith]

I have a hen I just noticed limping today, she wasn't limping yesterday that I could tell. Upon inspection I noticed what I think is hopefully just a puncture wound but took pictures to post on here to get some opinions. I'd like to catch it early if it is something like bumblefoot. I really don't want to have to remove her from the flock for treatment if possible, but I realize this being on the bottom of her foot I may have no choice since there is no way to keep it clean. Also I don't want to have to give the entire flock antibiotics in their water just to treat her. Any advice or insight would be much appreciated!

This picture is before I tried cleaning it up:


These 3 pictures are after I tried cleaning it up for a better picture:

 

[willowbranchfarm]

It looks almost like there's bumblefoot and then beside it the wound. I would treat it though because it will probably turn into bumblefoot. You can try soaking it in Epsom salt, putting a good amount of neosporin on it, and wrapping it up. Since it is small that is what I suggest. I had three chickens with small bumblefoot and it went away after doing this. Good luck.

 

[BeccaSmith]

What should I wrap the foot with and what is the best method to wrap it? Also can I let her roam around with the flock while her foot is wrapped if it doesn't hinder her? If I have to seprate her I will need to bring her indoors as I do not have a seprate area in the coop or chicken yard for her.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Here https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/236649/bumblefoot-surgery-with-pics-and-how-to if you scroll down it shows how to wrap it and pictures. Mine didn't have a problem walking so I just left them outside (I also didn't have any other place for them). And the wrap sometimes came off so I had to keep making sure that didn't happen. But since yours is limping it might be best to separate her. But its your choice.

 

[BeccaSmith]

Thanks! That is a very helpful link, however no where can I find in that link or by searching on here what the recommended dosage is for a epsom salt soak, is it just the normal recommendation for humans on the package, which is 1/2 cup per quart of water? I will soak her foot tonight and I will have to pick up the wrap tomorrow. Thanks so much for the help!

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Sorry I should have said the dosage. Yes 1/2 cup per quart of water. And warm water is best. Good luck. And your welcome. Keep us posted.

 

[BeccaSmith]

Just a quick update. I have been soaking my hens foot for about 15 minutes every night for the last three days in warm water with epsom salt. I bought some vetwrap and have been keeping the foot bandaged to keep the area clean and I have been using neosporin on the wound area before wrapping it. It doesn't appear to be getting worse, but it doesn't look like it is getting better. Also the area doesn't appear to be swollen but I don't think it every really was. The black spot looks like it is starting to peel back a tad, but I am hesitant to do anything. How long should I continue to soak her foot for? I wish I could soak it more often but once a day is all time will allow for me with work and a busy schedule. I haven't had a chance to observe her much the last day or two to see if she is still holding her foot up when not walking around. She still has a limp but I am unsure if it is due to the vetwrap being on her foot or if it still hurts her. After checking several of my other chickens feets some of a grey-ish looking scab area on their feet as well but no puncture wound. The don't appear to be in pain and are not limping so I'm not sure what is going on exactly. My girls free range so their feet are always dirty and never occurred to me to check their feet regularly.

 

[TwoCrows]

Bumblefoot does not heal fast. You can tell by looking at the pad if it needs a surgical intervention. Clean off all the dirt from the pad well. Scrub it if you have to. (this will cause a bit of redness). If the scab is black, or soft, with redness and swelling around the scab, it is time to do a surgery. If the scab is a hard beige in color scab, FIRMLY attached to the pad, there is no swelling or redness, then you can do two things....you can soak, and or apply neosporin and wrap, OR you can do nothing. It depends on how dry your run is and and the chicken itself.

Never wrap too tightly. Vet wrap can be applied fairly lightly and squeezed together to make a fairly water proof bandage. What I do is about 5 mins after applying the wrap, I check the feet. The toes should feel warm to hot. If there is any coolness to the toes, you have wrapped to tightly.

Some chickens will limp at first if they have never been wrapped. It is only natural to feel like something is not right on the foot. They should adapt after a day or two of being bandaged. And some respond to pain easier than others. I have a hen that is such a baby and can't take the tiniest scab on her foot. Others run around right after a deep surgery as if nothing was ever done to them. Each is different.

Bumblefoot can take a few months to heal completely. Always keep an eye on the chickens with bumblefeet. I do an inspection daily on my girls that have had bumblefoot until I am positive they are completely healed.

 

[BeccaSmith]

Bumblefoot does not heal fast. You can tell by looking at the pad if it needs a surgical intervention. Clean off all the dirt from the pad well. Scrub it if you have to. (this will cause a bit of redness). If the scab is black, or soft, with redness and swelling around the scab, it is time to do a surgery. If the scab is a hard beige in color scab, FIRMLY attached to the pad, there is no swelling or redness, then you can do two things....you can soak, and or apply neosporin and wrap, OR you can do nothing. It depends on how dry your run is and and the chicken itself.

Never wrap too tightly. Vet wrap can be applied fairly lightly and squeezed together to make a fairly water proof bandage. What I do is about 5 mins after applying the wrap, I check the feet. The toes should feel warm to hot. If there is any coolness to the toes, you have wrapped to tightly.

Some chickens will limp at first if they have never been wrapped. It is only natural to feel like something is not right on the foot. They should adapt after a day or two of being bandaged. And some respond to pain easier than others. I have a hen that is such a baby and can't take the tiniest scab on her foot. Others run around right after a deep surgery as if nothing was ever done to them. Each is different.

Bumblefoot can take a few months to heal completely. Always keep an eye on the chickens with bumblefeet. I do an inspection daily on my girls that have had bumblefoot until I am positive they are completely healed.

Thank you for the help and advice! Based on the pictures I posted previously, do you think she needs surgical intervention? I know it appears in the pictures that her pad looks swollen a bit, but it really doesn't appear that way when you look at it in person, it is really pretty fleshy. Other then that, I think everything kind of looks the same. I'll clean the other girls feet as soon as I have a chance. Today was lice/mite treatment today (it seems the battles are never done fighting) and coop clean-out/scrub down day. It seems if it isn't one thing, then it is something else!

 

[TwoCrows]

Thank you for the help and advice! Based on the pictures I posted previously, do you think she needs surgical intervention? I know it appears in the pictures that her pad looks swollen a bit, but it really doesn't appear that way when you look at it in person, it is really pretty fleshy. Other then that, I think everything kind of looks the same. I'll clean the other girls feet as soon as I have a chance. Today was lice/mite treatment today (it seems the battles are never done fighting) and coop clean-out/scrub down day. It seems if it isn't one thing, then it is something else!

From the pictures, the pad looks a bit hard and a swollen. A chickens pad should be deflated a bit and it helps to compare the chickens good pad to the infected pad. However some chickens do have denser pads. So you will have to judge for yourself here. If she were my girl, I would probably peel that scab off to see what is going on underneath. Soak the foot first to soften the skin so the scab comes off easily. If the tissue bleeds right away and there was no pus at the surface, then I would apply neosporin and wrap the foot up. If I can see pus and funky tissue, then I would cut, squeeze or dig as far as the pus goes. Pack with neosporin and wrap.

That scab doesn't look to bad actually and you might not get anything out of the wound. But I think it does need to be bandaged til it heals. The pad looks swollen and on the edge of going either way...healing or not. I have healed up many scabs with just using neosporin and wrapping for a while. Be careful when you bandage around the webbing if you are bandaging for a long time. The latex in the vet wrap and the pulling of the webbing skin can irritate the webbing enough to cause infection. So what I do is use a cotton gauze pad that flops over the webbing so that it does not come into contact with the latex.

Edit to add: If you do any surgery on her pad, keep her foot bandaged until it has healed. This can take several weeks. Check it daily and apply neosporin and rewrap.