Bumblefoot questions-Help please

[kpenn26]

My 2 year old Easter Egger, Petunia, has bumblefoot. Two days ago I soaked her foot in an epsom salt bath and then made an incision. I dug deep into her foot and could not find a kernel. I did find stringy bits and pus, and removed as much as I could. I sprayed Vetericyn spray into the wound continuously to flush it out as I removed the junk. When I was finished I covered the wound in neosporin and wrapped it with gauze and vet wrap. She tolerated it well and went about her business as usual. Today (48 hours later) I removed the dressing and found that it looks almost the same--still very swollen, still a yucky scab. The mass seems like it is possibly more firm than before, not as squishy.
Should I make another incision and continue to search for a kernel? For now I soaked again in epsom salt, cleaned and dried then coated in neosporin and vetericyn and rewrapped. She is acting normal, eating and drinking and foraging. She walks a little gingerly on that foot.
Any advice would be appreciated. Photos are from today, 48 hours after initial incision and cleanout.

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

@Eggcessive

 

[RubelliteRose]

Bumblefoot does not always have a hard kernel, sometimes there is only stringy stuff. I would not make anymore incisions, but do change the bandage and apply neosporin daily. Unfortunately, the stringy bumblefoot seems to take longer to heal than the kernel type of bumblefoot. A new scab will probably form over the wound. If her foot still seems painful or swollen, you can soak again and then remove the scab with tweezers vs cutting into the foot. Gently squeeze any pus out, but try not to dig into the foot too much. I noticed that feet also took much longer to heal if I did more than gentle squeezing. Hopefully, she will heal quickly for you We have bumblefoot on and off in our flock. Some girls have had it multiple times and others have never had it

 

[kpenn26]

Bumblefoot does not always have a hard kernel, sometimes there is only stringy stuff. I would not make anymore incisions, but do change the bandage and apply neosporin daily. Unfortunately, the stringy bumblefoot seems to take longer to heal than the kernel type of bumblefoot. A new scab will probably form over the wound. If her foot still seems painful or swollen, you can soak again and then remove the scab with tweezers vs cutting into the foot. Gently squeeze any pus out, but try not to dig into the foot too much. I noticed that feet also took much longer to heal if I did more than gentle squeezing. Hopefully, she will heal quickly for you We have bumblefoot on and off in our flock. Some girls have had it multiple times and others have never had it

Thanks so much for the response. This is my first experience with bumblefoot, and of course it's our most beloved hen. She has also had a broken egg inside of her that I had to remove bit by bit last summer. I am a nurse so I don't mind the gross stuff, but definitely wanted some input on her foot. Her behavior hasn't changed at all and she is so tolerant of us messing with her. Tomorrow I will soak her foot again and gently squeeze as you suggested. I also read about using Prid drawing salve to aid in bringing the infection out. Do you have any opinions about that? I went ahead and ordered it for $6 and it should be here tomorrow.

 

[RubelliteRose]

Thanks so much for the response. This is my first experience with bumblefoot, and of course it's our most beloved hen. She has also had a broken egg inside of her that I had to remove bit by bit last summer. I am a nurse so I don't mind the gross stuff, but definitely wanted some input on her foot. Her behavior hasn't changed at all and she is so tolerant of us messing with her. Tomorrow I will soak her foot again and gently squeeze as you suggested. I also read about using Prid drawing salve to aid in bringing the infection out. Do you have any opinions about that? I went ahead and ordered it for $6 and it should be here tomorrow.

It always seems to be the favorite!
Try soaking and squeezing again, but it may take a week or so for the infection to build up enough to get more out.
I've seen quite a few people recommend Prid, but I have not used it myself. Report back about how it works!

 

[kpenn26]

It always seems to be the favorite!
Try soaking and squeezing again, but it may take a week or so for the infection to build up enough to get more out.
I've seen quite a few people recommend Prid, but I have not used it myself. Report back about how it works!

Will do! Thanks again

 

[coach723]

I had a roo that had the stringy type of pus that tunnels throughout the foot, that kind is much harder to get cleaned out and healed up. I ended up using sugardine, which worked better than anything else I used or did. It finally healed up and he had no more recurrences after that. See post #8 here for all instructions and supplies for what I did, a video on sugardine (just plain white sugar and betadine) and a picture of his foot:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/

 

[kpenn26]

I had a roo that had the stringy type of pus that tunnels throughout the foot, that kind is much harder to get cleaned out and healed up. I ended up using sugardine, which worked better than anything else I used or did. It finally healed up and he had no more recurrences after that. See post #8 here for all instructions and supplies for what I did, a video on sugardine (just plain white sugar and betadine) and a picture of his foot:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bumblefoot-not-healing.1443809/

Thank you for this!