Bumblefoot situation, not sure where I might need to cut with the current state of it.

[Saden]

I'm newer to raising chickens, and being a caretaker. I've lived around them most of my life, but only recently have I started caring for some myself, and I am just now getting used to things. That said, my poor Rooster has managed to get bumblefoot(At first I didn't know what that was, or that it could be a thing.) I noticed he was walking weirdly and swelling around his feet- I thought it could be mites, so I made a proper DE/Sand bath to help them get any mites off, and I kept watching him. When the swelling got worse I started looking things up, and decided to start soaking him in epson salt and keeping a closer eye on his condition.

When that sadly did not help, I looked further into it and found out able bumblefoot. The idea of doing home surgery on my rooster is scary for me- I feel terrible for needing to hurt him like that, and I'm afraid I will mess it up. But, I know of its needed then I will need to do it. I decided to use some non-surgical methods my chicken-raising neighbors gave me, as well as some posts I saw on google about fixing things without surgery. None have worked, and he can't move well at all. I've managed to get the swelling down considerably, and I've been giving him epson salt baths and trying to keep some antibiotic cream on his feet where I believe the abscesses(it is difficult to tell for me, and I don't want to do too much), but I think I need to cut on him. The problem is, I can't for the life of me figure out where exactly I need to start. I think I know where the points are on his feet, but it's not quite what I see from other people's pictures. I would like someone to tell me if I am correct.

First 4 images are foot 1, second 4 are foot 2. I was told the black marks on his toes were callouses by some of the people I talked to, and the other chickens have had them as well since rescue, I assume that is correct but I am adding them in just in case(one is on his far toe and it seems much more severe than the other callouses if that is the case) --

The main issue is on the center of the foot. The second one seems more obvious, I believe that is the center point, although there is no scab to peel or anything to really outline- just the discoloration and roughness. Foot 1, appearance-wise, is a lot harder to tell. Up close it seems almost like its just more of his foot pushed out from the swelling, but I can kind of see where an abscess might be? It looks like its healing, but it can't be with how swollen his foot is still, at least I would imagine the infection would be gone if it were, right?

Thanks for any help. This is my first time dealing with this situation and I am worried I let it get out of hand too quickly, I'm hoping I can relieve this as soon as I can. He's a very lovely rooster and has been close to me ever since the rescue, he was doing much better until this happened. I'm hoping I can get him back on his feet.

 

[azygous]

Bumblefoot surgery rarely involves actual cutting. After soaking twenty minutes in warm Epsom salts, the scabs should be softened enough to merely scrape them off. Usually, the pus plug comes away attached to the scab. All that is left to do is clean the sockets well and pack with antibiotic ointment and bandage.

Those lighter spots could be encouraged to heal much more quickly by spraying Vetericyn on them a couple times a day.

 

[Saden]

Bumblefoot surgery rarely involves actual cutting. After soaking twenty minutes in warm Epsom salts, the scabs should be softened enough to merely scrape them off. Usually, the pus plug comes away attached to the scab. All that is left to do is clean the sockets well and pack with antibiotic ointment and bandage.

Those lighter spots could be encouraged to heal much more quickly by spraying Vetericyn on them a couple times a day.

These pictures were taken after about 20 minutes of epson salt soaking- but I didn't notice scabs I could easily peel off. I can see the roughness and the different texture, but even brushing my finger across the area and trying to find somewhere I could scrape, it seemed all very much still intact. I gently tried to put pressure in the hopes that it scraped off during the bath and I might be able to push the plug free, but I've had no luck in that area. : < I actually ordered some Vetericyn today, so I'm hoping I can get that within the next day or so.

 

[Kpreysz]

My young hens have a similar spot on their claw toes which I was able to soak and then peel off with a tweezer for the most part. I did make a cut around the black area to keep from pulling off the healthy tissue as that seemed to be the most painful part for them.

 

[Chicken poppy]

Working on bumblefoot myself. 2 chickens have it.

First off, soaking ratio i use. (1/4 cup epsom salt, half gallon warm water.) Put chicken in for 15-20 minutes, towel over back)

Next, you should not have to cut it. If you do, i can walk you through it. But you do not want to cause excess trauma to the foot if its not needed, underneath all the yucky stuff is healthy tissue.

if you do cut it, remember to wrap up the foot to insure it won’t get re infected, and if needing to do another soak after cut, i just use warm water.

More then happy to help you through the wrapping and soaking and products i use.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

Keep us updates on what you do!

 

[Saden]

Working on bumblefoot myself. 2 chickens have it.

First off, soaking ratio i use. (1/4 cup epsom salt, half gallon warm water.) Put chicken in for 15-20 minutes, towel over back)

Next, you should not have to cut it. If you do, i can walk you through it. But you do not want to cause excess trauma to the foot if its not needed, underneath all the yucky stuff is healthy tissue.

if you do cut it, remember to wrap up the foot to insure it won’t get re infected, and if needing to do another soak after cut, i just use warm water.

More then happy to help you through the wrapping and soaking and products i use.

Thank you! My big issue at the moment is identifying where the main part of it is. He has it on both foots, and on the second foot I think I can tell that it started in the center, it looks like what I've seen pictures of, but the first one looks like the wound itself has healed over? It is really hard to tell. I've soaked him in epson salt before taking the pictures, but as far as I can tell, I can't find a scab to peel away even after the soaking, and any pressure I put on it doesn't seem to push anything out of the foot itself. It doesn't look enough like an abscess for me to be sure. : <

 

[Chicken poppy]

Thank you! My big issue at the moment is identifying where the main part of it is. He has it on both foots, and on the second foot I think I can tell that it started in the center, it looks like what I've seen pictures of, but the first one looks like the wound itself has healed over? It is really hard to tell. I've soaked him in epson salt before taking the pictures, but as far as I can tell, I can't find a scab to peel away even after the soaking, and any pressure I put on it doesn't seem to push anything out of the foot itself. It doesn't look enough like an abscess for me to be sure. : <

I have never, ever had it “peelable“ to where it lifts up. Might just be my luck, but i had to make an edge to grab, with sterile scalpel or tweezers, lifting it up.
Don’t recommend cutting yet, but if it has to be done at some point, i recommend using a scalpel, tweezers, or a biopsy punch.

 

[Saden]

I have never, ever had it “peelable“ to where it lifts up. Might just be my luck, but i had to make an edge to grab, with sterile scalpel or tweezers, lifting it up.
Don’t recommend cutting yet, but if it has to be done at some point, i recommend using a scalpel, tweezers, or a biopsy punch.

I'll keep that in mind! Thank you. If I do need to use that method, from what the pictures show, do you think I am correct about it being that little center bit on both the feet? It seems more noticeable on the second, but I'm worried I'm wrong on the first. I was told the black spots were just chicken callouses so I ruled those out as being part of the issue(most of my chickens have those blackish spots on their feet, although theyre all rescues from the same area, so im not sure if its true theyre callouses or if I should be worried.

 

[azygous]

Photos are two dimensional, so we aren't able to gauge the scab's thickness. I've dealt with lots of bumblefoot cases, and when the black scab is flush with the tissue, flat, I do not remove it. I just spray Vetericyn on it each day.