Bumblefoot surgery - with pics and "how to"

[adch.lab1]

Just want Ruth to know (if she is still part of this forum) how helpful this information was

 

[Tammysadie]

Thank you for taking the time to post this!

My chicken had the black spot but, I didn't see any redness or swelling. She has been limping. So, I soaked the foot and removed the scab, poked around for puss and such as described but found none. I just applied antibiotic and tapped foot as described. I'm not sure if this was good enough. I am keeping her separated from the others.

I was just reading that not all spots are infected. That must be the case with my hen. I hope so.

 

[FeatheredWood]

Wow, I cannot believe my luck...just yesterday my son noticed that one of our Spitzhauben's (Lola) had a small bump on her foot. I examined the little bump (but I didn't check the bottom of her foot) because I had no idea what I was looking at. After reading this thread, I will be checking the bottom of her foot as well. Thank you so much for you time and effort in posting this very informative thread for all of us.

 

[FeatheredWood]

Wow, I cannot believe my luck...just yesterday my son noticed that one of our Spitzhauben's (Lola) had a small bump on her foot. I examined the little bump (but I didn't check the bottom of her foot) because I had no idea what I was looking at. After reading this thread, I will be checking the bottom of her foot as well. Thank you so much for you time and effort in posting this very informative thread for all of us.

 

[kittyacid]

I have one girl with a bad bumble and I am treating. So I started checking feet and see about five others with a bumble spot like the picture MaggieRae posted on page 22. I have read a lot of comments saying to leave it alone if it is small, not swollen/causing a limp and just keep an eye on it. Can anyone tell me why? It seems to me that if it is dealt with early on, there is less chance of it getting worse or spreading. I love chickens but they stress the mess out of me. Thanks.

 

[kittycooks]

Hi Kittyacid,
I had a wyandotte hen with a bad case of bumblefoot and followed Ruth's very helpful instructions. Dottie is currently healing very nicely in my porch. To tell you the truth, the first time I read this thread I wasn't sure I could stomach the surgery, but after talking with my vet and the County Extension office I decided to give it a try.

Both of these experts said to soak the foot in betadine and warm water twice a day for several days before doing the surgery. They both felt the soaking draws the infection toward the pad on the bottom and the bumps on the top of the foot. So when we cut into the foot the corn like bumbles were right on the surface. She calmly handled the surgery and is staying in a medium size dog kennel to keep her feet clean. They suggested five days confinement before returning to the coop to prevent jumping and bursting the new tender skin. I also lowered my roosts to 18 inches.

One other buff orphington hen has a spot on her pad smaller than an eraser, but no swelling. I have been soaking her foot each day in betadine/warm water and it seems to be shrinking. Catching it early seems to be the key!

Some people said they didn't find the corn. The extension expert told me in early stages the infection could appear more like puss than scrambled egg or a hard corn.

I have a couple of pictures posted here (scroll down below the article links to the blog posts) http://www.kittycooks.com/backyard-chickens.html

 

[kittyacid]

Thanks Kitty. I don't know if I am up to the surgery either. I have only treated her with tricide neo soaks so far, today will be the third day of it but I am afraid that it is not enough. So on the buff without the swelling, the infection should clear up without the removal of the scab if the soaks are continued? On my others, there is the scab, but no swelling.

 

[FeatheredWood]

After reading this thread, I found three hens with bumblefoot. I did the best I could to following the directions as posting in this thread. But Once I clean/soaked and removed the scab, I never had any plugs, cottage cheese or large holes. One hen had two on each foot and the other two had one each and none of them went along like the thread shows. I'm so concerned Im not doing it right and could possiby do more harm than good. Has anyone else run into any similar problems while doing this surgery? Any and all thoughts/opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

 

[Warrprincess688]

My Brahma Rooster had bumblefoot. I opened it up through the plug and nothing came out and i squeezed and prodded and just ended up making a bloody mess. I was in a panic so I did the unthinkable and went to the vet. $300 later I walked out with antibiotics and the vet told me that this was hard to treat since hes always on his feet so to give him meds instead. I gave him meds for 2 weeks and soaked his foot in epsom Salt. His foot got a little less red but his foot got harder and it still looked awful. I opened up his foot and and i squeezed it, and a black liquid came out, but no pus. I looked at his foot a week later and squeezed again and thats when all the pus came out. His foot looked like a deflated balloon. I will never take my chicken to the vet again but Im glad I did. I did learn a few things that I didn't know. Bumble foot isnt as easy to treat as Ive realized, everyone else who had the pus came out right away was lucky

 

[AZBootsie]

Quote:
Good to know.