Bumblefoot surgery - with pics and "how to"

[welasharon]

Last summer one hen for bumblefoot surgery $124
this summer one hen $188
came home and put her in a pen on her own...turned around and saw three more with it....doing them myself

 

[AQHAchick22]

Ugh did my first bumble foot surgery on the 21st of July and just had to do a follow-up yesterday. The first surgery I didn't feel was very successful, she had the black dot and was limping so I cut around the black dot as in the pictures and got nothing except a lot of blood and a little bit of puss. To be honest I didn't expect there to be as much blood as there was, it was terrible. So I scooped out as much puss as I could (couldn't find a kernel) and bandaged her up. I felt awful after the surgery and felt like I didn't get everything.

So it was no surprise that Sunday night I saw her limping around again. I scooped her up yesterday and did the surgery over again. I cut off the scab that had formed and there wasn't nearly as much blood, and surprise to the left a few centimeters from where the original black spot was I could see a yellow spot. So I finally got the kernel last night! It wasn't at all where I expected it to be...

Fingers crossed that I got it all this time and she will heal!

 

[seminolewind]

I know, after all that work and scaring the poor chicken , not getting a kernel is so unfair, LOL. I have one right now. I could not find a kernel anywhere.

 

[puirasville]

I am just doing my homework as our chickens are arriving tomorrow (our first flock-- so excited!) These kinds of medical procedures, and digging around in wounds-- how do they respond? Do they wince and try to get away in response to pain? You said they lay still if they are covered. Will they lay still for an hour and let you dig at their foot? Should I have a helper on hand to hold them? Just curious as to how chickens respond while you are doing things like giving stitches for an injury or squeezing gunk out of a foot. Do you do anything to manage pain during these procedures?

 

[welasharon]

Mostly they just lay there. Sometimes you may hit a spot that makes them flinch. I prefer to have help. Now if that head comes uncovered...it's on!

 

[donnavee]

I agree, I lay mine on a towel and then cover the head with a light weight towel but have a helper standing by. They will try to pull the foot away from time to time. DH is my helper and he talks to the chicken & makes sure it is breathing OK - chickens can become overheated very easily so it's wise to check on them.

 

[seminolewind]

Well, I've soaked for a few days now, and tried to find the bumble again. But the roo started gasping, and I cleaned him up, packed up and put him back in the coop. I guess he will have to keep it. If it gets painful, I'll see the vet. So I've failed on this one.

 

[welasharon]

I have three I have to do. The first there was no kernel...just some stringy yellow white stuff that we pulled out the best we could. That was last week. So far she is healing well. Time will tell. THe one we did yesterday had an awesome kernel. Very satisfying to pull that out. Now, why some do and why some don't? Does not seem to be the severity as the first one appeared to be the worst off. I have one more to do this week. Small, small black spot and no apparent swelling. I'm wondering if I should try the clear iodine first?

 

[seminolewind]

What I do is soak the foot by 3-4 days of Epsom salt gel wrapped around the foot overnight. I feel that if I get rid of some swelling, the kernel is easier to feel. I just can't find it with this one. There may be more than one. He's wasting from Marek's and I just can't add to his stress anymore.

 

[JBV]

I am fairly new to chickens, just a few years, and this is my first experience with bumblefoot. I soaked her foot in warm Epson water and did the surgery to get the plug at the bottom out but it didn't come out as nicely as yours did. It came out in pieces. My baby had swelling between two of her toes as well. I tried and tried but could not get anything else out, no kernel and no puss, nothing more than pieces. So I cleaned her off, put some Neosporin on and bandaged her up. a few days later I checked on her and the swelling between one of her toes had gone down but that was all. So I soaked her foot again and checked her over. I cleaned her off, put some Neosporin on and bandaged her up again. A few days later (today) I brought her in and gave her another Epson foot bath. I took a look and seeing that the bottom looked a little better but the swelling between her toes looked the same I decided that perhaps I needed to go in through the top as others have suggested. I was putting that off because that actually frightened me more than going through the bottom, thinking it would be more sensitive. I took a deep breath and cut a small line in the top. She seemed to handle it better than I did. I gently squeezed and to my surprise I did get something out that looked like a kernel and some puss. I soaked her foot again and tried to get more out. When nothing came out I cleaned her off, put some Neosporin on and bandaged her up again. I have a good feeling that this will resolve her problem. Thank you all so much for your invaluable knowledge. I love this forum!