Bumblefoot surgery - with pics and "how to"

[RoseMarie1]

I sure hope everyones hens make it. My roo is doing better.

 

[AQHAchick22]

What do the ones that come through the top look like? I had a hen with it on the bottom of her foot (I got it out) and it looked like it was coming through the top. The top of her foot was red and swollen, but when I cut into it all I got was a ton of blood so I stopped...I don't see how I could cut into the top and get anything else without having the black scab visible...

 

[TommyDaDelaware]

What do the ones that come through the top look like? I had a hen with it on the bottom of her foot (I got it out) and it looked like it was coming through the top. The top of her foot was red and swollen, but when I cut into it all I got was a ton of blood so I stopped...I don't see how I could cut into the top and get anything else without having the black scab visible...

The one I had on Louise looked like hard and yellow. Like the kernel itself. Hard, crusty and yellow. Its normal for the top of the foot to be a little swollen, just like how our bodies swell up under infection or a sliver you know?

 

[alibra]

Help! I just noticed this the other night. 2 or 3 days ago I cut it open trying to drain it, but I couldnt get any pus out of it. I put iodine ointment on it and wrapped it today I opened it up again & this is what it looks like:

 

[MrsBachbach]

Help! I just noticed this the other night. 2 or 3 days ago I cut it open trying to drain it, but I couldnt get any pus out of it. I put iodine ointment on it and wrapped it today I opened it up again & this is what it looks like:

That's pretty ugly. If it was mine, I would clean it daily, maybe soak it in warm epsom salt bath every day, then put some neosporin on it and keep it clean by wrapping it up well. Check it daily.

 

[seminolewind]

If anyone wants extra yuk, click on the pick and it gets larger!

Is that on the top of her foot???

Ithink I would peel all that stuff off, like the black stuff, and soak her foot in Epsom salts , or like we do now, get some Epsom salt gel and leave it on over night. It looks like you have more stuff to get out. Keep soaking in nice warm/hot water.

 

[RoseMarie1]

oh my gosh I'm like the others I would soak in E. salts and do it a couple times a day myself and keep it clean with a cover over it. It'd have to be that vet wrap for her to keep it on. I don't understand WHAT that is though. Man it's yuck! Bless her heart.

 

[Sylviaanne]

I have a goose and we are not yet sure that it is bumble foot but think it maybe. The goose is in the bathtub with warm water soaking the crud off his foot. He was not standing on his foot but now is. We brought him in yesterday because he was limping and when I examined his foot/ankle I found them swollen. Other than the swelling, his foot didn't look any different than the other geese so we just kept him in all night. Today, he wouldn't get up to eat or drink but didn't really need to, the food dish was on one side of him and the water dish on the other.

I have betadine but no sugar for that compress, at this time I do have table salt but no Epsom salt. I have not read this thread all the way through but when I leave here I will go look more closely at his foot.

My husband wants to know how do you bandage a goose's foot? I have learned how to caponize chickens but this scares me. I don't know if I can cut into his foot.

 

[MrsBachbach]

I have a goose and we are not yet sure that it is bumble foot but think it maybe. The goose is in the bathtub with warm water soaking the crud off his foot. He was not standing on his foot but now is. We brought him in yesterday because he was limping and when I examined his foot/ankle I found them swollen. Other than the swelling, his foot didn't look any different than the other geese so we just kept him in all night. Today, he wouldn't get up to eat or drink but didn't really need to, the food dish was on one side of him and the water dish on the other.

I have betadine but no sugar for that compress, at this time I do have table salt but no Epsom salt. I have not read this thread all the way through but when I leave here I will go look more closely at his foot.

My husband wants to know how do you bandage a goose's foot? I have learned how to caponize chickens but this scares me. I don't know if I can cut into his foot.

That's a dang good question. With that webbing, it's not going to be as easy as a chicken. Some experimenting might be in order for a goose foot.
I don't think regular salt baths will work as well and I really do recommend the iodine sugar poultices. I would soak the foot in warm water epsom salt baths for twenty min a day for several days, following with the sugar/iodine poultice wrap after each soaking. Put a good gob on the bottom of the foot and cover with a gauze pad. Then wrap with vetwrap which you can find at feed stores or Tractor supply. It's good stuff that sticks to itself. I would try to wrap that vetwrap around the shank and over the gauze and between the toes to secure it. I usually follow with sportswrap tape over that or maybe the waterproof bandaging tape. Btw, I found it helps to wrap my hens snug in a towel with feet sticking through and head covered while doing the bandaging. Just leave a little hole for them to get some air near the head. Change the bandages and poultice every day or at least every other day. Try to keep the goose in a dry area. The poultice should draw the infection down and after a few bandage/poultice changes, the scab ought to be ready to remove. Soak the foot good in epsom salt bath just prior to trying to remove the scab. Lift the edges of the scab all the way around. You may have to lift and soak, lift and soak, before getting the scab to lift off. Hopefully once removed you ought to either see some kernels or white stringy stuff or pus under there and squeeze it out. You usually don't have to cut into the foot if you lift the scab off. Just make sure your tools are sterile and wear gloves. If you don't see anything under the scab, don't panic. Just clean it well and pour some betadine on it and put another poultice on it and wrap it up again. This whole process will take a couple of weeks. The poultice will still work to draw down any infection. Just change it at least every couple of days. When you don't see any more infection coming out and the swelling starts subsiding a little, then you can quit the poultice and just put neosporin on it, wrap it and let it heal. Make sure the wound is closed up good before abandoning the bandages. Keep the goose on dry ground during this whole process. I just finished up a hen that I found limping a little over two weeks ago and her pads are now almost normal again. I didn't find much of anything under her scabs, just a little string or two, but her pad was swollen red. So the soaks and poultices helped reduce the swelling and she is back to normal again.

 

[casportpony]

I have a goose and we are not yet sure that it is bumble foot but think it maybe. The goose is in the bathtub with warm water soaking the crud off his foot. He was not standing on his foot but now is. We brought him in yesterday because he was limping and when I examined his foot/ankle I found them swollen. Other than the swelling, his foot didn't look any different than the other geese so we just kept him in all night. Today, he wouldn't get up to eat or drink but didn't really need to, the food dish was on one side of him and the water dish on the other.

I have betadine but no sugar for that compress, at this time I do have table salt but no Epsom salt. I have not read this thread all the way through but when I leave here I will go look more closely at his foot.

My husband wants to know how do you bandage a goose's foot? I have learned how to caponize chickens but this scares me. I don't know if I can cut into his foot.

You could wrap it like I did this hen:


-Kathy