Bumblefoot surgery - with pics and "how to"

[froggiesheins]

It does look like it. Although, I've never seen the whole foot and leg look swollen like that. Unless it's just the photo making the leg look swollen? If the leg is swollen, the infection has spread. I'm not sure the best treatment option in that case, but if it was me, I would start with some penicillin shots in the thigh. Pick up some PenG(found in their refrigerated section) at the feed store or a Tractor Supply along with an 18gauge needle and a 1 ml syringe if you can find one. The dose is about a tenth of a ml, no more, per day and probably no more than 5 days. I would also put a drawing poultice on that foot. Make a paste of sugar and iodine/betadine and apply it to the wound, put a gauze pad on it, then wrap it with strips of vetwrap. I usually also wrap bandaging tape or sports wrap tape around that to keep the dirt out. Looks like this when I finish: I would change the dressing at least every other day, clean the wound, apply more poultice and rewrap. Hope the poultice draws any infection down and the swelling starts going down. Could take a few weeks. I would be a little leery of cutting on top of the foot, it may or may not reveal anything, but if you do, also apply poultice to that area. That's about the only thing I can suggest short of a vet visit. You're going to have to do alot of bandaging over the next few weeks to keep the foot clean. If you live in a wet area, might be best to cage her on some shavings for awhile.

Thank you for your response Mrs bachbach! The leg is not swollen, it is just the angle of the shot . What is the "recipe" for the amount of sugar to betadine/iodine? I have been thinking about the pen shots..sigh...always SO much fun to stick that GIGANORMOUS needle in a chicken I did lance one of the toe webs yesterday, and just blood came out.

 

[NevaehFeathers]

I'm having a hard time telling the difference between thick/hard cottege cheese that is stubborn and doesn't want to come out, or if it's actually part of the foot anatomy. I'll try for photos tonight, my flock will not let me catch them, and I can't do it alone, so I'll take photos tonight with my husbands help when I go to soak and do bandage changes. I'm a newbie and need any and all suggestions from those who are more seasoned with this! I'm so thankful for BYC! Everyone here is so great!

 

[MrsBachbach]

Thank you for your response Mrs bachbach! The leg is not swollen, it is just the angle of the shot

.
What is the "recipe" for the amount of sugar to betadine/iodine?
I have been thinking about the pen shots..sigh...always SO much fun to stick that GIGANORMOUS needle in a chicken

I did lance one of the toe webs yesterday, and just blood came out.

There isn't a recipe. Just get a small amount of sugar, maybe a 1/2 tsp, and slowly add drops of iodine until it makes a paste that doesn't run.
The needle really isn't that big. You do need an 18ga though because the antibiotic is thick. The smallest needle you could use would be a 20ga, but I have had trouble getting that stuff to pass through that.

 

[Betsy57]

My rooster has about a quarter size button on his heel with the black scab. A neighbor came home and helped me root around in it. I got some stuff but not as much as I thought I would. I moved an instrument around in that "bubble" and it sounded like gravel. I couldn't get it all out unless I would lance the whole thing, which I wasn't up to. He is resting and eating now. I'll have to see how he does. I may have to take him to the vet for him to do it. He is thinner than he should be so maybe there are other issues going on. I found a buff orpington with a smaller area and that was real easy to take care. So rooster and hen in the basement recovery right now. Oy vey!

 

[Betsy57]

Is this bumblefoot?
Soaked, dug and poked with no puss ,kernels,or anything that felt lumpy or ouchie when squeezing. And I felt like I was digging to China I went so deep.
The pad has a hard callous like feel to it.
There really was no scab, just gnarly looking tissue on the surface. I have not gone thru the top of the foot between the pads yet.
What do you guys think?

YUCK! Poor thing!

 

[Betsy57]

Just did my first surgery ever! But I still am wondering a few things! PLEASE HELP
so me and my hubby noticed our favorite Easter Egger with a swollen foot yesterday, I've read about bumble foot ages ago when I first got my chickens and was always on the look out for it... finally it came! We followed the surgery steps, except I don't think I cut a big enough hole around the scab. my consern comes from a few things one being that the scab she had was smaller than what I've seen in pictures and two while digging looking for a plug I only found hard black stuff the deeper I went I believe I got most of the black stuff out and there was a little puss but I was just confused to find hard black almost gravel like stuff... anyone else see this? I'm going to check it tomorrow and try to get some pictures!

I did my rooster tonight and had a similar experience. Not sure if I got it all. It felt like gravel in there too. Yuck!

 

[doddie]

Thanks to your pics, I just did this to on of my reds (wynedotte) It was soo scary! my hubby helped me. I got a big kernel to come out of the top (blister) but nothing from the bottom of the foot. She was so stressed I just cleaned it up put on antibiotic and bandaged her up. I hope she will be o.k. Again thank you for all the info and pics. I love this site, best thing ever for us newbies!!! I know my hubby thinks I,m crazy, but he did help me.. I luv him lots!!

 

[kathyo525]

I have a year old buff or that wouldn't come out of hiding a few weeks ago. When I finally was able to grab her we saw the telltale black dot on the foot. Then I soaked her in a tub of warm water wth Epsom salt. Upon checking the foot again I decided to check her other foot. Another black dot. I'm not afraid to become a chicken surgeon so I gathered my supplies and wrapped her in a towel and laid her on the table.
I was able to pull the blacl scab off on the tub and I cut the kernel out with a razor and a pair of cuticle clippers. Now...I worked and dug and squeezed and nothing. It was clean. I wrapped her and kept her inside that night. The next day I did the same. Her feet were clean. I wrapped her aND put her on her roost.
My question...is there always more inside? I couldn't dig anymore...there was nothing but clean tissue in there and she bled and I cleaned it and still no pus or gunk. She seems fine mow...no more spot and she's not hiding anymore. I don't want to inspect her too much right now as my girls are in their first molt. I do t want to hurt them by man handling her. Will she show other signs if the foot has more infection in it?

 

[TomandBarbara]

It seems that bumblefoot is still a difficult thing to treat...my Tilly is the same so every day we have been dressing her feet with sugar/iodine paste and apart from a little pus every now and then (and I mean little) the pad and an occasional swelling between her toes,the only sign it's bumblefoot is the tell tale black pad! We first treated her like this August 2nd ànd were still going!

 

[MrsBachbach]

I have a year old buff or that wouldn't come out of hiding a few weeks ago. When I finally was able to grab her we saw the telltale black dot on the foot. Then I soaked her in a tub of warm water wth Epsom salt. Upon checking the foot again I decided to check her other foot. Another black dot. I'm not afraid to become a chicken surgeon so I gathered my supplies and wrapped her in a towel and laid her on the table.
I was able to pull the blacl scab off on the tub and I cut the kernel out with a razor and a pair of cuticle clippers. Now...I worked and dug and squeezed and nothing. It was clean. I wrapped her and kept her inside that night. The next day I did the same. Her feet were clean. I wrapped her aND put her on her roost.
My question...is there always more inside? I couldn't dig anymore...there was nothing but clean tissue in there and she bled and I cleaned it and still no pus or gunk. She seems fine mow...no more spot and she's not hiding anymore. I don't want to inspect her too much right now as my girls are in their first molt. I do t want to hurt them by man handling her. Will she show other signs if the foot has more infection in it?

Give it a few days, change the bandage (sooner if it gets dirty) and then look and see if you see pus. It's not unusual to find nothing sometimes. I think some black spots resolve themselves. I have one now that had a spot on each foot. One scab seemed like it was already falling off and clean skin underneath. Only the other one is going to need to be pulled. I don't do a lot of cutting and digging in their foot. I soak them, put a poultice on, do that routine at least three times in a week, then soak and do the cutting away and lifting of the scab. If there is something under it I get it out. Then I reapply the poultice one more time and wrap the foot up. Important to keep them in a clean environment for now (after surgery). In a couple of days I check the wound. If I see pus, I clean it out. Then you can apply a neosporin or other topical antibiotic that promotes healing. Rewrap and change bandages every few days until wound is well healed. You don't want dirt or wetness getting back into the wound. So, wrap it good and keep them penned for the next week on ground as clean and dry as possible. If you keep digging in the wound every time, it will take forever to heal. A really bad swollen case of bumblefoot may take much longer to heal and require many poultice changes. I would also recommend some injections of PenG in the infected leg (thigh). It is good for staph infections. Or oil of oregano if you prefer more natural treatments. I have read that the mediterranean kind is the one you want to use and is effective on a wide range of bacteria, fungus, yeast, parasites, etc. Can use topically or internally. Now, I wouldn't know the dose though, but I imagine it is a long time treatment.