Bumblefoot surgery

[eirwin]

One of our leghorns has bubblefoot. We noticed she had a bump on the side of her toe. We soaked the foot in water for a while to get it clean and soft. I used a razor blade to cut off the black scab. I tried to dig to see if there was a plug. I don't know if I didn't dig deep enough or what, but didn't see anything that looked like it would dig out. The foot started bleeding, so I didn't want to go any further after that. I applied Neosporine and bandaged the foot. For anyone who has done this before, is it possible that it was not bad enough yet to have a plug and pus. The bump was the size of a garbanzo bean.

 

[LarryPQ]

Sounds like you have things in hand.

Good luck!

(not all foot infections result in bumble foot)

 

[Blue_Myst]

You'll probably just have to wait and see. If you're worried, I've heard that epsom salt baths are good for the affected foot.

Good luck! I hope all goes well with your hen.

 

[Gersbud]

Hope your girl gets better soon.

But I too have found that my rather old (about 6 yrs old) EE has bumble foot. I found this while treating everyone for scaly leg mits. I soaked her foot then I too got the black scab/core out and found nothing really in the hole but it did bleed. I think that I may have just found it before it started to get to bad. But I also packed it with neosporin and wrapped it up. I will check on her tomorrow when I check on everyone else. I just hope everyone gets better soon. I am starting to think I live out there in the coop with them.

 

[Andora]

My duck had horrible bumble foot. It was black and swollen huge. The vet said not to cut it. She told me to soak it every day 2-3x a day in either betadine or Epsom salt with warm water. I soaked it for about 10 days and then the lump burst on its own and she quickly recovered!

 

[eirwin]

An update on my chicken (Big Comb). I've soaked her foot twice a day, massaged the bump, applied Neosporin and wrapped it up. I haven’t seen any change in the swelling. I remove the softened scab, but there seems to be nothing inside. It bled the first couple of times, but today it bled very little. One of the threads suggested squeezing, but I'm hesitant to do that if there is nothing inside. I let her free range with the rest of the flock, but keep her in part of the day and at night. She seems to have a hard time getting on the roost. I'm beginning to think that she may not have bumble foot. I will try to take pictures tonight when I change her dressing.

 

[snaphu]

I have 2 chickens with "bumblefoot"... one has an advanced case in one foot

I have been soaking for 20 minutes per day for a couple of days now... I'm seeing some improvement, I have been able to take the scab off, but no waxy plug has come out. I called around to different vets, and none of them will help... a couple of avian veterinarians said they would, after I said they were "pet chickens" and not livestock!

I found a hawk veterinarian fairly close by... we have a lot of airports around where I live, and hawks are used to keep small birds away. Anyways, the woman on the phone was very helpful!! she said I was doing the right things, and to keep it up and just call her next tuesday to give a report on how the bumblefoot is doing.

my regime:
•I soak for 20 minutes in hot water, epsom salts and tea tree oil
•try and remove scab and plug etc.
•put a paste of salt and betadine on wound
•get a ½ cotton ball with antibiotic ointment on it, put that over the betadine/salt
•then I wrap the foot with "vet wrap"

I'm also giving them a 'squirt' of poultry antibiotics 2 times a day, and I'm giving them vitamins, extra Vitamin C and an herbal tonic in their water also.