Bumblefoot? Tried clearing it to no avail. Need help.

[eamoret]

I just bought a couple hens from a swap last weekend, and they both appear to have bumblefoot. This is the first time I've dealt with it. My other birds I got as chicks and they are free range. None of them show any signs of bumblefoot. One of the new hens has it on both feet, and it seems quite large. The other only has it on one foot and it's much smaller. I did some research on the internet and on these forums and found some resources on how to clear it on your own. So, I attempted to do so but with no luck. I removed the 'plug', which was more like calloused skin on hers. Below it was a large red/purplish mass that I couldn't navigate around. I saw tiny bits of stringy yellowish stuff, which I assume what I was supposed to be clearing out. I got a couple tiny bits out, but she started to bleed terribly. I squeezed hard, soaked, massaged and nothing did any good. I couldn't get past that mass and even if I could I didn't know what direction to go in. I don't know what to do. I put neosporin on it, bandaged her up and I'm keeping her in a carrier inside the house. She's actually in the bedroom with me right now. She's calm, laying down but still breathing quite heavily through her mouth as she has all day. It was hot out earlier, feels nice in the house though. Anywho, I don't know what to do.. Please look at these pics and tell me what you all think. I'd appreciate some advice, thoughts or ideas on it. I'm at a loss.

Sorry about the horrible picture quality. You can see the red bit there. It's hard and I can't get passed it. That whole section was the black spot that I've seen people refer to as a plug. This is what I encountered right underneath it. Should I be cutting deeper? I just don't want to hurt her and she already bled quite a bit.

 

[klmclain1]

The black spot is not the plug. It's basically just the scab. The "plug" can be many "plugs" or kernels. If you press her foot between your thumb and forefinger repeatedly, you should feel a lump or several lumps. These are the plugs. You need to cut directly into her foot with a scalple or like instrument over each of those lumps. They may be quite difficult to get out - it's like they're clinging to the surrounding tissue. I used tweezers and it was still difficult. Soak her foot in warm epsom salts for 10 minutes or so before the surgery. Perform the surgery (there are many links showing it and demonstrating how to wrap after - if you can't find them, pm me and I'll get some good ones to you), spray the areas with blukote, load with neosporin, and wrap. Change and redress the areas twice a day until you start seeing the healing, then once a day for a few days after that. Then you just have to decide when it's healed enough to completely remove the bandages. You have to be VERY thorough and you may end up doing the surgery more than once.

 

[eamoret]

The black spot is not the plug. It's basically just the scab. The "plug" can be many "plugs" or kernels. If you press her foot between your thumb and forefinger repeatedly, you should feel a lump or several lumps.

The whole foot pad feels kind of soft and squishy. There's no marked hard spots. It's okay to cut into clean looking, healthy skin? I'm worried about her bleeding so much, as the videos and pictures I've seen of these bumblefoot surgeries don't show nearly the amount of blood she lost already and I didn't even accomplish anything! This is positively bumblefoot though, right?