Bumblefoot with no scab.

[Maddcatter]

I'll second what @Eggcessive said. I have a hen whose had bumblefoot on one foot where I had to take out the kernel from both top and bottom. I will say that extracting it from the top is easier.

You can try this, it worked for me. With a fresh sharp scalpel, incise a small "x" right on top of the "bubble" in between the toes. The skin is very thin and you don't need to press very hard with the scalpel.
(Have some cloth or paper towel under the foot to catch the blood or do it over a sink)
Then use your fingers (wear surgeons gloves) to squeeze the sides of the bubble. If you're lucky, the kernel will pop right out with some pus. Flush the cavity with saline solution and then apply pressure to stop any bleeding.

I highly recommend applying an antibiotic cream with mupirocin if you can get it.

The hen I operate on was a "rescue" and she had terrible bumblefoot her first year. It's harder to get rid of the more established it gets, so I got a lot of experience operating on her. But I've noticed a lot more healing since using this cream. It's more effective against staph bacteria than other antibiotics.

Perhaps it's not well established and you might get it all out, but don't fret too much if it comes back. Just repeat the process. While you want to try to take out as much of the infection as possible, in my experience it's been more effective and easier on me and my hen to do successive "cleanings" than trying to dig for kernels (especially when they are the little stringy ones) and traumatizing the hen.

Good luck!

I sincerely appreciate this response, thank you for giving it.

 

[TropicalChickies]

I'm glad you found it helpful. Just to be clear, when treating bumblefoot with surgery, certainly the goal is to try to remove as much infection as possible -- without cutting and digging so deeply that it risks a secondary infection and makes the hen afraid and resistant to being treated.

 

[Maddcatter]

I'm glad you found it helpful. Just to be clear, when treating bumblefoot with surgery, certainly the goal is to try to remove as much infection as possible -- without cutting and digging so deeply that it risks a secondary infection and makes the hen afraid and resistant to being treated.

How long do you wait until you go another round?

 

[TropicalChickies]

How long do you wait until you go another round?

It depends on how the foot is healing. Anywhere from two weeks to two months. If the hen can walk without limping and there's no external swelling, wait until you see some healthy tissue growing back, that usually takes 2 -3 weeks.

My 4 year old hen Cleo has has had persistent recurring bumblefoot for three years now in one foot. She gets those stringy bits that are hard to take out completely. We generally excise the scab every eight weeks or so, scrape out what we can, pack it with antibiotic cream, make her a "shoe" (a bandage she can wear with waterproof tape), and let her go on her way. It doesn't seem to impact her quality of life, she's top hen, and very fit and robust. She's totally relaxed during her procedures because she knows what to expect at this point.

 

[Maddcatter]

It depends on how the foot is healing. Anywhere from two weeks to two months. If the hen can walk without limping and there's no external swelling, wait until you see some healthy tissue growing back, that usually takes 2 -3 weeks.

My 4 year old hen Cleo has has had persistent recurring bumblefoot for three years now in one foot. She gets those stringy bits that are hard to take out completely. We generally excise the scab every eight weeks or so, scrape out what we can, pack it with antibiotic cream, make her a "shoe" (a bandage she can wear with waterproof tape), and let her go on her way. It doesn't seem to impact her quality of life, she's top hen, and very fit and robust. She's totally relaxed during her procedures because she knows what to expect at this point.

I have a hen whom managed to get it in both feet, and it's red and swollen and has to hurt. I did get one of the feet better, last weekend. Swelling has gone down a bit.... There was the stupid string thing going on, but did the best I could. She remained calm, but I didn't want to push it by doing the other foot right then, and now it looks way worse. So... I'm reading up on how to fix this cause it's gotta hurt, and I want her to be happy. (Plus I've had swollen/infected wounds on me, I understand the problems with it, they can't stay that way)

So thank you for your help!

 

[TropicalChickies]

I have a hen whom managed to get it in both feet, and it's red and swollen and has to hurt. I did get one of the feet better, last weekend. Swelling has gone down a bit.... There was the stupid string thing going on, but did the best I could. She remained calm, but I didn't want to push it by doing the other foot right then, and now it looks way worse. So... I'm reading up on how to fix this cause it's gotta hurt, and I want her to be happy. (Plus I've had swollen/infected wounds on me, I understand the problems with it, they can't stay that way)

So thank you for your help!

Yes, Cleo had it in both feet. One foot healed completely. The other one we still work on.

If the other foot is really bad, I'd go in there before it gets worse. Soak the bad foot for fifteen minutes a day for three days in warm Epsom salt water. Soak both, it helps healing the one you operated on too. Then try extracting the infection. The successive soakings in Epsom salts before operating help to draw the infection closer to the surface.

Keep a wide spectrum oral antibiotic on hand like a tetracycline or Bactrim. Even amoxicillin. You might not need it and I wouldn't use it unless necessary. But just in case a secondary infection sets in, it's good to have on hand.